Briers was born on 14 January 1934 in Raynes Park, Surrey,[1] the son of Joseph Benjamin Briers (1901–1980) and his second wife[2] Morna Phyllis (1909–1992), daughter of Frederick Richardson, of the Indian Civil Service.[3][4] He was the first cousin once removed of actor Terry-Thomas (Terry-Thomas was his father's cousin).[5] He spent his childhood at Raynes Park in a flat, Number 2 Pepys Court, behind the now demolished Rialto cinema, and later at Guildford.[6] His father, Joseph Briers, was the son of a stockbroker, of a family of Middlesex tenant farmers; a gregarious and popular man, he contended with a nervous disposition, and drifted between jobs, spending most of his life as a bookmaker but also working as, amongst other things, an estate agent's clerk and a factory worker for an air filter manufacturer, as well as being a gifted amateur singer who attended classes at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.[7] His mother, Morna Briers, was a concert pianist and a drama and music teacher, and a member of Equity, who wished for a showbusiness career, having acted in her youth. The couple had met when Joseph Briers asked Morna to stand in for his regular pianist for a performance; by this time his first marriage had collapsed and six months later they had entered a relationship.[2] The family occasionally received money from a wealthy relation, and Briers's maternal grandparents paid for his education, despite not being particularly well-off, and having lived in slightly reduced circumstances in India before returning to England and coming to live at Wimbledon.[7][5]
Briers's first job was a clerical post with a London cable manufacturer, and for a short time he went to evening classes to qualify in electrical engineering, but soon left and became a filing clerk.[6]
When he left the RAF, Briers studied at RADA, which he attended from 1954 to 1956.[6] Placed in a class with both Peter O'Toole and Albert Finney, Briers later credited academy director John Fernald with nurturing his talent.[9] Graduating from RADA with a silver medal,[10] he won a scholarship with the Liverpool Repertory Company, and after 15 months moved to the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry for 6 months. He made his West End debut in the Duke of York's Theatre 1959 production of Gilt And Gingerbread by Lionel Hale.[9][11]
Television career
In 1961, Briers was cast in the leading role in Marriage Lines (1961–66), with Prunella Scales playing the role of his wife. In between the pilot and the series itself, Briers appeared in Brothers in Law (from the book by Henry Cecil) as callow barrister Roger Thursby in 1962. He was cast in this role by adaptors Frank Muir and Denis Norden, who had seen him in the West End.
His other early appearances included The Seven Faces of Jim (1961) with Jimmy Edwards, Dixon of Dock Green (1962), a production of Noël Coward's Hay Fever (1968) and the storyteller in several episodes of Jackanory (1969).[12] In 1970, he starred in the Ben Travers farce "Rookery Nook", shown on the BBC. In the 1980s he played several Shakespearean roles, including Twelfth Night.[13]
In a role specifically written for him by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, Briers was cast in the lead role in The Good Life (1975–78), playing Tom Good, a draughtsman who decides, on his 40th birthday, to give up his job and try his hand at self-sufficiency, with the support of his wife Barbara, played by Felicity Kendal. Briers persuaded the producers to cast his friend Paul Eddington, a fellow council member of Equity, in the role of Jerry.[10] An enormously successful series, the last episode in 1978 was performed in front of Queen Elizabeth II. In 1977, he starred with his The Good Life co-star Penelope Keith in the televised version of Alan Ayckbourn's trilogy The Norman Conquests.[9] He also starred as Ralph in 13 episodes of The Other One (1977–79) with Michael Gambon.[16]
During the 1980s and 1990s, Briers had leading roles in several television shows, including Goodbye, Mr Kent (1982), a rare failure also featuring Hannah Gordon; the lead role of Martin Bryce in Ever Decreasing Circles (1984–89); and as Godfrey Spry in the BBC comedy drama If You See God, Tell Him (1993). He also starred in All in Good Faith (1985), Tales of the Unexpected as Albert Dobson (in episode 9/4 "The Verger" – 1988), and the first episode of Mr. Bean (1990) as Mr. Sprout. In 1987, he appeared as the principal villain in the Doctor Who serial Paradise Towers, a performance which was described by Radio Times writer Patrick Mulkern as Briers's "career low".[17] In 1995, he played the character Tony Fairfax in the BBC comedy Down to Earth. In the Inspector Morse episode "Death is Now My Neighbour", he played the evil master of Lonsdale College, Sir Clixby Bream.[18]
During the 2000s, Briers was the curmudgeonly and extravagant father Hector MacDonald in the BBC television programme Monarch of the Glen (2000–05), appearing in series 1, 2, 3 and 7.[19] Also in the 2000s, specifically 2006, he appeared in an episode of New Tricks entitled Old Dogs playing a character called James Farlow.[20]
After a long career in television sitcom, and looking to expand his career, his daughter Lucy took him to Stratford-upon-Avon to watch Kenneth Branagh in Henry V.[21] After meeting Branagh backstage after the performance, Branagh offered Briers the role of Malvolio in the Renaissance Theatre Company production of Twelfth Night.[9] Briers joined the company, and went on to play title parts in King Lear and Uncle Vanya. Briers also appeared in many of Branagh's films, including Henry V (1989, as Bardolph), Much Ado About Nothing (1993, as Signor Leonato) and Hamlet (1996, as Polonius). The theatre production of Twelfth Night (1988) was adapted for television, with Briers reprising his role as Malvolio.[22]
He was a familiar voice actor. Briers narrated the animated children's TV programme Roobarb (1974). Originally shown on BBC1 just before the evening news, each five-minute cartoon was written by Grange Calveley and produced by Bob Godfrey. He was the original narrator and voice actor for all the characters in the Noddy (1975) TV series based on the Enid Blyton character,[9] and then another series with Godfrey, Noah and Nelly in... SkylArk (1976). He also provided the voice of Fiver in the animated film adaptation of Watership Down (1978). In 1990 Briers provided the narration and voiced all the characters in the five-minute animated series Coconuts about a monkey, a king lion and a parrot who lived on a tropical island. The series ran for ten episodes and first aired on ITV on 23 April 1990. In the 1990s, he voiced the part of Mouse, opposite Alan Bennett's Mole in the TV series Mouse and Mole, based on books by Joyce Dunbar and James Mayhew. He latterly starred alongside Neil Morrissey in Bob the Builder (2005) as Bob's Dad, Robert to his credit. As well as performing all 12 of Fiona Waters' stories on the 1995 Stories For Bedtime book for audio cassette, he recorded all 4 of the seasonal Percy the Park Keeper stories for a grand CD release based on the books by Nick Butterworth, creating memorable voices for all of the animal characters as well as Percy the Park Keeper himself. Briers also featured in the television series adaptation of Watership Down (1999–2001), this time voicing a series exclusive character called Captain Broom, and was one of the very few actors who stayed for all three series.
Briers narrated numerous commercials, including adverts for the Midland Bank in which he was the voice of the company's Griffin symbol. Between 1984 and 1986 he made a series of commercials for the Ford Sierra done in a sitcom style portraying the Sierra as "one of the family".[9] Briers narrated the public information filmFrances the Firefly, about the dangers of playing with matches, firstly in the mid 1990s when first made, and then in the early 2000s when re-made by the Government fire safety campaign Fire Kills. He also recorded the voice of a satnav specifically designed for senior citizens in BBC 2's TV Show Top Gear, Series 19, episode 5, which aired only a week after his death. Presenter Jeremy Clarkson paid a brief tribute to his memory at the end of the episode.[25]
Briers met Ann Davies while both were at Liverpool Rep. Davies was employed as a stage manager, and had acted on television and in films from the mid-1950s. Soon after meeting, he borrowed £5 from his mother, bought an engagement ring and they were married within six months.[6] They had two daughters, one of whom, Lucy, is also an actress; Kate[11] (or Katie) has worked in stage management,[28] and is a primary school teacher.[29]
Briers and his friend Paul Eddington shared a similar sense of humour, and knew each other before being cast in The Good Life. After Eddington was diagnosed with skin cancer, Briers accepted a role opposite him in David Storey's play Home in 1994, agreeing to take on all of the publicity interviews to allow Eddington time for his treatment. At Eddington's memorial service, Briers read both from Cymbeline and Wodehouse; he later read chapters from Eddington's autobiography on BBC Radio 4.[10]
In 2014, BBC Radio 4 broadcast Memories of a Cad, an affectionate comedy drama by Roy Smiles about the relationship between Terry-Thomas and Briers, played by Martin Jarvis and Alistair McGowan respectively. Set in 1984 when he had suffered from Parkinson's disease for many years, Terry-Thomas is delighted by the visit to his home in Ibiza of the much younger Briers, whom he recognises from television, and who proves to be his first cousin once removed. Briers cheers him up by recalling the career the film-star has long forgotten.[30] It was re-broadcast in 2016.
Interviewed by The Daily Telegraph in 2008, Briers admitted that, while on holiday, he enjoyed being recognised, saying, "I'm gregarious by nature, so I love chatting to people. It really cheers me up."[33]
Briers was a keen visitor of Britain's historic churches, and visited over one hundred for his book English Country Churches, which was published in 1988. From his national service in the RAF, he was a supporter for a national memorial for RAF Bomber Command.[34]
Briers was appointed OBE in 1989, and CBE in 2003.[35]
Declining health and death
According to his daughter Lucy, he quit smoking in 2001 immediately after a routine chest X-ray suggested he would otherwise soon be in a wheelchair.[29] He was diagnosed with emphysema in 2007.[36]
The BBC referred to Richard Briers as "one of Britain's best-loved actors".[9] Sir Kenneth Branagh paid tribute to him, saying, "He was a national treasure, a great actor and a wonderful man. He was greatly loved and he is deeply missed."[38][39]
Briers's agent, Christopher Farrar, said: "Richard was a wonderful man, a consummate professional and an absolute joy to work alongside. Following his recent discussion of his battle with emphysema, I know he was incredibly touched by the strength of support expressed by friends and the public."[40][41]
Fellow television star Penelope Keith said, "He was always courteous, always generous and always self-deprecating" adding, "He was also such a clever actor that he made you feel secure. You believed he was who he was portraying on the screen or on the stage... I just think of Richard and smile."[42]
Writing in The Guardian, critic Michael Coveney described Briers as "always the most modest and self-deprecating of actors, and the sweetest of men," and noted: "Although he excelled in the plays of Alan Ayckbourn, and became a national figure in his television sitcoms of the 1970s and 80s, notably The Good Life, he could mine hidden depths on stage, giving notable performances in Ibsen, Chekhov and, for Kenneth Branagh's Renaissance company, Shakespeare."[11]
On 30 March 2013, BBC Two broadcast a one-hour long review of Briers's life and career, with tributes from many friends and colleagues.[43]
^Taves, Brian. P.G. Wodehouse And Hollywood: Screenwriting, Satires And Adaptations, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2006, p.128
^"Episode 5, Series 19, Top Gear – BBC Two". BBC. Briers also briefly provided a voice-over for 'Top-UP TV' commercials – a digital TV service in the UK, following the collapse of ITV Digital/On Digital, with the catchphrase 'Fancy a top up?' in Briers's inimitable vocal style.
