Ian Charleson


1949 - 1990

Stage and screen actor. Born in Edinburgh, and educated at the Royal High School, the University of Edinburgh and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. His most notable role was that of his fellow Edinburgher Eric Liddell (1902-45) in the film Chariots of Fife (1981). He also starred in Gandhi (1982), Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan (1985) and Opera (1987).

He died in London from an AIDS-related disorder, having announced that he was terminally ill in order to publicise the condition. While desperately ill, he gave a moving final performance in Hamlet at the National Theatre, London (1989). He lies buried in Portobello Cemetery.


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