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Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH (pronounced /ˈɡiːlɡʊd/; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937. He was known for his beautiful speaking of verse and particularly for his warm and expressive voice, which his colleague Sir Alec Guinness likened to "a silver trumpet muffled in silk". Gielgud is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and... MORE

Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH (pronounced /ˈɡiːlɡʊd/; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937. He was known for his beautiful speaking of verse and particularly for his warm and expressive voice, which his colleague Sir Alec Guinness likened to "a silver trumpet muffled in silk". Gielgud is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award. John Gielgud was born in South Kensington in London to Kate Terry and Frank Gielgud. He was of theatrical lineage on his mother's side, being the grandson of actress Kate Terry and the great nephew of Dame Ellen Terry, as well as of Marion Terry, Fred Terry and all their actor siblings. Gielgud's Catholic father, Franciszek Giełgud, born 1880, was a descendant of a Lithuanian noble family residing at a manor in Gelgaudiškis, a town called Giełgudyszki in Polish, dating back to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (now a town in Marijampolė County, Lithuania). In his autobiography, Gielgud states LESS