Personal Info
Birth date
1934-01-14 (91 Years)
Day of death
2013-02-17
Gender
Male
Known for
Acting
Place of birth
Raynes Park, Surrey, England, UK
Also known as
-Richard Briers
Biography
Richard David Briers, CBE was an English actor. His fifty-year career encompassed television, stage, film and radio. Briers first came to prominence as George Starling in Marriage Lines (1961–66), but it was a decade later, when he narrated Roobarb and Noah and Nelly in... SkylArk (1974–76) and when he played Tom Good in the BBC sitcom The Good Life (1975–78), that he became a household name. Later, he starred as Martin in Ever Decreasing Circles (1984–89), and he had a leading role as Hector in Monarch of the Glen (2000–05). From the late 1980s, with Kenneth Branagh as director, he performed Shakespearean roles in Henry V (1989), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Hamlet (1996), and As You Like It (2006).
Filmography
Midsomer Murders
7.5
Overview:
The peacefulness of the Midsomer community is shattered by violent crimes, suspects are placed under suspicion, and it is up to a veteran DCI and his young sergeant to calmly and diligently eliminate the innocent and ruthlessly pursue the guilty.Doctor Who
7.859
Overview:
The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.Play for Today
6.333
Overview:
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.Natural World
7.1
Overview:
Natural World is a nature documentary television series broadcast annually on BBC Two and regarded by the BBC as its flagship natural history brand. It is currently the longest-running series in its genre on British television, with more than 400 episodes broadcast since its inception in 1983. Natural World is produced by the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol, but individual programmes can be in-house productions, collaborative productions with other broadcasters or films made and distributed by independent production companies and purchased by the BBC. Natural World programmes are often broadcast as PBS Nature episodes in the USA. Since 2008, most Natural World programmes have been shot and broadcast in high definition.Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
5.8
Overview:
Jonathan Ross's take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews and live music from both a guest music group and the house band.BBC Play of the Month
5
Overview:
A BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles. The series was transmitted from October 1965 to September 1983.Tales of the Unexpected
6.711
Overview:
A British television anthology of stories, often with sinister and wryly comedic undertones, and a twist at the end. With early episodes written and presented by Roald Dahl, the series featured a plethora of big name guest stars.Agatha Christie's Marple
7.7
Overview:
The adventures of Miss Jane Marple, an elderly spinster living in the quiet little village of St Mary Mead. During her many visits to friends and relatives in other villages, Miss Marple often stumbles upon mysterious murders which she helps solve. Although the police are sometimes reluctant to accept Miss Marple's help, her reputation and unparalleled powers of observation eventually win them over.Dixon of Dock Green
5.3
Overview:
Created by Ted Willis. Dixon of Dock Green was a BBC television series following the activities of police officers at a fictional Metropolitan Police station in the East End of London from 1955 to 1976. Some episodes were later remade as a BBC radio series in 2005 and 2006.Tony Awards
5.1
Overview:
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre.The Goodies
7.5
Overview:
A British television comedy series of the 1970s and early 1980s, combining surreal sketches and situation comedy.Torchwood
7.319
Overview:
The exploits of a team of people whose job is to investigate the unusual, the strange and the extraterrestrial.Mr. Bean
7.956
Overview:
Mr Bean turns simple everyday tasks into chaotic situations and will leave you in stitches as he creates havoc wherever he goes.Extras
7.786
Overview:
Andy Millman gave up his day job five years ago in the hope of achieving the big time, but he’s yet to land a speaking part, let alone saunter down the red carpet to pick up an Oscar. He remains optimistic however, as rubbing shoulders with the A-list on-set only serves to reinforce his belief that the big time is just a job or two away.The Good Life
7.6
Overview:
Tom and Barbara Good escape the rat race and pursue a self-sufficient lifestyle in Surbiton, much to the concern, frustration and sometimes envy of their neighbours Margo and Jerry Leadbetter. Entitled ‘Good Neighbors’ when shown in the USA.Wogan
4.5
Overview:
Chat show hosted by Terry Wogan, featuring live studio interviews with famous and notable personalities.Lovejoy
7.3
Overview:
The adventures of the eponymous Lovejoy, a likeable but roguish antiques dealer based in East Anglia. Within the trade, he has a reputation as a “divvie”, a person with an almost supernatural powers for recognising exceptional items as well as distinguishing genuine antique from clever fakes or forgeries.Monarch of the Glen
7.5
Overview:
Archie MacDonald, a young restaurateur is called back to his childhood home of Glenbogle where he is told he is the new Laird of Glenbogle.Ooh La La!
NYR
Overview:
Series based on the short French farces written by Georges Feydeau, Eugène Labiche, Marc Michel and Sacha Guitry. All of them include mistaken identities and impeccable timing.New Tricks
7.4
Overview:
New Tricks is a British comedy-drama that follows the work of the fictional Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad of the Metropolitan Police Service. Originally led by Detective Superintendent Sandra Pullman, it is made up of retired police officers who have been recruited to reinvestigate unsolved crimes.Ever Decreasing Circles
7.3
Overview:
Martin Bryce lives in a quiet suburban close with his wife Anne. He does his best to "organise" the leisure time of all of the other inhabitants of the close, running umpteen societies and doing "good works". He's is quite happy with his lot until Paul Ryman moves in next door.From a Bird's Eye View
5.5
Overview:
From a Bird's Eye View is a 1970 ATV and ITC Entertainment co-produced sitcom. In the United States it aired on NBC, which had originally ordered the series as an entry in the 1969-70 TV season but pushed it back to the 1970-71 season as a mid-season replacement. The series followed two International Airlines stewardesses, a scatterbrained Briton and a savvy American, as they flew the London-European routes. The series ran for 16 25-minute colour episodes. The series was not a big success in either the UK or the US, but ITC re-used the format for the Shirley MacLaine series Shirley's World. That show also flopped, but ran to one more episode than From a Bird's Eye View.Comedy Connections
2
Overview:
Comedy Connections was a BBC One documentary series produced by BBC Scotland that aired from 2003 to 2008. The show looked at the stories behind the production of some of Britain's comedy television programmes, showing how they tied in with the production of other comedy shows. The show featured interviews with some of the cast and crew of the subject programme, as well as footage from the series. Comedy Connections mostly documented BBC comedies and sitcoms, although two programmes have been from ITV and two from Channel 4. The first series consisted of six episodes, however the rest of the series consist of eight episodes each, the first two series were narrated by Julia Sawalha, however the rest of the series were narrated by Doon Mackichan.The Galton & Simpson Playhouse
NYR
Overview:
Seven Hilariously comic situations from the fertile imaginations of Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.The Norman Conquests
6
Overview:
The trilogy presents a comically fraught weekend from three different perspectives, as family and in laws gather at the decaying country home of their bedridden mother; the drink flows, and hidden enmities, intimate secrets and uncomfortable truths emerge through the veneer of jollity and civility.All in Good Faith
1.963
Overview:
British sitcom in which Reverend Philip Lambe, after becoming bored in his wealthy Oxfordshire parish, asks for a transfer to a more difficult assignment. Sent to Edendale, a fictional urban town in the Midlands, he is accompanied by his wife Emma, sixteen-year-old daughter Miranda and twelve-year-old son Peter.Alias the Jester
6.6
Overview:
Alias the Jester was a British animated series created by Cosgrove Hall Films, airing in 13 episodes on ITV starting on 13 November 1985. The show also aired during the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's after school timeslot and is considered one of the Classic ABC shows. GBC TV in Gibraltar aired the series multiple times in the late eighties, notably as a filler during the children's 630pm - 730pm weekday slot.Acting
TBABird Bath (25 Episodes) as Narrator
TBALittle Red Tractor Stories (4 Episodes) as Narrator (voice)
2022The Good Life: Secret & Scandals as (archive footage)
2017Roobarb and Custard: The Complete Collection as Narrator, Roobarb, Custard / lot of characters. (uncredited)
2016British Sitcom: 60 Years of Laughing at Ourselves as Acting Role (archive footage) (uncredited)
2013Mouse and Mole at Christmas Time as Mouse (voice)
2012Cockneys vs Zombies as Hamish
2012Run For Your Wife as Newspaper Seller
2011Horror on the High Rise as Unknown
2010All About The Good Life as Unknown
2010National Theatre Live: London Assurance as Mr. Adolphus Spanker
2009Peter Kay's Animated All Star Band: The Official BBC Children in Need Medley as Roobarb/Custard (voice)
2007A Bucket O' French and Saunders (1 Episode) as Unknown
2007That's What I Call Television (1 Episode) as Unknown
2007Kingdom (1 Episode) as Jim Wright
2006Torchwood (1 Episode) as Parker
2006As You Like It as Adam
2006My Appalling School Report (4 Episodes) as Unknown
2005Our Hidden Lives as Herbert Brush
2005Roobarb and Custard Too (39 Episodes) as Narrator
2005Extras (1 Episode) as Richard Briers
2005The Funny Blokes of British Comedy as Himself
2005Dad as Larry James
2004Agatha Christie's Marple (1 Episode) as Wilson
2004New Tricks (1 Episode) as James Farlow
2003Peter Pan as Sam "Smee" Smiegel
2003Comedy Connections (1 Episode) as Unknown
2003Bob the Builder: The Knights of Fix-A-Lot as Robert (voice)
2002Unconditional Love as Barry Moore
2001Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (1 Episode) as Self
2001Victoria & Albert as Joseph Paxton
2000Love's Labour's Lost as Sir Nathaniel
2000Monarch of the Glen (33 Episodes) as Hector MacDonald
2000The Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything (2 Episodes) as Unknown
1999Watership Down (39 Episodes) as Broom
1998The Student Prince as Dr. Corbitt
1998Geoff Hamilton: a Man and His Garden (5 Episodes) as Narrator
1998A Respectable Trade (4 Episodes) as Sir Charles Fairley
1998Parkinson (1 Episode) as Self
1997Spice World as Bishop
1997Midsomer Murders (1 Episode) as Stephen Wentworth
1997Brass Eye (1 Episode) as Self
1996Hamlet as Polonius
1996The Adventures of Toad as Rat
1995Heavy Weather as The Hon. Galahad Threepwood
1995The Adventures of Mole as Rat
1995In the Bleak Midwinter as Henry
1995Down to Earth (7 Episodes) as Unknown
1994Mole's Christmas as Rat
1994Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as Grandfather
1994Skallagrigg as Old Arthur/George
1994Frances the Firefly as Narrator (voice)
1993If You See God, Tell Him (4 Episodes) as Godfrey Spry
1993Much Ado About Nothing as Signor Leonato
1992Peter's Friends as Lord Morton
1992Swan Song as Nikita
1990Mr. Bean (1 Episode) as Mr. Sprout
1989Henry V as Lieutenant Bardolph
1989A Chorus of Disapproval as Ted Washbrook
1988Twelfth Night, or What You Will as Malvolio
1987Doctor Who: Paradise Towers as The Chief Caretaker
1986That's Television Television as Unknown
1986Lovejoy (1 Episode) as Raymond Doncaster
1985All in Good Faith (18 Episodes) as Unknown
1985Alias the Jester (13 Episodes) as Alias
1985Screen Two (1 Episode) as Old Arthur/George
1984Ever Decreasing Circles (26 Episodes) as Unknown
1983The Aerodrome as The Rector
1983Natural World (1 Episode) as Unknown
1983Arms and the Man as Bluntschli
1982It's Your Move as The Husband
1982Wogan (1 Episode) as Self
1982Goodbye Mr Kent (7 Episodes) as Unknown
1981P.Q. 17 as Jack Broome
1979Village Wooing as A
1979Tales of the Unexpected (1 Episode) as Albert Dobson
1978Watership Down as Fiver (voice)
1977The Other One (13 Episodes) as Ralph Tanner
1977The Norman Conquests (3 Episodes) as Reg
1977The Galton & Simpson Playhouse (1 Episode) as Unknown
1977Our Flesh and Blood as Mr. Smythe
1976Noah and Nelly in... SkylArk (30 Episodes) as Unknown
1976One-Upmanship (17 Episodes) as Unknown
1976A Small Miracle as Himself - Commentator
1975The Good Life (28 Episodes) as Tom Good
1975Great as Isambard Kingdom Brunel
1974The Four Musketeers as Louis XIII (voice) (uncredited)
1974Roobarb (30 Episodes) as Unknown
1973The Three Musketeers as Louis XIII (voice)
1972Rentadick as Miles Gannet
1971Tall Stories (6 Episodes) as Unknown
1970The Goodies (1 Episode) as Unknown
1970Play for Today (1, 1 Episode) as Mr. Smythe, Commander Jack Broome
1970From a Bird's Eye View (1 Episode) as George Lemon
1970All the Way Up as Nigel Hadfield
1968Ooh La La! (1 Episode) as Unknown
1967Fathom as Flight Lt. Timothy Webb
1967NBC Experiment in Television (1 Episode) as (voice)
1965BBC Play of the Month (1 Episode) as Sandy Tyrell
1964All in Good Time as The Young Husband
1964The Bargee as Tomkins
1964A Home of Your Own as The Husband
1963Doctor Who (4 Episodes) as Chief Caretaker
1963Doctor in Distress as Medical Student (uncredited)
1962The Girl on the Boat as Eustace Hignett
1962Brothers In Law (13 Episodes) as Unknown
1961A Matter of WHO as Jamieson
1961Murder She Said as 'Mrs Binster'
1961Marriage Lines (43 Episodes) as Unknown
1960Bottoms Up! as Colbourne
1958Girls at Sea as 'Popeye' Lewis
1956Armchair Theatre (1 Episode) as Stanley Frelaine
1956Tony Awards (1 Episode) as Self - Nominee
1955Dixon of Dock Green (1 Episode) as Ken Tracey