Richard Todd

Richard Todd (born June 11, 1919) is a British actor. Born Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd in Dublin, the son of an English officer, he grew up in Devon and began acting in regional theaters in the 1930s. He served as a paratrooper during World War II, and gained fame in the London stage version of The Hasty Heart, which took him to Broadway then Hollywood. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the role in 1949.

Todd was never able to repeat his success in the United States, appearing in several films which did not do as well as his first role. He did appear in The Longest Day. An interesting note about this role -- during the war, Todd met with Major John Howard on the Orne Bridge in Normandy. In the movie, he played Major Howard, and the scene in which Howard met up with Todd appears in the film. In D-Day the Sixth of June, he portrayed the commanding general of the unit in which Todd and Howard served, and the scene was filmed again.