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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Ralph Richardson
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(1902–83, kt 1947) Actor with an ability to turn an apparently quite ordinary character into someone of intriguing mystery. In his middle years this was seen in several plays by J.B. Priestley, and in his old age it found a new outlet in deliberately strange and low-key modern works such as David Storey's Home (1970) and Harold Pinter's No Man's Land (1975) – in each case playing opposite John *Gielgud in what became a famous geriatric partnership. It was Richardson who suggested to the National Theatre that a rocket should be fired on each first night, and 'Ralph's Rocket' became a regular feature.
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