Dirk Bogarde Biography

Sir Dirk Bogarde was born on 28 March 1921 to Ulric Van den Bogaerde, the art editor of the 'Times', and actress Margaret Niven in the London suburb of Hampstead.

He was raised at his family home in Sussex by a nanny and one of his three sisters Elizabeth. The young Bogarde was educated at the Allen Glenn's School in Glasgow as his mother was Scottish before studying commercial art at Chelsea Polytechnic. His Flemish father wanted Derek to follow in his footsteps but he dropped out of his art course to become a drama student.

Bogarde apprenticed as an actor with the Amersham Repertory Company and made his debut on the London Stage in a play in which he had no lines. He then made his London West End debut in 'Cornelius'.

In 1939, he made his film debut as an extra in the George Formby comedy 'Come on George!' before WWII broke out. Bogarde served in the Air Photographic Intelligence Unit and rose to the rank of major and won five medals over the seven years of service he completed.

He also wrote poems and painted during the conflict, many of which are now displayed in the Imperial War Museum. His 1943 poem 'Steel Cathedral' was published in a small magazine.

In 1939, Bogarde 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. Bogarde claimed that this relationship was platonic as homosexuality was illegal until 1967.

After leaving service in 1947, his agent changed his name to the more commercial 'Dirk Bogarde' and he returned to acting.

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' (1955) and 'Doctor In The House' (1954).

For the first few years of his career, he was an apprentice actor but his role in the biggest film of 1950 'The Blue Lamp' made him a household name. He played Tom Riley, who was a cop killer. This was the first of many villains that he would play.

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.

In 1961, he starred in 'Victim', which alienated some of his old fans but Bogarde was no longer interested in becoming a commercial star but in developing as an actor. This film was controversial as it was the first British film to sympathetically address the persecution of homosexuals.

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' (1966), 'Justine' (1969) and 'The Fixer' (1968).

Finding that he had more of an affinity with European cinema, the 1970s saw him play in darker and more ambiguous films, like 'Death In Venice' (1971), 'The Night Porter' (1974) and 'Providence' (1977).

Bogarde 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. His first book 'A Postilation Struck by Lightening' was autobiographical in nature and was published in 1977.

All of his memoirs and novels, which included 'A Gentle Occupation' (1980), 'West of Sunset' (1984) and 'Closing Ranks' (1997), exhibited his witty and highly intelligent writing style.

He was knighted in 1992 for his services to acting and also received two honourary doctorates from the universities of St Andrews and Sussex.

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.