Richard Easton

John Richard Easton^[1] (March 22, 1933 – December 2, 2019) was a Canadian actor, best known for his portrayal of Brian Hammond in the 1970s BBC serial The Brothers.^[2]

Richard Easton
Born	John Richard Easton (1933-03-22)March 22, 1933 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died	December 2, 2019(2019-12-02) (aged 86) New York City, New York, USA
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1953–2013

Life and career

Easton was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the son of Mary Louise (née Withington) and Leonard Idell Easton, a civil engineer. He started acting in a children's theatre group before moving, at the age of seventeen, to Ottawa to work in a weekly repertory theatre.^{[citation needed]}

From 1972 to 1976, Easton appeared as Brian Hammond in the 1970s BBC serial The Brothers. He also performed in many stage productions and various film roles.^[3] He also had television guest appearances on Doctor Who, L.A. Law, Frasier, and Ed.^[4][5]

In 2002, Easton starred in the title role in a three-part documentary, Benjamin Franklin, on PBS.^[6] Between 2005 and 2011, Easton again appeared as Benjamin Franklin in a series of commercials and videos about Freemasonry, produced for the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts A.F. & A.M.^{[citation needed]}

On October 18, 2006, while performing Tom Stoppard's The Coast of Utopia on stage during the show's second preview at the Lincoln Center Theater's Vivian Beaumont Theater, Easton suffered a heart attack and collapsed. His heart stopped beating, but after co-star Martha Plimpton realized that Easton's fall was serious and asked the audience if a doctor was present, a stagehand stepped up to perform CPR. An ambulance was called and Easton was revived with defibrillation.^[7][8] He underwent a procedure to correct a heart arrhythmia, briefly delaying the opening of the play, in which he played a central role.^[9] He made a full recovery and returned to the play soon after the incident.^[10]

In 2008, Easton was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.^[11]

In 2011, Easton made a guest appearance in the second season of Boardwalk Empire, appearing as Jackson Parkhurst in the episode "Gimcrack & Bunkum".^[12]

One of his last notable appearances in media was as the voice of Nigel, the eccentric celebrity fanatic in the game Grand Theft Auto V.

Easton died on December 2, 2019, at the age of 86.^[13][14][15]

Filmography

Film

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1976	Feelings		(Unknown Role)
1983	Young Warriors	Bartender
1989	Henry V	Constable of France Charles D'Albret
1991	Dead Again	Father Timothy
2000	Finding Forrester	Prof. Matthews
2005	Stealing Martin Lane	Ed
2005	It's About Time	Mr. Dawson
2005	Pizza	Mr. Mitchell
2008	Revolutionary Road	Mr. Givings

Television

Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1959	Play of the Week	Beliaev	1 episode
1960	The DuPont Show of the Month		1 episode
1963	No Hiding Place	Simon McCowen	1 episode
1972-1976	The Brothers	Brian Hammond	85 episodes
1982	Doctor Who	Captain Stapley	4 episodes
1997	Frasier	Mel White	Episode: "Ham Radio"
2002	Benjamin Franklin	Benjamin Franklin	PBS mini series 3 episodes
2004	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Richard Sutton	Episode: "Bound"
2007	Alexander Hamilton	George Washington	Voice
2011	Boardwalk Empire	Jackson Parkhurst	Episode: "Gimcrack & Bunkum"
2011	Mildred Pierce	Charlie Hannen	Episode: 3

Stage

• Hamlet - Claudius (1969 Lyceum Theatre production)
• The Invention of Love - A. E. Housman, aged 77 (2001)
• Noises Off - Selsdon Mowbray (2001 Royal National Theatre production)
• Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 - Henry IV (2003 Lincoln Center production)
• The Coast of Utopia - Alexander Bakunin/Leonty Ibayev/Stanislaw Worcell (2006 Lincoln Center production)
• Elling - Alfons (2010 Broadway production)

Video games

Videogames
Year	Title	Role
2007	Manhunt 2	Watchdogs member
2013	Grand Theft Auto V	Nigel

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Film/TV Show/Play	Result
2001	Tony Award	Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play	The Invention of Love	Won
2001	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Actor in a Play		Won