(Robert) Oliver Reed - Early life, Career

Film actor, born in London, UK, the nephew of Sir Carol Reed. Educated at Ewel Castle, he became known through his role as Bill Sykes in Carol Reed's musical, Oliver! (1968). His many films include Women in Love (1969), The Devils (1971), Three Musketeers (1974), Second Chance (1983), Treasure Island (1990), Funny Bones (1995), and Parting Shots (1998). Often in the public eye for his behaviour off as well as on screen, a volume of autobiography, Reed All About Me, appeared in 1979. He died during the filming of Gladiator which was released in 2000.

His major films include Oliver!, Women In Love, The Assassination Bureau, The Devils, I'll Never Forget What's 'Isname, Tommy, The Three Musketeers, Burnt Offerings, The Brood, Castaway, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Lion of the Desert, and Gladiator.

Early life

Born in Wimbledon, London as Robert Oliver Reed, the son of sports journalist Peter Reed and his wife Marcia (née Andrews), he was the nephew of film director Sir Carol Reed, and grandson of the actor-manager Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree by his mistress May Pinney Reed.

Career

Starting off as an extra in films in the late 1950s (Reed had no acting training or theatrical experience), Reed got his first notable roles in Hammer films Sword of Sherwood Forest, The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (both 1960), The Curse of the Werewolf (1961), Paranoiac, and The Damned (not the Visconti film, but an earlier English movie released in North America as These Are the Damned) (both 1963). In 1964 he starred in the first of six films directed by Michael Winner, The System, (known as The Girl-Getters in the U.S.). then the controversial 1971 film The Devils, and finally the 1975 musical film Tommy, based on The Who's 1969 concept album Tommy and starring its lead singer Roger Daltrey. In between those films for Russell, Reed played his memorable role of Bill Sikes in his uncle Carol Reed's 1968 screen version of the hit musical Oliver!, and the title role in the 1969 comedy Hannibal Brooks, again for director Winner.

Reed starred as Athos in three films based on Alexandre Dumas's novels, first in 1973's The Three Musketeers, followed by The Four Musketeers in 1974, and fifteen years later with The Return of the Musketeers. He starred in a similarly historical themed film, Crossed Swords (aka The Prince and the Pauper), as Miles Hendon alongside Raquel Welch in 1977, and returned to horror as Dr. Hal Raglan in David Cronenberg's 1979 film The Brood. From the 80s onwards Reed's films garnered less success, his more notable roles being Gen. His last major successes were Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) (as the god Vulcan), Treasure Island (1990) (as Captain Billy Bones), Funny Bones (1995), and his final role as Proximo in Gladiator, released after his death in 2000 (some footage depicting Reed's character was filmed after his death with a double digitally mixed with outtake footage taken before Reed's death).

When the UK government raised taxes on personal income, Reed initially declined to join the exodus of major British film stars to Hollywood and other more tax-friendly locales. His Daily Telegraph obituary noted that in the late 1970s Reed was finally obliged to relocate to the Channel Islands as a tax exile.

An anecdote holds that Reed could have been chosen to play James Bond. After Reed's death, the Guardian Unlimited called the casting decision "one of the great missed opportunities of post-war British movie history ...

In 1959, Reed wed Kate Byrne.

Reed's drinking bouts fitted in with the "social" attitude of many rugby teams in the 1960s and '70s, and there are numerous anecdotes such as Reed and 36 friends drinking, in an evening, 60 gallons of beer, 32 bottles of Scotch, 17 bottles of gin, four crates of wine and one bottle of Babycham. Steve McQueen told the story that in 1973 he had flown to the UK to discuss a film project with Reed and suggested the pair go to a nightclub in London. Reed was often irritated that his appearances on TV chat shows concentrated on his drinking feats, rather than his latest film.

He died suddenly from a heart attack during a break from filming Gladiator in Valletta, Malta, reportedly after drinking three bottles of rum and beating five sailors at arm wrestling at a bar called "The Pub."