Roger livesey biography

Roger Livesey (1906 - 1976)

Roger Livesey had one of the most distinctive voices in British cinema. A purring growl that stopped just short of an asthmatic wheeze. Even in his duller films there's always that voice to give audiences a jolt of pleasure.

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The Liveseys were a theatrical family. Father Sam grew up on stage and his sons Jack, Barrie and Roger all followed in the family business from an early age. roger was schooled at the Italia Conti Stage School and made his West End debut aged 7. As he grew up he gained a wide range of experience from Shakespeare to Aldwych farce.

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In the early 30s he joined the Old Vic and played Caliban opposite Charles Laughton's Prospero. 

His film career started early with a few silents as a child performer, but it was when talkies arrived that it really got going. There was an insatiable demand for actors who were "talkie ready" and Livesey fitted the bill nicely.

Tall, good-looking and equally at home in a suit or a period