Editing Robert Addie

{{short description|English actor (1960–2003)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Robert Addie
| image              = Robert Addie 2003.jpg
| caption            = Addie in 2003
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1960|2|10|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Stroud]], [[Gloucestershire]], England
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|2003|11|20|1960|2|10|df=y}}
| death_place        = [[Cheltenham]], [[Gloucestershire]], England
| yearsactive        = 1978–2001
| spouse             = <!-- {{Unbulleted list|Selena Addie (1987 -?)|Jan Addie (US Citizen) (1990-1994+/-)}} -->
| children           = 3
}}

'''Robert Alastair Addie''' (10 February 1960 – 20 November 2003) was an English film and theatre actor, who came to prominence playing the role of Sir [[Guy of Gisbourne|Guy of Gisburne]] in the 1980s British television drama series ''[[Robin of Sherwood]]''.

==Early life==
Addie was born in [[Stroud]], [[Gloucestershire]], the son of a stable owner, and was educated at [[Marlborough College]].<ref name=Indy>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/robert-addie-37735.html "Robert Addie: Action-man actor who tended to be typecast"], ''The Independent'', 2 January 2004.</ref>  After initially being employed as a trainee estate agent on a ranch in Argentina, he returned to England and joined the [[National Youth Theatre]] in London in 1976 at the age of 16. Subsequently, he trained in acting at the [[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]], which he left after a year after successfully auditioning for the role of [[Mordred]] in the 1981 film [[Excalibur (film)|''Excalibur'']].<ref name=Indy/>

==Career==
Addie was a professional [[polo]] player; his skills as a horseman and also with sword and bow<ref name=Indy/> led to his frequently appearing in historical dramas set in the [[Middle Ages|medieval]] era.

At the beginning of his career in the early 1980s he appeared on British television in a number of advertisements for products ranging from Polycell [[Plasterwork|plastering]] repair wall filler to [[Mr Kipling]] cakes.<ref name=Other/> In the early 1980s he also appeared in a variety of theatrical productions, including ''[[Journey's End]]'' in 1981 at the [[Churchill Theatre]] in Bromley, and ''[[Conduct Unbecoming (play)|Conduct Unbecoming]]'' in 1982 at the [[Yvonne Arnaud Theatre]] in Guildford.<ref name=Other/>

His most prominent film role was Prince Mordred in John Boorman's [[Excalibur (film)|''Excalibur'']] (1981). Other films included ''[[Another Country (1984 film)|Another Country]]'' (1984), as Delahay.<ref name=Indy/>

On television, Addie starred as ''Stalky'' in a 1982 BBC television mini-series of [[Rudyard Kipling]]'s ''[[Stalky & Co.]]''.<ref name=Indy/> In 1987, he played Sir Charles Kirkgordon in the CBS mini-series ''[[I'll Take Manhattan (miniseries)|I'll Take Manhattan]]'' and Lord Peter Gillingham in ''[[A Hazard of Hearts]]''.<ref name=Indy/> His role as Sir Guy of Gisburne in the 1984–1986 English television series ''[[Robin of Sherwood]]'' brought his career national exposure.<ref name=Indy/>

In 1989, he abandoned acting and spent several years living in Spain and the United States.<ref name=Indy/> Returning to his career in 1995, he initially performed in touring [[fringe theatre]] original productions with the Chichester-based Exiled Theatre Company.<ref name=Indy/> In 1995 he appeared with the company in ''Shades in Time - Martyrs'', involving a promenading performance within [[Gloucester Cathedral]], and as the character of a mouse in the play ''Shades in Time - The Docks'' set at Gloucester Docks as a part of the 1995 Gloucester Festival. In late 1995, he performed with the company in Cheltenham in a theatrical monologue he wrote about a [[Mohammedan]] [[jihadism|jihadist]] suicide bomber entitled ''Acts of Revenge'', and in 1996 he appeared in the new plays by the company: ''Edmund, Son of Gloucester'' (a prequel to Shakespeare's [[King Lear]]) and ''Into the Mist'' – a play set in early medieval Scotland with Addie playing [[St Columba]].<ref>[http://www.39482.mrsite.com/page11.htm Website detailing the productions of the Exiled Theatre Company 1995–1996].</ref>

After this Addie resumed a film and television career, also acting in a number of television commercials in 1998 for designer kitchens, whisky, and habit-breaking products for cigarettes.<ref name=Other>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0011665/otherworks 'Other Works'] list in Robert Addie's entry in [[IMDb]].</ref>

==Personal life and death==
Addie was married three times and had three children; Alex, Alastair, and Caitlin. His marriages all ended in divorce.<ref name=Indy/><ref name=Jo>[https://www.robertaddie.simpsite.nl/Biography Biography], Jo's Robert Addie Fansite {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805154329/http://www.robertaddie.simpsite.nl/Biography |date=5 August 2020 }}.</ref> He died on 20 November 2003 at age 43<ref name=Indy/><ref name=Jo/> in [[Cheltenham General Hospital]] from the effects of [[lung cancer]], less than three weeks after the disease was diagnosed.<ref>'This Is Gloucestershire', 'Talented Actor's Life Cut Tragically Short', 27 November 2003.</ref> On the tenth anniversary of his death, fans planted a cherry tree bearing a commemorative plaque in his memory in the Jack Gardner Memorial Garden in [[Cirencester]].<ref>[http://www.robertaddie.simpsite.nl/memorial-tree-planting2 Information on the tree planting ceremony], 24 November 2013, Jo's Robert Addie Fansite {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151008041700/http://www.robertaddie.simpsite.nl/memorial-tree-planting2|date=8 October 2015}}.</ref>

==Filmography==
===Film===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1978
| ''[[Absolution (1978 film)|Absolution]]''
| Cawley
|
|-
| 1981
| ''[[Excalibur (film)|Excalibur]]''
| [[Mordred]] 
|
|-
| 1984
| ''[[Another Country (1984 film)|Another Country]]''
| Delahay
|
|-
| 1985
| ''[[Dutch Girls]]''
| Cone
| TV film
|-
| 1987
| ''[[A Hazard of Hearts]]''
| Lord Peter Gillingham
| TV film
|-
| 1995
| ''[[A Knight in Camelot]]
|
| Direct to Video
|-
| rowspan="2"|1999
| ''[[Captain Jack (film)|Captain Jack]]''
| Helicopter Pilot
| Direct-to-video
|-
| ''[[Mary, Mother of Jesus (film)|Mary, Mother of Jesus]]''
| [[Pontius Pilate]]
| TV film
|-
| 2000
| ''[[Lorna Doone (2000 film)|Lorna Doone]]''
| King [[James II & VII]]
| TV film
|-
| 2001
| ''[[Intimacy (2001 film)|Intimacy]]''
| Bar Owner
|
|}

===Television===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1979
| ''Horse in the House''
| Johnson
| Episode: "Strangles"
|-
| rowspan="4"|1981
| ''[[Barriers (TV series)|Barriers]]''
| Spike
| 3 episodes
|-
| ''[[Bognor (TV series)|Bognor]]''
| Willy Wimbledon
| Recurring role
|-
| ''Smuggler''
| Scott-Posonby
| Miniseries
|-
| ''[[ITV Playhouse]]''
| Chris
| Episode: "Friends and Other Lovers"
|-
| 1982
| ''[[Stalky & Co.]]''
| Stalky
| Miniseries
|-
| rowspan="2"|1983
| ''[[Andy Robson]]''
| George Grieve
| Episode: "A Two Horse Race"
|-
| ''All for Love''
| Larry
| Episode: "Fireworks for Elspeth"
|-
| rowspan="2"|1984
| ''[[The First Olympics: Athens 1896]]''
| Grantly Goulding
| Miniseries
|-
| ''[[The Brief (1984 TV series)|The Brief]]''
| Lt. Husk
| Episode: "People"
|-
| 1984-1986
| ''[[Robin of Sherwood]]''
| Sir [[Guy of Gisbourne]]
| Series regular
|-
| rowspan="2"|1986
| ''[[Ladies in Charge]]''
| Hugo
| Episode: "All That Glitters"
|-
| ''[[Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV series)|The Return of Sherlock Holmes]]''
| Mr Murray
| Episode: "The Empty House"
|-
| rowspan="3"|1987
| ''[[I'll Take Manhattan (miniseries)|I'll Take Manhattan]]''
| Sir Charles Kirkgordon
| Miniseries
|-
| ''Lost Belongings''
| Captain Teddy Riddell
| Miniseries
|-
| ''[[Pulaski (TV series)|Pulaski]]''
| Townsend
| Episode: "Tough Guys Don't Blink"
|-
| rowspan="2"|1988
| ''[[The Bill]]''
| Julian Pembridge
| Episode: "The Trap"
|-
| ''[[Screenplay (TV series)|Screenplay]]''
| Guy
| Episode: "Starlings"
|-
| rowspan="3"|1989
| ''[[The Endless Game]]''
| Second Blond Youth
| Miniseries
|-
| ''[[Red Dwarf]]''
| Gilbert
| Episode: "Timeslides"
|-
| ''[[Crossbow (TV series)|Crossbow]]''
| Brother Arris
| 4 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2"|1997
| ''[[The New Adventures of Robin Hood]]''
| Groliet
| Episode: "The Devil's Bride"
|-
| ''[[Noah's Ark (British TV series)|Noah's Ark]]''
| Sir Robert Clifton
| Episode: "Family Matters"
|-
| rowspan="4"|1998
| ''[[Merlin (miniseries)|Merlin]]''
| Sir Gilbert
| Miniseries
|-
| ''[[In the Red (TV series)|In the Red]]''
| Mr Bradley
| 1 episode
|-
| ''[[Bugs (TV series)|Bugs]]''
| Gen. Russell
| 2 episodes
|-
| ''[[The Wonderful World of Disney]]''
| Sir Sagramour
| Episode: "A Knight in Camelot"
|-
| 2000
| ''[[Monarch of the Glen (TV series)|Monarch of the Glen]]''
| Andersson
| 1 episode
|}

==Theatre==
* ''Journey's End'' (1981)
* ''Conduct Unbecoming'' (1982) 
* ''Shades in Time'' (1995)
* ''The Tell-Tale Heart'' (1995)
* ''Acts of Revenge'' (Co-written by Robert Addie) (1995)
* ''Edmund Son of Gloucester'' (1996)
* ''Into the Mist'' (1996)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{find a Grave|8171580}}
*{{IMDb name|id=0011665}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Addie, Robert}}
[[Category:1960 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]]
[[Category:English male film actors]]
[[Category:English male stage actors]]
[[Category:English male television actors]]
[[Category:British expatriates in Argentina]]
[[Category:National Youth Theatre members]]
[[Category:People educated at Marlborough College]]
[[Category:Deaths from lung cancer in England]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from Gloucestershire]]
[[Category:Actors from Stroud]]