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01
He has two brothers: naturalist/presenter David Attenborough and John Attenborough. During World War II, his parents adopted two German Jewish girls who came to Britain via the Kindertransport.
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02
Attenborough was a close friend of Diana, Princess of Wales, and privately coached her to become more confident in public speaking in the early years of her marriage. She called him Dickie.
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03
He reprised his Jurassic Park 1993 character John Hammond for Universal Studios Jurassic Park: The Ride attraction, appearing in a short film assuring riders the park is safe.
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04
In 2002 he said he would return to acting only for the role of Professor Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films.
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05
He directed four performers in Oscar-nominated performances: Ben Kingsley, Denzel Washington, Robert Downey Jr., and Debra Winger. Kingsley won an Oscar for Gandhi 1982.
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06
He was the last World War II veteran to win an Oscar for Best Director.
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07
On December 26, 2004, his daughter Jane, son-in-law Michael Holland, grandchildren Sam, Lucy, and Alice, and Michael’s mother Jane were holidaying in Phuket, Thailand, when the tsunami struck. He lost his daughter, her mother-in-law, and his 14-year-old granddaughter Lucy; Alice was seriously injured.
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08
According to his brother David, before his death Richard was confined to a wheelchair but remained gregarious.
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09
On May 11, 2005, he gave a reading at a national British memorial service for tsunami victims, having lost three family members.
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10
In 1978 he officially retired from acting, but returned for Jurassic Park 1993 because he admired Steven Spielberg and felt bad that Gandhi 1982 won Best Picture over E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982.
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11
Steven Spielberg has named Attenborough as an influence.
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12
His life ambition was to direct Gandhi 1982.
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13
He was formerly father-in-law of actress Jane Seymour.
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14
He and his wife Sheila Sim had three children: director Michael Attenborough born 1950, Jane Attenborough born 1955, and actress Charlotte Attenborough born 1959. All, along with his brother David, lived within 15 minutes of each other.
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15
In 1952 he was the first to star in Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, now the longest-running play in the world.
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16
He died at Denville Hall care home in Northwood, London, on August 24, 2014, five days before his 91st birthday. He had moved there in March 2013 due to failing health; his wife Sheila had been there since June 2012.
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17
He was Life President of Chelsea Football Club.
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18
In August 2008 he was hospitalized when his heart stopped beating, and again in December 2008 when he went into a coma after a fall.
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19
He made a cameo in A Bridge Too Far 1977 as a lunatic wearing glasses, his only acting role in a film he directed.
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20
Before post-production on Jurassic Park 1993, Steven Spielberg considered asking Attenborough to assist on Schindler’s List 1993, but his services were unnecessary.
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21
He was 25 when he played the 14-year-old Jack Read in The Outsider 1948.
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22
In 2003 he was made President of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art RADA, a role vacant since the death of Princess Diana in 1997.
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23
He is one of ten directors to win the Golden Globe, Directors Guild, BAFTA, and Oscar for the same film, Gandhi 1982.
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24
He attended Princess Diana’s funeral alongside Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, and Nicole Kidman.
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25
He was a close friend of Sir John Mills and gave the eulogy at his funeral in April 2005.
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26
He often cast Anthony Hopkins, directing him in five films: Young Winston 1972, A Bridge Too Far 1977, Magic 1978, Chaplin 1992, and Shadowlands 1993.
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27
He died only thirteen days after his Hamlet 1996 co-star Robin Williams.
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28
He received an honorary doctorate from Dickinson College, Pennsylvania.
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29
In 2008 the UK Regional Critics Film Awards were renamed The Richard Attenborough Film Awards in his honour.
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30
As of 2024 he remains the only performer to win two Golden Globes for Best Supporting Actor without a corresponding Oscar nomination.
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31
In 1990 he was made Freeman of the City of Leicester.
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32
He trained at RADA Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he later became Chairman.
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33
In 1993 he was made a Fellow of King’s College, London.
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34
He got financial backing for Oh! What a Lovely War 1969 by singing and dancing through the score for Paramount’s Charles Bludhorn, who gave him a $6 million cheque conditional on securing six international stars; he got thirteen.
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35
He was godfather to Emma Forbes.
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36
He was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute for his outstanding contribution to film culture.
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37
In 2004, 57 years after he starred in Brighton Rock 1948, his son Michael Attenborough directed a musical version of the Graham Greene novel.
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38
He was awarded a CBE in 1967, knighted in 1976, and made a life peer in 1993.
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39
His philosophies include believing in content over style and sincerity over intelligence.
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40
He and his grandson Will Attenborough both appeared in films titled Dunkirk: Richard in Dunkirk 1958 and Will in Dunkirk 2017.
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41
He directed Anthony Hopkins in five films: Young Winston 1972, A Bridge Too Far 1977, Magic 1978, Chaplin 1992, and Shadowlands 1993.
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42
Steven Spielberg offered him the role of Tootles in Hook 1991, but he declined due to directing Chaplin 1992; Arthur Malet was cast instead.
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43
From 2002 he served as third president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts BAFTA.
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44
He appeared in six films with his brother-in-law Gerald Sim, including The Angry Silence 1960 and A Bridge Too Far 1977.
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45
In an AFI poll, he named Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush 1925 as his favorite film.
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46
He was the recipient of honorary doctorates from the Universities of Leicester, Kent, and Sussex in 1970, 1981, and 1987 respectively.
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47
Of the twelve films he directed, only Magic 1978, A Chorus Line 1985, and Closing the Ring 2007 were not based on real events.
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48
At age 26, he played a schoolboy in The Guinea Pig, in which his wife Sheila Sim played his school house mistress.
