Stage and Screen Actor Ronald Pickup Has Passed Away at 80
Pickup starred in well-known stage productions at the National Theatre, films including The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and more.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Feb. 25, 2021
BroadwayWorld is saddened to learn of the passing of Olivier Award-nominated actor Ronald Pickup. Pickup passed away at 80 after a long illness.
Pickup trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, receiving the annual Bancroft Medal (silver) on graduation in 1968.
His television work began with the first series of Doctor Who in 1964. He went on to star opposite Penelope Keith in Moving and as Friedrich Nietzsche in Wagner, he portrayed Jan Tyranowski in the TV movie Pope John Paul II, Albert Einstein in the TV mini series Einstein and more.
On stage Pickup worked with Laurence Olivier at the Royal National Theatre. He was nominated for a 1998 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for his performance in Amy's View.
In film, he starred in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and the sequel, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Pickup portrayed Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in the 2017 Darkest Hour, and also appeared as Geoffrey Fisher, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in four episodes of the Netflix series The Crown.
Videos