Cultural Depictions of Richard III of England - Television

Television

Richard has been portrayed on television by:

  • William Windom in Shakespeare's Richard III (1950), an episode of the American series Masterpiece Playhouse
  • Paul Daneman in the BBC series An Age of Kings (1960), which contained all the history plays from Richard II to Richard III, and in the drama Traitor's Gate (1962)
  • Wolfgang Kieling in the West German TV version of Shakespeare's play König Richard III (1964)
  • Ian Holm in War of the Roses (1965), which was a filmed version of the Royal Shakespeare Company performing all three parts of Henry VI and Richard III
  • Adalberto Maria Merli in the Italian serial La Freccia nera (1968), an adaptation of The Black Arrow
  • Péter Haumann in III. Richárd (1973), a Hungarian version of the Shakespeare play
  • Colin Starkey in the "Who Killed the Princes in the Tower?" episode of the BBC drama documentary series Second Verdict (1976)
  • Peter Cook in the first episode of the BBC comedy series The Black Adder, "The Foretelling" (1983)
  • Ron Cook in the BBC Shakespeare versions of Henry VI, Part 2, Henry VI, Part 3 and The Tragedy of Richard the Third (1983)
  • Andrew Jarvis in the BBC series The Wars of the Roses (1989), which included all of Shakespeare's history plays performed by the English Shakespeare Company
  • Antony Sher (voice) in the BBC series Shakespeare: The Animated Tales (1994)
  • Paul Mohan in an episode of the British educational TV series Historyonics entitled "Richard III" (2004)
  • "The Trial of King Richard the Third" was a modern day simulated trial aired on the BBC on February 21, 1984; in which King Richard III is tried for the murder of King Edward V and Prince Richard of Shrewsbury. Richard is not depicted directly, but being "inescapably absent" is tried in absentia.
  • A comic "secret history" of Richard III is presented in the British historical sitcom Blackadder. In the series' pilot episode, Richard III (played by Peter Cook), is a parody of Laurence Olivier's depiciton, who is a kind monarch, defeats Henry Tudor at Bosworth Field, but is accidentally killed by bumbling noble Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson), son of the adult Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York (Brian Blessed) when Edmund, not recognising him, thinks he is stealing his horse. The Duke ascends the throne and is crowned "King Richard IV", and Edmund, now prince, rechristens himself as the Black Adder. When the entire royal family dies in the series' final episode, Henry Tudor usurps the throne and rewrites history as it is known today.
  • Richard III is referenced in series 2 of the BBC animated series Monkey Dust. A history documentary talks of fiscal reforms perpetrated by him whilst he was Duke of Gloucester and tells how this made England rich and Scotland poor, and then pans out to men in a pub in England football strips chanting, "there's only one Duke of Gloucester".

In the television comedy series Blackadder, Richard III is portrayed by Peter Cook in an alternative version of history as a doting, kindly man who treats his nephews with affection. He parodies Olivier's Richard III, giving a speech starting "Now is the Summer of our sweet content". He is unintentionally killed by Edmund, the titular "Blackadder" (Rowan Atkinson), when Edmund thinks he is trying to steal his horse. His death leads not to the crowning of Henry Tudor, but to the rule of the fictional Richard IV, who in the television series has grown up to be Edmund's father.

In the CBBC children's television show Horrible Histories, Richard III (played by Jim Howick holding a bunch of white roses) sings a power ballad in which he attempts to restore his reputation: "... Never had a hump and my arm was alright, never took the crown with illegal power. Never killed my nephews, the princes in the tower ... time to tell the truth about King Richard the third".

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