Richard Attenborough's Real Name: Richard Samuel Attenborough

Quick answer: Richard Attenborough was born Richard Samuel Attenborough on August 29, 1923, in Cambridge, England. He was an actor who became an Oscar-winning director with Gandhi (1982), and later audiences knew him as dinosaur-park owner John Hammond in Jurassic Park. He died in London on August 24, 2014, at age 90 (Library of Congress; Britannica).

Real name and early life

The Library of Congress name authority files him as "Attenborough, Richard" and records the full name "Richard Samuel Attenborough." One of its citations, drawn from an obituary, reads "b. Richard Samuel Attenborough, Aug. 29, 1923, Cambridge; d. Sunday [Aug. 24, 2014], aged 90." The same record lists the variant "Attenborough, Lord," reflecting his later peerage, and notes title pages crediting him as "Sir Richard Attenborough."

Britannica says he was the eldest of three brothers; one of them was the nature broadcaster Sir David Attenborough. The family was raised in Leicester, where their father was principal of the local university college. Attenborough made his stage debut in 1941 and graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1942, the same year he made his film debut in Noël Coward's In Which We Serve.

Career highlights

After service from 1943 to 1946 in the Royal Air Force, part of it with the RAF film unit, Attenborough built a career as a character actor. Britannica notes that he created the role of Detective Sergeant Trotter in the original West End production of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap in 1952. On screen he played a sociopathic young thug in Brighton Rock (1947) and the squadron leader who plans a mass breakout in The Great Escape (1963). He won Golden Globes for The Sand Pebbles (1966) and Doctor Dolittle (1967).

He moved behind the camera with Oh! What a Lovely War (1969). Gandhi (1982) won eight Academy Awards, including best picture and best director. He also directed A Bridge Too Far, Cry Freedom, Chaplin, and Shadowlands.

After a long break from acting, he returned for Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park (1993) as John Hammond and reprised the role in the 1997 sequel. He also played Kris Kringle in the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street. Britannica also highlights his charity work alongside his film career.

Name notes for searchers

He was credited throughout his career as Richard Attenborough. He was knighted and later became a life peer, so older title pages and credits call him "Sir Richard Attenborough" or "Lord Attenborough." Britannica also lists the nickname "Dickie Attenborough." Samuel is his middle name. Searchers sometimes confuse him with his younger brother David, the naturalist and broadcaster.