Bogarde, Sir Dirk

Bogarde, Sir Dirk (dûrk bō'gärd) [key], 1921–99, English film actor, b. Hampstead as Derek Niven Van den Bogaerde. In his early career Bogarde played romantic leads in such films as So Long at the Fair (1950) and A Tale of Two Cities (1958). He later showed great versatility playing character parts, including a corrupting valet in The Servant (1963), a dying, obsessed composer in Death in Venice (1971), and a would-be murderer in Despair (1980). His other films include Darling (1965) and The Night Porter (1974). He broke a nine-year retirement from acting—during which he wrote an autobiography (1977) and several novels—to appear in Daddy Nostalgia (1990). He was knighted in 1992. His memoirs were published in 1995.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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