Dirk Bogarde

Bogarde was born in the London suburb of Hampstead, of mixed Dutch-British ancestry. He joined the army and served in World War II, after which his good looks helped him begin a career as a film actor. His 1950 appearance as the criminal who shot P.C. George Dixon in The Blue Lamp launched him as a lead player, but it was the comedy, Doctor in the House (1954), that made him a star. He quickly became a matinee idol[?].

During the 1960s and 1970s, Bogarde gradually abandoned his heart-throb image for more challenging parts, such as the ex-Nazi in The Night Porter[?] (1974), a bored University professor in Accident (1967), and, most notably, as Gustav von Aschenbach in Death in Venice (1971).

Bogarde never married and, even during his lifetime, was reported to be homosexual. For many years he shared a home with a male friend, but repeatedly denied that their relationship was anything other than platonic. His only serious relationship with a woman seems to have been with the actress, Capucine, though he had many female friends.

He was knighted in 1992 for his services to acting.

Selected filmography

• The Blue Lamp[?] (1950)
• The Spanish Gardener (1956)
• A Tale of Two Cities (1958)
• Victim (1961)

Autobiography/Memoirs

• A Postilion Struck by Lightning