Tony Award-Winning British Stage Star John Wood Dies at Age 81

Tony Award-winning actor John Wood, known for his work in the plays of Tom Stoppard, died in his sleep on August 6 at age 81. In a statement to the BBC, his agent said, “John was a distinguished classical actor, who was much loved and respected by his colleagues, and will be greatly missed.”

Wood won the 1976 Best Actor Tony for playing Henry Carr in Stoppard’s Travesties and received two additional Tony nominations for Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (as Guildenstern, 1968) and for playing the title role in Sherlock Holmes (1975). He created the role of novelist Sidney Bruhl in Ira Levin’s long-running thriller Deathtrap and played the title role in a 1977 Broadway revival of Tartuffe. Wood’s final Broadway appearance was as a replacement Salieri in the original production of Amadeus.

A graduate of Oxford, Wood began his career at the Royal Shakespeare Company and London’s Old Vic. On the London stage, he was nominated for an Olivier Award for playing A.E. Housman in Stoppard’s The Invention of Love, played the title role in a 1990 RSC production of King Lear and starred in Gorky's Enemies, among many other credits. He was made a commander of the British Empire in 2007 for services to drama.

On the big screen, Wood is remembered for roles in WarGames, The Madness of King George, Richard III, Shadowlands, Goodnight Mr Chips, Ladyhawke, An Ideal Husband, Orlando, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Chocolat and Foyle’s War.

The actor is survived by his wife, Sylvia, and four children.