Saeed Jaffrey(1929-2015)
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Saeed Jaffrey was born in Maler Kotla, Punjab, India. He was born on
the 8th of January 1929. He attended University of Allahabad where he
completed his post-graduate degree in history. He also attended the
Staff Training Institute of All India Radio. He started his career in
drama, as the founder of his own English theatre company called the
Unity Theatre, in New Delhi between 1951 and 1956. He also served with
All India Radio as Radio Director during this period. He played a wide
variety of roles in comedy and drama with equal ease and enthusiasm.
His early theatrical work included roles in productions of Tennessee
Williams, Fry, Priesty, Wilde, and Shakespeare. In 1956, he finished
his studies at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, a premier
school of drama. He went to the United States on a Fulbright
scholarship and took a second post-graduate degree in drama from the
Catholic University in America. With this experience as his base, he
took his company on a tour of the United States doing Shakespearean
plays in the year 1957. He was the first Indian Actor to have ever done
so. He then became an active member of the Actors' Studio in New York.
Here, he was noted for his acting in the play "Nights" and his role as
the "Nawab" in Granada Television's adaptation of "The Jewel in the
Crown". He married Madhur, actress and cookery writer, with whom he has
had three children. He is now divorced from her.
In the 1960s he made numerous stage appearances and participated in a
number of tours. He also started his U.S. television career in these
years. He was the director of publicity and advertising for the
Government of India in their Tourist Office in the U.S. from 1958 to
1960. His performance in the BBC classic _Gangsters (1975) (TV)_, as
"Rafiq" earned him countrywide recognition in the United Kingdom. This
was even though he had acted in Theatres and appeared on television
previously in the U.K. During this period he acted in the off-Broadway
play "A Tenth of an Inch Make The Difference" written and directed by
Rolf Forsberg, who later cast Saeed Jaffrey and his wife Madhur in the
noted short films, "Parable" in 1964, and "Stalked", starring Jack
Hawkins, in 1968. Mr. Jaffrey began his feature film career acting in
the movie The Guru (1969), and since
then has made numerous film appearances along with Hollywood stars such
as Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Pierce Brosnan etc. He has, since then,
worked with directors of high caliber such as Satyajit Ray, James
Ivory, David Lean and Richard Attenborough. He is a member of the
Actors' Equity Association, Screen Actors Guild and the American
Federation of Television and Radio Artists. He is known over the world
for his impeccable English accent, his dapper style and his catch
phrase "My dear boy". They form part of an acting persona that
audiences have always found enchanting. He uses his smooth charm to
good effect whether he is playing the archetypal oily, corrupt
businessman or the kindly, knowing, father like figure. He is the first
Asian to have received British and Canadian Academy Award nominations
for acting, and is the first ever to be awarded the Order of the
British Empire for his services to drama.
the 8th of January 1929. He attended University of Allahabad where he
completed his post-graduate degree in history. He also attended the
Staff Training Institute of All India Radio. He started his career in
drama, as the founder of his own English theatre company called the
Unity Theatre, in New Delhi between 1951 and 1956. He also served with
All India Radio as Radio Director during this period. He played a wide
variety of roles in comedy and drama with equal ease and enthusiasm.
His early theatrical work included roles in productions of Tennessee
Williams, Fry, Priesty, Wilde, and Shakespeare. In 1956, he finished
his studies at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, a premier
school of drama. He went to the United States on a Fulbright
scholarship and took a second post-graduate degree in drama from the
Catholic University in America. With this experience as his base, he
took his company on a tour of the United States doing Shakespearean
plays in the year 1957. He was the first Indian Actor to have ever done
so. He then became an active member of the Actors' Studio in New York.
Here, he was noted for his acting in the play "Nights" and his role as
the "Nawab" in Granada Television's adaptation of "The Jewel in the
Crown". He married Madhur, actress and cookery writer, with whom he has
had three children. He is now divorced from her.
In the 1960s he made numerous stage appearances and participated in a
number of tours. He also started his U.S. television career in these
years. He was the director of publicity and advertising for the
Government of India in their Tourist Office in the U.S. from 1958 to
1960. His performance in the BBC classic _Gangsters (1975) (TV)_, as
"Rafiq" earned him countrywide recognition in the United Kingdom. This
was even though he had acted in Theatres and appeared on television
previously in the U.K. During this period he acted in the off-Broadway
play "A Tenth of an Inch Make The Difference" written and directed by
Rolf Forsberg, who later cast Saeed Jaffrey and his wife Madhur in the
noted short films, "Parable" in 1964, and "Stalked", starring Jack
Hawkins, in 1968. Mr. Jaffrey began his feature film career acting in
the movie The Guru (1969), and since
then has made numerous film appearances along with Hollywood stars such
as Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Pierce Brosnan etc. He has, since then,
worked with directors of high caliber such as Satyajit Ray, James
Ivory, David Lean and Richard Attenborough. He is a member of the
Actors' Equity Association, Screen Actors Guild and the American
Federation of Television and Radio Artists. He is known over the world
for his impeccable English accent, his dapper style and his catch
phrase "My dear boy". They form part of an acting persona that
audiences have always found enchanting. He uses his smooth charm to
good effect whether he is playing the archetypal oily, corrupt
businessman or the kindly, knowing, father like figure. He is the first
Asian to have received British and Canadian Academy Award nominations
for acting, and is the first ever to be awarded the Order of the
British Empire for his services to drama.