25 Facts About Ronald Pickup

1.

Ronald Pickup was active in television, film, and theatre, beginning with a 1964 appearance in Doctor Who.

2.

Ronald Pickup then trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, receiving the annual Bancroft Medal on graduation in 1964.

3.

Ronald Pickup met his wife at RADA and became a member of the RADA Academy.

4.

Ronald Pickup went on to star in the BBC drama series The Dragon's Opponent in 1973, playing Charles Howard, 20th Earl of Suffolk, a World War II bomb disposal expert.

5.

Almost a decade later, Ronald Pickup had the starring role as composer Giuseppe Verdi in the acclaimed The Life of Verdi, written and directed by Renato Castellani.

6.

Ronald Pickup appeared opposite Penelope Keith in Moving and as Friedrich Nietzsche in Wagner in 1983; existing in several versions, Wagner has been released as a film.

7.

Ronald Pickup acted the part of George Orwell in Crystal Spirit: Orwell on Jura; Pickup later revealed in 2012 that this was his favourite role.

8.

Ronald Pickup went on to play Prince Yakimov, a hapless, down-at-heel Russo-British aristocrat, opposite Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh in the BBC serial Fortunes of War, based on a novel cycle by Olivia Manning.

9.

Ronald Pickup appeared in The Ruth Rendell Mysteries series, playing Chief Inspector Moore in "A Case of Coincidence".

10.

Ronald Pickup played a regular part, Fraser Cook in the 2004 BBC sitcom The Worst Week of My Life.

11.

Ronald Pickup starred opposite Judi Dench in the 1989 Channel 4 serial Behaving Badly.

12.

Ronald Pickup appeared in the fifth series of Young Dracula in early 2014, portraying Morgan, chairman of the vampire high council, who later becomes the host of the Blood Seed, the main antagonist of the series finale.

13.

Ronald Pickup appeared in Holby City as Charles, Lord Byrne, and in November 2014 appeared on Coronation Street in a cameo role as an OAP arranging a birthday party with Michelle Connor in the Rovers Return.

14.

Ronald Pickup worked with Laurence Olivier at the Royal National Theatre, most notably as Baron Tusenbach in Three Sisters and Long Day's Journey into Night.

15.

Ronald Pickup's first appearance with the company was a minor part in Michael Elliott's production of Miss Julie.

16.

Ronald Pickup was nominated for a 1998 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for his performance in Amy's View.

17.

Between March and August 2009, Ronald Pickup starred as Lucky in Sean Mathias's production of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett opposite Sir Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, and Simon Callow.

18.

Ronald Pickup appeared as a forger in The Day of the Jackal in 1973.

19.

Ronald Pickup played one of the Prussian agents conspiring to blow up the Houses of Parliament in The Thirty Nine Steps.

20.

Ronald Pickup played Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury in the BBC Television Shakespeare version of Henry VIII.

21.

Ronald Pickup portrayed Portuguese governor Don Hontar in The Mission.

22.

Ronald Pickup appeared in the film Secret Passage in 2004 alongside John Turturro.

23.

Ronald Pickup gained international recognition playing one of the main characters, bachelor Norman Cousins, in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

24.

Ronald Pickup reprised the role in the sequel, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, released in 2015.

25.

Ronald Pickup died on 24 February 2021 following a long illness, aged 80.