BEN-HUR (Action/Adventure)

Hugh Griffith won his Supporting Oscar for playing the Sheik who befriends Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) and helps him into the Roman chariot race in the classic film... BEN-HUR.

About Hugh Griffith (1912 - 1980)

Hugh Griffith was a Welsh actor who was a bank clerk, until he won a scholarship tto the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.  Before beginning his professional acting career, Hugh served in Her Majesty's Army, beginning in 1939.  He served 6 years in India during World War II and after. 

Then, Hugh Griffith went on the stage, performing Shakespeare with the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford-upon-Avon.  Popular roles were "Falstaff" and "King Lear."  He began working on Broadway in 1951. Griffith played in a long run of 564 performances in "Look Homeward Angel," with Anthony Perkins and Jo Van Fleet from 1957-1959.  Griffith was nominated for a Tony for his portrayal of "W.O. Grant."

Alongside his U.S. stage career, Griffith embarked in films as an ensemble player in DULCIMER STREET in 1948, and KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS in 1949, a murder black comedy.

In 1959 Hugh Griffith won an Academy Award for Best Support Actor for playing in BEN HUR with Charlton Heston as "Shiekh Ilderim," whose white stallions pull Ben Hur's chariot in BEN-HUR. 

Hugh Griffith was nominated for another Oscar for his outstanding performance in TOM JONES, 1963, as the lusty "Squire Western," country bumpkin father of the beautiful Sophie Western, Tom's neighbor and love interest. 

Griffith continued to play many overripe character parts in films, appearing in OLIVER! in 1968 and START THE REVOLUTION WITHOUT ME in 1970.  He was also a murder victim in THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHILBES, with Vincent Price in 1971. 

Hugh Griffith also played Long John Silver in 1960 on"THE DUPONT SHOW OF THE MONTH: TREASURE ISLAND and a funeral director in the comedy GRAND SLAM in 1978.

Hugh Griffith's other notable credits include:

NEUTRAL PORT (1940)
THE LAST DAYS OF THE MAN EARTH (1973)
THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT (1953)
THE SLEEPING TIGER (1954)
EXODUS (1960)
THE AMOROUS ADVENTURES OF MOLL FLANDERS(1965)
SAILOR FROM GIBRALTAR (1967)
START THE REVOLUTION WITHOUT ME (1970)
CRY OF THE BANSHEE (1970)
WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1970)
LOVING COUSINS
THE LAST REMAKE OF BEAU GESTE (1977)
THE PASSOVER PLOT (1976)
CASANOVA & CO (1976)
JOSEPH ANDREWS (1977)
A NIGHTINGALE SANG IN BERKELEY SQUARE (1949)

Hugh Griffith in TOM JONES

Griffith in START THE REVOLUTION WITHOUT ME

Hugh Griffith in OLIVER