Dirk Bogarde Biography

His debut was a main part in ‘Ester Waters’ which was released in 1948. Working for Rank, he starred in many popular comedies, playing Simon Sparrow in the popular ‘doctor’ films - ‘Doctor At Sea’ and ‘Doctor In The House’.

His youthful good looks made him an ideal hero and his popularity was responsible for the success of many a film. Indeed, he was Britain's top box-office star in both 1955 and 1957.

Growing tired of playing a run of similar parts, he took a villainous role in ‘The Servant’ in 1963. This marked a new direction in his career and led to a run of more varied work – ‘Modesty Blaise’, ‘Justine’ and ‘The Damned’.

Finding that he had more of an affinity with European cinema, the '70s saw him play in darker and more ambiguous films, like ‘Death In Venice’, ‘The Night Porter’ and ‘Providence’.

Dirk had a life-long interest in writing and, during the 1980s, he retired from film to concentrate on this, compiling his autobiography in three volumes.

In 1939, Dirk met theatrical manager Anthony Forwood, who later became his manager and ultimately his lifelong partner. In the early 1970s they bought a house together in the South of France where they lived very happily until shortly before Forwood's death in 1988.

The British film legend died in 1999, at the age of 78, after suffering a heart attack at his home in London. His ashes were scattered in France.