Career
Prior to graduating with a degree in English from the University of Oxford in 1964, York had toured with the National Youth Theatre, also performing with the Oxford University Dramatic Society and the University College Players. After some time with the Dundee Repertory Theatre, where he played in Brendan Behan's The Hostage, York joined National Theatre under Laurence Olivier where he worked with Franco Zeffirelli during the 1965 staging of Much Ado About Nothing.
Following his role on British TV as Jolyon (Jolly) in The Forsyte Saga (1967), York made his film debut as Lucentio in Zeffirelli's The Taming of the Shrew (1967), then was cast as Tybalt in Zeffirelli's 1968 film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet with Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey. He also starred in an early Merchant Ivory Productions film, The Guru (1969). He played an amoral bisexual drifter in Harold Prince's film Something for Everyone (1970) opposite Angela Lansbury as the countess who hires York as her footman. He then went on to portray the bisexual Brian Roberts in Bob Fosse's film version of Cabaret (1972), opposite Liza Minnelli. His character in Cabaret was a fictionalised version of writer Christopher Isherwood, whose novel Goodbye to Berlin had provided much of the source material for Cabaret. In 1977 he reunited with Zeffirelli as a fiery John the Baptist in Jesus of Nazareth.
York starred as D'Artagnan in the 1973 adaptation of The Three Musketeers and he made his Broadway debut in the original production of Tennessee Williams's Out Cry. One year later the sequel to The Three Musketeers was released (roughly covering events in the second half of the book) titled The Four Musketeers. These two films are still popular and generally accepted as the best film version of the famous Dumas adventure story. Fifteen years later, most of the cast (and crew) joined together in a third film titled The Return of the Musketeers based on the Dumas novel Twenty Years After. He also played the title character in the film adaptation of Logan's Run (1976). The following year, he starred in The Island of Dr. Moreau opposite Burt Lancaster.
Since his auspicious early work, York has enjoyed a busy and varied career in film, television, and on the stage. He appeared in two episodes in the second season of the Road to Avonlea series as Ezekiel Crane, the lighthouse keeper of Avonlea and foster father of Gus Pike. His Broadway theatre credits include Bent (1980), The Crucible (1992), Someone Who'll Watch Over Me (1993), and the ill-fated musical The Little Prince and the Aviator (1982), which closed during previews. He also has made many sound recordings as a reader, including Harper Audio's production of C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
He appeared in the Babylon 5 episode "A Late Delivery From Avalon" as a delusion-ridden Earthforce gunner. He also appeared as Professor Asher Fleming, a 60 year-old Yale professor and boyfriend of Yale student Paris Geller (Liza Weil) in the fourth season of Gilmore Girls. He performed the voice of the character Ares in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Hawk & Dove", as well as a character named Dr. Montague Kane in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Zatanna" and Kanto in the Superman: The Animated Series episode "Tools of the Trade". York starred in both The Omega Code and its sequel, Megiddo: The Omega Code 2, as Stone Alexander, the Antichrist of Christian eschatology.
York also played President Alexander Bourne of Macronesia (formerly New Australia) on seaQuest 2032, a role that was quickly fleshed out and would have remained a major character in the series had it not been canceled. He has played Basil Exposition in all three of the Austin Powers films. He has made an appearance on The Simpsons as Mason Fairbanks, Homer Simpson's possible father, in "Homer's Paternity Coot." He was also in the third season finale of Sliders as a character reminiscent of Dr. Moreau. In 2006, York played the character Bernard Fremont (inspired by real life killer Charles Sobhraj) in the Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode "Slither". He also appeared as himself in several episodes of the third season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. He guest starred in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
York also voiced Petrie's uncle Pterano in The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire, with Jim Cummings and Rob Paulson playing his sidekicks Sierra and Rinkus. York was the narrator in the audio New Testament project, the Word of Promise, which is being produced by Jim Caviezel. York played King Arthur in a revival of Lerner and Loewe's Camelot, which began its run at the La Mirada Theatre in Southern California, and toured nationally in 2006 and 2007. Recently, voiced Forever King Patrick in Ben 10: Alien Force.
York portrays "Luke" in The Truth & Life Dramatised Audio New Testament Bible, a 22-hour, celebrity-voiced, fully dramatised audio New Testament which uses the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition translation.
In 2008 York took part in the BBC Wales programme Coming Home about his Welsh family history.
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Famous quotes containing the word career:
“What exacerbates the strain in the working class is the absence of money to pay for services they need, economic insecurity, poor daycare, and lack of dignity and boredom in each partner’s job. What exacerbates it in upper-middle class is the instability of paid help and the enormous demands of the career system in which both partners become willing believers. But the tug between traditional and egalitarian models of marriage runs from top to bottom of the class ladder.”
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“He was at a starting point which makes many a man’s career a fine subject for betting, if there were any gentlemen given to that amusement who could appreciate the complicated probabilities of an arduous purpose, with all the possible thwartings and furtherings of circumstance, all the niceties of inward balance, by which a man swings and makes his point or else is carried headlong.”
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“I restore myself when I’m alone. A career is born in public—talent in privacy.”
—Marilyn Monroe (1926–1962)