Ian Richardson R.I.P.

Ian Richardson has died in London at the of age 72. Noted for stage roles with the RSC, I saw him first as Henry Higgins at the St James Theatre in NYC in a 1976 revival of My Fair Lady. On TV, I remember him as the enigmatic Nehru in Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy (much more interesting than the boring subject of this mini-series) and in the last few years in Agatha Christie's Marple: The Body in the Library. But I delighted in him mostly as the deliciously evil Francis Urquhart in the political thriller, House of Cards. (Get it on DVD; you'll be glad you did.)

Guardian obit -- In television, Ian Richardson excelled in bringing unsympathetic characters to life. As the politician who hovered balefully over the serial House of Cards he imbued the phrase, "you may say that, but I cannot possibly comment" with a Machiavellian menace.

Ian William Richardson, actor, born April 7 1934; died February 9 2007