Tall, distinguished star of the English stage and screen, and a stellar member of the generation of British actors which included Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud. A versatile, sensitive and polished actor, Redgrave made a superb screen debut as the musician hero of the classic Hitchcock thriller, "The Lady Vanishes" (1938). He demonstrated a fine talent for comedy, as in Anthony Asquith's "The Importance of Being Earnest" (1952), as well as playing suffering but reserved, upper-class characters in films such as "The Browning Version" (1951; one of his greatest performances) and "The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner" (1962). The edgy, nervous tension which Redgrave brought to such characters made him memorable as well in the classic horror anthology "Dead of Night" (1945), as a ventriloquist driven crazy by his dummy.

Redgrave was knighted in 1959 for his services to the theater. He also authored two plays and several books, including his autobiography, "Face or Mask" (1958) and was the father, by his wife (and frequent stage co-star) Rachel Kempson, of actors Vanessa, Corin and Lynn Redgrave. He died of Parkinson's disease at the age of 77.