Alfred Hitchcock: The Unseen Home Movies
2026 · Movie
as Self
Cyril Ritchard
1897-12-01
•
Legendary for his preening, prancing, delightfully playful villain Captain Hook on the award-winning stage (as well as TV) opposite America's musical treasure Mary Martin, beloved musical star Cyril Ritchard had a vast career that would last six decades, but "Peter Pan" would become his prime legacy. Born in Australia just before the turn of the century, he was educated at St. Aloysius College and Sydney University wherein he slyly sidestepped a parental-guided career in medicine for entertainment, participating in numerous college productions that quickly got him "hooked." He began professionally in the chorus line of The Royal Comic Opera Company and quickly progressed to juvenile leads. A subsequent pairing with the already-established theatre actress Madge Elliott in 1918 proved successful, and the musical twosome eventually married in 1935. Together they would go on to become known as "The Musical Lunts" by their acting peers performing in scores of plays and revues together. Ritchard specialized in playing slick, dandified villains in musical comedy and developed a potent reputation of being a man of many talents. Not only directing and staging Broadway's finest, he became a renown performer of various operas and led many productions as such. Shortly before his wife's death of bone cancer in 1955, Ritchard ventured into TV infamy by repeating his Tony and Donaldson award-winning portrayal of Hook in Peter Pan (1955). He continued to earn acclaim and/or honors with such classic stage productions as "Visit to a Small Planet" (Tony-nominated), "The Pleasure of His Company" (Drama League award, Tony-nominated), "The Roar of the Greasepaint...the Smell of the Crowd" (Tony-nominated), "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Sugar," the musical version of the classic Billy Wilder film Some Like It Hot (1959) in which Ritchard played the Joe E. Brown role. Lesser regarded when it comes to film, he performed in the early Hitchcock classic Blackmail (1929) and made his last movie with the musical Half a Sixpence (1967) with Tommy Steele. While performing as the Narrator in a stage production of "Side by Side by Sondheim" in November 1977, Ritchard suffered a heart attack and died one month later. A one-of-a-kind talent, his nefarious, narcissistic humor was a career trademark that culminated in the role of a lifetime -- one that will certainly be enjoyed by children young and old for eons to come.
Filmography
The Hobbit
1977 · Movie
as Elrond (voice)
The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow
1975 · Movie
as Father Thomas (voice)
Tubby the Tuba
1975 · Movie
as The Frog (voice)
The Snoop Sisters
1973 · TV Show
as Morlock
The Emperor's New Clothes
1972 · Movie
as Emperor Klockenlocher (voice)
Hans Brinker
1969 · Movie
as Mijnheer Kleef
Half a Sixpence
1967 · Movie
as Harry Chitterlow
The Daydreamer
1966 · Movie
as The Sandman (voice)
The Lyrics of Alan Jay Lerner
1966 · Movie
as Self - Host
The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood
1965 · Movie
as Big Bad Wolf
Mr. Scrooge
1964 · Movie
as Ebenezer Scrooge
The Danny Kaye Show
1963 · TV Show
as Self
The Owl and the Pussycat
1962 · Movie
The Merv Griffin Show
1962 · TV Show
as Self
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962 · TV Show
as Self
Dr. Kildare
1961 · TV Show
as Justin Fitzgibbons
The Mike Douglas Show
1961 · TV Show
as Self - Co-Host
Peter Pan
1960 · Movie
as Mr. Darling / Captain Hook
No image
The Christmas Tree
1958 · Movie
as Promenade Member
Aladdin
1958 · Movie
as Sui-Generis, the Sorcerer
Kraft Music Hall
1958 · TV Show
as Self
No image
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
1957 · TV Show
as Self
DuPont Show of the Month
1957 · TV Show
as Sui-Generis the Sorcerer
Peter Pan
1956 · Movie
as Mr. Darling / Captain Hook
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956 · TV Show
as Self
The Steve Allen Show
1956 · TV Show
as Self - rehearsing for 'Jack and the Beanstalk', Self - Dr. Frankenstien, Self - Guest
Tony Awards
1956 · TV Show
as Self - Presenter
Peter Pan
1955 · Movie
as Mr. Darling / Captain Hook
Dearest Enemy
1955 · Movie
as Gen. Howe
No image
Playwrights '56
1955 · TV Show
No image
Producers' Showcase
1954 · TV Show
as Captain Hook
Pontius Pilate
1952 · Movie
as Pontius Pilate
Omnibus
1952 · TV Show
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951 · TV Show
No image
Lux Video Theatre
1950 · TV Show
as Arnold
What's My Line?
1950 · TV Show
as Self
The Winslow Boy
1948 · Movie
as Himself
Woman Hater
1948 · Movie
as Reveller (uncredited)
Studio One
1948 · TV Show
as Pontius Pilate, Monty Gavenhurst
The Philco Television Playhouse
1948 · TV Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948 · TV Show
as Self
I See Ice
1938 · Movie
as Paul Martine
No image
Dangerous Medicine
1938 · Movie
as Dr. Noel Penwood
The Show Goes On
1937 · Movie
as Jimmy
It's a Grand Old World
1937 · Movie
No image
Television Demonstration Film
1937 · Movie
Service for Ladies
1932 · Movie
as Sir William Carter (uncredited)
No image
Just for a Song
1930 · Movie
as Craddock
Symphony in Two Flats
1930 · Movie
as Leo Chavasse
Blackmail
1929 · Movie
as The Artist
Piccadilly
1929 · Movie
as Victor Smiles
