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Charles Kay (born Charles Piff, 31 August 1930) is an English actor.[1]

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Charles Kay
Born	Charles Piff (1930-08-31) 31 August 1930 (age 92) Coventry, Warwickshire, England, UK
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1958–present

Early life

Kay was born in Coventry, Warwickshire, the son of Frances (née Petty) and Charles Beckingham Piff.[2]

Originally educated at Warwick School, Kay went on to study medicine, then decided to train for the stage. He went to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and in 1957, after graduation, joined the Radio Drama Company by winning the Carlton Hobbs Bursary.[3] He went on to join the English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre. He created the roles of Jimmy in Arnold Wesker's Roots (1959) and Charles V in John Osborne's Luther (1961). He was also in Wesker's The Kitchen, The Changeling (1961), and Twelfth Night (1962).

Theatre

He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1963 and appeared in Stratford and at the Aldwych, London. He remained until 1966, during which time he portrayed a wide variety of roles, including Octavius Caesar in Julius Caesar, Clarence in The Wars of The Roses, Launcelot Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice, Antipholus of Ephesus in The Comedy of Errors, Osric in the David Warner Hamlet, Dobchinsky in The Government Inspector and Moloch in Robert Bolt's The Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew. He then joined the National Theatre where he played Celia in the all-male production of As You Like It (1967) and appeared in Peter Nichols's The National Health (1969).

Film and television

In film, his highest profile role was as Count Orsini-Rosenberg in the Academy Award winning Amadeus. He also appeared in Kenneth Branagh's Henry V, and the 2002 version of The Importance of Being Earnest.

His numerous appearances on television include Crown Court, Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill in which he played Montagu Phippen Porch, Fall of Eagles in which he played Tsar Nicholas II, I, Claudius, The Devil's Crown, To Serve Them All My Days, By the Sword Divided, Fortunes of War, Rumpole of the Bailey, The Citadel, Edge of Darkness, The Darling Buds of May, Jonathan Creek, Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, Holby City, Midsomer Murders and The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes story "The Creeping Man".

In 2002, he guest starred in the Doctor Who audio drama Excelis Rising.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1958	Bachelor of Hearts	Tom Clark
1960	Piccadilly Third Stop	Toddy
1962	The Wild and the Willing	Edgar Tibbs
1966	The Deadly Affair	Lightborn	(in "Edward II"), Uncredited
1975	Hennessy	Westminster Guide
1980	Nijinsky	Argentine Ambassador
1984	Amadeus	Count Orsini-Rosenberg
1986	School for Vandals	Neil
1989	Henry V	Archbishop of Canterbury
1994	Willie's War	Captain Bassett
1999	Beautiful People	George Thornton
2002	The Importance of Being Earnest	Gribsby

References

External links

• Charles Kay at IMDb

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