Eric Portman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Eric Portman
Portman in 1948
Born	Eric Harold Portman (1901-07-13)13 July 1901 Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Died	7 December 1969(1969-12-07) (aged 68) St Veep, Cornwall, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1924–1969

Eric Harold Portman (born July 13, 1901 – died December 7, 1969) was an English actor who worked in both theater and films. He is most remembered for his roles in three movies made by the famous director duo Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger during the 1940s.

Early Life and Education

Eric Portman was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. He was the second son of Matthew Portman, who was a wool merchant, and his mother, Alice. His middle name at birth was Harold, but he later started using his mother's maiden name, Harrison, as his middle name.

He went to Rishworth School in Yorkshire. In 1922, he started working as a salesman in a department store in Leeds. At the same time, he enjoyed acting in a local amateur group called the Halifax Light Opera Society.

Becoming an Actor

Eric Portman started his professional acting career in 1924. He joined Henry Baynton's acting company. Later that year, he joined Robert Courtneidge's Shakespearean company. He made his first appearance with them in a play called Richard II.

This led to Courtneidge offering him a contract. Eric Portman then made his first appearance in London's West End (a famous theater district) in September 1924. He played a character named Antipholous of Syracuse in the play The Comedy of Errors. He also worked for Lilian Baylis at the Old Vic Company, another well-known theater. In 1928, he played Romeo at the rebuilt Old Vic theater. He quickly became a very successful theater actor.

Starting in Films

In the 1930s, Eric Portman began acting in movies. His first small, uncredited role was in The Girl from Maxim's (1933), directed by Alexander Korda.

In 1935, he appeared in four films, including Maria Marten, or The Murder in the Red Barn with Tod Slaughter. He also starred in Hyde Park Corner, Old Roses, and Abdul the Damned.

Eric Portman in a film role.

In 1936, Portman had a big hit on stage playing Lord Byron in a play called Bitter Harvest. He continued to make films like Hearts of Humanity (1936) and The Cardinal (1936). He made another movie with Tod Slaughter, The Crimes of Stephen Hawke (1936), and was in Moonlight Sonata (1937).

He traveled to the United States and acted in a play called Madame Bovary on Broadway in New York City. He also had a small role in the movie The Prince and the Pauper (1937). However, he did not like Hollywood very much and did not stay there for long.

He returned to Broadway for the play I Have Been Here Before. His last London stage show for a while was Jeannie.

A screenwriter named Norman Hudis, who used to work for Portman, wrote a play called Dinner with Ribbentrop. In this play, Hudis shared a story Portman often told. Portman claimed that in 1937, before World War II started, he had dinner in London with Joachim von Ribbentrop, who was then the German Ambassador to Britain. Portman said that Ribbentrop told him that if Germany won the war, Portman would become the biggest English star in a "New Europe" and would have a special film studio built for him in Berlin.

Becoming a Film Star

In 1941, Eric Portman got his first really important film role. He played Lieutenant Hirth, a German officer on the run, in the movie 49th Parallel. This film was a huge success in both the US and Britain. This movie made Portman a star, and he signed a long-term contract with Gainsborough Pictures, a major film studio.

Portman then appeared in another film by Powell and Pressburger, One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942). This movie was similar to 49th Parallel but focused on Allied pilots in occupied Holland. He played a Belgian resistance leader in Uncensored (1942) and a German pilot in Squadron Leader X (1943).

He continued to make many war-themed films, including playing a sailor in We Dive at Dawn (1943) and a factory supervisor in Millions Like Us (1943). He was in Escape to Danger (1943) and then worked with Powell and Pressburger again for A Canterbury Tale (1944). Portman had the main role in Great Day (1945) and the big movie Men of Two Worlds (1946).

In 1945, people who owned movie theaters voted him the 10th most popular star in British movies. He kept this high ranking the next year too.

He made several thriller movies like Wanted for Murder (1947), Dear Murderer (1947), and The Mark of Cain (1947). He played a hangman in Daybreak (1948) and also made Corridor of Mirrors (1948) and The Blind Goddess (1948).

He worked with producers Maxwell Setton and Aubrey Baring on The Spider and the Fly (1949) and Cairo Road (1950). Portman was one of many famous actors in The Magic Box (1951). He then made a comedy film called His Excellency (1952), where he played a trade union leader who becomes the Governor of a British colony.

He made South of Algiers (1953) and then had a very successful run on stage in Terence Rattigan's play Separate Tables. He also starred in the popular film The Colditz Story (1955). Portman had supporting roles in The Deep Blue Sea (1955) and Child in the House (1956). He played the main character in The Good Companions (1957).

In 1956–57, he played the character of the bogus Major in the play Separate Tables on Broadway. For this role, he was nominated for a Tony Award, which is a very important award for theater actors. In 1958, he appeared on Broadway in a short-lived play called Jane Eyre, playing Rochester. Portman had more success the next year in a play by Eugene O'Neill called A Touch of the Poet, which ran for a long time.

Later in his film career, he appeared in movies such as The Naked Edge (1961), Freud: The Secret Passion (1962), West 11 (1963), The Man Who Finally Died (1963), The Bedford Incident (1965), and The Spy with a Cold Nose (1966).

In 1962, Portman was in a stage version of A Passage to India on Broadway, which had 109 performances.

Towards the end of his life, he played different character roles. He was "Number Two" in the TV series The Prisoner, appearing in the episode "Free For All" (1967). He also acted in films like The Whisperers (1967) and Deadfall (1968). His last film was Assignment to Kill (1968).

Personal Life

In the early 1920s, when Eric Portman was an amateur actor in Halifax, he was romantically involved with Eliza Jane Thornton, who was his co-star. They both went to London to work professionally, but Thornton eventually returned to Halifax.

Death

Eric Portman passed away at his home in St Veep, Cornwall, England, on December 7, 1969, at the age of 68. He died from heart disease. He was buried in the churchyard of St. Veep parish church.

Honours

Blue Plaque dedicated to Eric Portman.

A special sign called a blue plaque was put up by the Halifax Civic Trust to honor Eric Portman in his hometown.

Complete Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Eric Portman para niños