Alec McCowen, the English actor, was born on May 26, 1925 in Tunbridge Wells, England. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he made his professional debut in 1942. He established his reputation in classical stage roles, appearing in the ensemble of Laurence Olivier's famed duo-production of William Shakespeare's "Anthony & Cleopatra" and George Bernard Shaw's "Caesar & Cleopatra" at the 1951 Festival of Britain. McCowen transferred with the productions to New York that same year, making his Broadway debut.
McCowen made his film movie debut in La mer cruelle (1953) (1953) and, but for his turn as "Police Inspector Oxford" in Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy (1972) (1972), his reputation is rooted in his stage work. "Frenzy" led to his one lead role in a major motion picture, that of "Henry Pulling" in George Cukor's adaptation of 'Graham Greene's Voyages avec ma tante (1972) (1972). Though the film won an Oscar for Costume Design and a Best Actress nod for co-star Maggie Smith (among its total of four nominations), the movie did not advance McCowen's career. Over a decade later, he played the title role in the Thames Television series Mr. Palfrey of Westminster (1984), which ran for two season on British TV from 1984 to 1985. His last cinema appearance was in a small role in Gangs of New York (2002) for director Martin Scorsese; he had earlier appeared in Scorsese's Le temps de l'innocence (1993).
Though his services were in demand in movies and on TV, McCowen remained wedded to the stage; he regards the character of "Astrov" in Anton Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya" as his favorite role. From 1967 through 1992, McCowen appeared nine times on Broadway, for which he garnered two Drama Desk Awards (out of 4 nominations) and three Tony Award nominations. One of his Tony Award nominations was for his magisterial solo performance in "St. Mark's Gospel", which debuted on Broadway in 1978 and had a return engagement on the Great White Way in 1981.
