About Ian Richardson
Ian William Richardson CBE (7 April 1934 – 9 February 2007) was a Scottish actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Conservative politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC Television trilogy House of Cards (1990–1995), as well as Bill Haydon in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979). His other notable screen work included a portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in the television films The Sign of Four and The Hound of the Baskervilles (both 1983), as well as significant roles in Brazil (1985), M. Butterfly (1993), and Dark City (1998). Richardson was also a leading stage actor, well known for his Shakespearean works as well as his portrayal of Jean-Paul Marat in the Broadway production of Marat/Sade. == Early life == Richardson was born in Edinburgh, the only son and eldest of three children of John Richardson (1909–1990), a manager at the McVitie & Price factory (where he and his wife met, and, according to his son, where John invented the Jaffa cake), and Margaret ("Peggy") Pollock (1910–1988), née Drummond. He was educated in the city, at Balgreen Primary School, Tynecastle High School and George Heriot's School. Richardson first appeared on stage at the age of 14, in an amateur production of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. The director encouraged his talent but warned that he would need to lose his Scottish accent to progress as an actor. His mother arranged elocution lessons, and he became a stage manager with the semi-professional Edinburgh People's Theatre. After National Service in the Army, part of which he spent as an announcer and drama director with the British Forces Broadcasting Service, Richardson obtained a place at the College of Dramatic Arts in Glasgow.
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