Julian Burnlee Curry (8 December 1937 – 27 June 2020)[1][2][3] was an English actor best known for playing Claude Erskine-Browne in ITV's legal comedy-drama Rumpole of the Bailey.[4][5][6]

Julian Burnlee Curry
Julian Curry at the STR annual Theatre Book Prize presentation in May 2011
Born8 December 1937
Died27 June 2020
(aged 82)
Height6"0
Spouse(s)Sheila Reid 1967
(dissolved)
Josephine Edmunds
(dissolved); two sons
Mary Chater

Early life

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The son of William Burnlee Curry (1900-1962), headmaster of Dartington Hall School from 1930 to 1957, and Marjorie Graham (née McIldowie), Curry was educated at Dartington Hall School and King's College, Cambridge.[7][8]

Television appearances

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Curry made his first television appearance in 1965 in an episode of the series For Whom the Bell Tolls. Other TV appearances include roles in Pride and Prejudice (1967), Softly, Softly (1968), Nicholas Nickleby (1968), Z-Cars (1965 & 1975), The Floater (1975), The Way of the World (1975), Brassneck (1975), The Glittering Prizes (1976), Trilby (1976), The Onedin Line (1976), Campion's Interview (1977), Rumpole of the Bailey (1977–1992), The Life of Shakespeare (1978), Prince Regent (1979), The Vanishing Army (1980), Psy Warriors (1981), A Fine Romance (1982), the BBC Television Shakespeare production of King Lear (1982), The New Statesman (1984), Three Up, Two Down (1985), Lytton's Diary (1985–86), Death of a Son (1989), Around the World in 80 Days (1989), Sherlock Holmes (1991), Thatcher: The Final Days (1991), Inspector Morse (1993), Bugs – Assassins Inc (1995), It Might Be You (1995), Kavanagh QC (1997), The Wyvern Mystery (2000), Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years (2001), The Hunt (2001), Prince William (2002), Stig of the Dump (2002), Midsomer Murders (2004), The Brief (2005), and The Queen's Sister (2005).[9]

Film roles

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Curry's film appearances included The Mini-Affair (1967), The Brontë Sisters (1979), Manions of America (1981), Escape to Victory (1981), The Missionary (1982), Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (1985), Fall From Grace (1994), Loch Ness (1996), Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny (1996), Seven Days to Live [de] (2000), and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004).[9]

Theatre work

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His appearances with the Royal Shakespeare Company included roles in Doctor Faustus (1969), Much Ado About Nothing (1969), The Hollow Crown (1976), Pleasure and Repentance (1976), The Winter's Tale, (1984), The Crucible (1984), Krapp's Last Tape (1984), The Danton Affair (1986), King John (1989), Henry VI (1989), The Merchant of Venice (1997), Talk of the City (1998), Back to Methuselah (2001) and Women Beware Women (2006). At the National Theatre he appeared in Measure for Measure (1973), The Bacchae (1973), and The Alchemist (2006). Other major stage appearances include roles in Hamlet (1971), The Black and White Minstrels (1973), Donkey's Years (1976), The Importance of Being Earnest (1977), The Achurch Letters (1978), Outside Edge (1979), The Duchess of Malfi (1981), Nightshade (1984), Samuel Beckett's Company (1987), Timon of Athens (1991), Cyrano de Bergerac (1992), Lust - the musical (1993), Richard 2nd (2006) and Love - the musical (2008). He toured with the Old Vic Company, the RSC and Prospect Theatre Company.[10]

Other work

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Curry also held a diploma from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust, and was for some years a freelance member of the Circle of Wine Writers. He performed his one-man entertainment Hic! or The Entire History of Wine (abridged) over 150 times in many parts of the world. He wrote and recorded the Naxos audiobook A Guide to Wine. He was also the author of Shakespeare on Stage, a collection of interviews with thirteen leading actors focussing on specific Shakespearean roles. It was nominated as 2011 Theatre Book of the Year. In "Shakespeare on Stage" Curry interviewed Brian Cox (about the title role of Titus Andronicus), Judi Dench (Juliet), Ralph Fiennes (about the title role of Coriolanus), Rebecca Hall (Rosalind from As You Like It), Derek Jacobi (Malvolio from Twelfth Night), Jude Law (Hamlet), Adrian Lester (Henry V), Ian McKellen (Macbeth), Helen Mirren (Cleopatra), Tim Pigott-Smith (Leontes from A Winter's Tale), Kevin Spacey (Richard II), Patrick Stewart (Prospero from The Tempest), and Penelope Wilton (Isabella from Measure for Measure. A second volume of Shakespeare on Stage was published in 2017.[11][12]

Personal life

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He was married on three occasions:

  • Actress Sheila Reid (dissolved).
  • Josephine Edmunds (dissolved);
    two sons, Finn and Patrick.
  • Actress and writer Mary Chater until his death.

Partial filmography

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Notes

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  1. ^ "Julian Curry death notice". Scottmarshallpartners.tumblr.com. 30 June 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  2. ^ Obituaries, Telegraph (2 July 2020). "Julian Curry, actor known from Rumpole who also created a popular one-man show on wine – obituary". The Telegraph – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  3. ^ "Tribute to Shakespeare in Italy Co-Founder Actor Julian Curry". Shakespeareinitaly.org.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  4. ^ A Register of Admissions to King's College, Cambridge, 1945-1982, ed. John Bancroft, Martin Butler Booth, 1989, p. 172
  5. ^ The Cambridge University List of Members up to 31 December 1991, p. 320
  6. ^ "Julian Burnlee CURRY - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". Beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  7. ^ Who's who in the Theatre, Gale Research Company, 1981, p. 158
  8. ^ "William Curry".
  9. ^ a b Curry on the Internet Movie Database
  10. ^ "Julian Curry Biography (1937-)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  11. ^ Curry, Julian (2010). Shakespeare On Stage. 14 Larden Road, London W3 7ST: Nick Hern Books Limited. ISBN 978-1-84842-077-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  12. ^ "Curry on Wine Entertainment.com". Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
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