What Was Richard Attenborough's Net Worth?
Richard Attenborough, Baron Attenborough Kt, CBE, FRSA, was an English actor, director, producer, author, and entrepreneur with a net worth of $20 million at his death in 2014. Attenborough served in the Royal Air Force during World War II. His show business debut was onstage with Leicester's Little Theatre, and he made his film debut in 1942's "In Which We Serve." By 1949, he was among the ten most popular British actors at the box office. Attenborough is best known for his roles in "The Great Escape" (1963), "Miracle on 34th Street" (1994), "10 Rillington Place" (1971), and "Jurassic Park" (1993). He earned accolades for directing and producing 1982's "Gandhi," including two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and a Golden Globe.
Attenborough's other directorial works include "Oh! What a Lovely War" (1969), "A Bridge Too Far" (1977), "A Chorus Line" (1985), "Cry Freedom" (1987), "Chaplin" (1992), "Shadowlands" (1993), and "In Love and War" (1996). He also has over 70 acting credits, including "Dunkirk" (1958), "The Flight of the Phoenix" (1965), "And Then There Were None" (1974), "Hamlet" (1996), "Elizabeth" (1998), and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" (1999).
Early Life
Richard Samuel Attenborough was born on August 29, 1923, in Cambridge, England, to Mary Clegg and Frederick Levi Attenborough. He had two younger brothers, David and John. His mother co-founded the Marriage Guidance Council, and his father was a scholar and principal of University College, Leicester. Richard attended Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. During World War II, he served in the Royal Air Force, initially training as a pilot before being assigned to the Royal Air Force Film Production Unit at Pinewood Studios. He appeared in the 1945 propaganda film "Journey Together" with Edward G. Robinson.
Career
Richard began his acting career onstage at Leicester's Little Theatre before studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He made his screen debut in the 1952 film "In Which We Serve" and gained recognition with films like "Brighton Rock" (1948) and "Boys in Brown" (1949). By the end of the '50s, he appeared in nearly 20 films, such as "Dunkirk" (1958) and "The Man Upstairs" (1958). In the '60s, he starred in "The Great Escape" (1963) alongside Steve McQueen and James Garner and produced notable films like "The Angry Silence" (1960) and "Séance on a Wet Afternoon" (1964).
Attenborough transitioned to directing with the 1969 film "Oh! What a Lovely War" and followed up with "A Bridge Too Far" (1977) and "Magic" (1978). He won numerous awards for "Gandhi" in 1982. In the '90s, Richard directed and produced films such as "Chaplin" (1992), "Shadowlands" (1993), and "In Love and War" (1996). He returned to acting with the hit film "Jurassic Park" (1993), which grossed $1.046 billion. His later works include "Miracle on 34th Street" (1994) and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" (1999). Attenborough's last film as an actor was "Puckoon" (2002), and his final directing effort was "Closing the Ring" (2007).
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Personal Life
Richard married actress Sheila Sim on January 22, 1945, and they had three children: daughters Jane (born 1955) and Charlotte (born 1959) and son Michael (born 1950). Michael, married to actress Karen Lewis, served as artistic director of London's Almeida Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Charlotte is an actress married to actor Graham Sinclair. Tragically, Jane, her daughter Lucy, and her mother-in-law died in the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. Richard owned a significant collection of Picasso ceramics, with over 100 items displayed at Leicester's New Walk Museum and Art Gallery in 2007.
Illness and Death
In August 2008, Richard was hospitalized for heart issues and had a pacemaker inserted. Following a stroke in December 2008, he sold much of his art collection and his home on the Scottish Isle of Bute. Confining him to a wheelchair, the stroke led Richard and his wife to move into Denville Hall, a retirement home for actors, in 2012. Richard passed away there on August 24, 2014, at the age of 90. He was cremated, with his ashes interred at St Mary Magdalene church in Richmond beside his daughter Jane and granddaughter Lucy.
Awards and Nominations
Richard won two Academy Awards for "Gandhi" and numerous BAFTA and Golden Globe Awards throughout his career. He received a BAFTA Fellowship in 1983 and won Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Gold Derby Awards, Chicago International Film Festival, and Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival. Attenborough was honored with awards from the Directors Guild of America and the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. He was recognized with an Honorary Doctorate of Drama from Glasgow's Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and Fellowship of King's College London, among other prestigious accolades.
