Emrys James
Robert Emrys James was born on 1 September 1928 in Machynlleth, Powys, the son of a railwayman. He attended Machynlleth County School, where he gave his first Shakespearean performance as Malvolio in Twelfth Night, before going on to study at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. After training at RADA, he joined Peter Hall and John Barton's Elizabethan Theatre Company at the Oxford Playhouse in 1953, and played his first season at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1956.
James became an Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company, appearing in seasons at Stratford, the Bristol Old Vic and the Old Vic in London across three decades. His many notable roles included Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Shylock and Iago, the title role in King John, and the title role in both parts of Henry IV. He also took the lead in The Cherry Orchard at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 1981.
On screen, James appeared in How Green Was My Valley (1960), Fall of Eagles (1974), Days of Hope (1975), Testament of Youth (1979) and Dragonslayer (1981), and played Aukon in the Doctor Who serial State of Decay (1980). He also played Otto Frank in the BBC's The Diary of Anne Frank (1987).
In 1958 James married the novelist Siân James, whom he met while both were students at the University of Wales; the couple had four children. Emrys James died on 5 February 1989 in Evesham, Worcestershire, at the age of 60.