Those of a certain generation will remember him as Cornelius Fudge in the Harry Potter films. Others will recall his work as Siegfried Farnon in All Creatures Great And Small. But everyone who watched his work will remember Robert Hardy, who has died at the age of 91, fondly.
Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy was born in Cheltenham in 1925. He studied at Magdalen College Oxford and struck up a friendship with a fellow student, Richard Burton. The pair was called up to serve in the RAF at a station in Norfolk and unlike his friend, Hardy returned to his studies after his war services, earning a BA (Hons) in English, tutored by JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis.
Yet the acting bug had bitten, and spurred by his friend's success on stage and screen, he pursued performing, joining the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in 1949. A successful run of stage roles followed and he also made his first stab at film acting, appearing in Glenn Ford's Torpedo Run, and worked alongside Burton in The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. A long, successful career on screens both big and small followed, with his movie CV including the likes of 10 Rillington Place, The Shooting Party, Sense And Sensibility, and four of the Potter movies.
On TV, he became beloved as Siegfried, but also showed up in such shows as Middlemarch, War And Remembrance (one of the many times he would portray Winston Churchill) and The Far Pavillions.
"Gruff, elegant, twinkly, and always dignified, he is celebrated by all who knew him and loved him, and everyone who enjoyed his work," said his children Emma, Justin and Paul in a statement."We are immensely grateful to the team at Denville Hall for the tender care they gave during his last weeks."