Celebration as actor Edward and family pay special tribute to fantastic Mr Fox

WHEN Edward Fox takes to the stage at Harrogate’s Royal Hall next month it will be the first time he and his famous acting family – wife Joanna David and children Emilia and Freddie Fox – will have performed together.

There will be an added poignancy to the occasion given the fact they will be appearing in a building that was the brainchild of Edward’s great-grandfather – the renowned Yorkshire industrialist and inventor, Samson Fox. The Fox clan are one of Britain’s most glamorous theatrical dynasties and are bringing their new show, Saints and Sinners, to the historic hall which reopened four years ago following a multi-million pound renovation.

The show mixes literature, music and comedy and takes in a dazzling array of famous figures from Jane Austen and Mother Teresa to Mark Twain and Richard III. It also features popular ballads and limericks as well as music by Donizetti, William Walton and Bach, among others.

“I’ve done the show before but the children never have, so it was suggested that we all did it which seemed like a good idea,” he explains. “It’s designed for fun in the best sense of the word. It’s a potpourri of delightful music, jokes, sayings, poems and bits of prose.”

It’s also a chance for his family to pay homage to the man without whom the Royal Hall would probably never have been built.

“He was mayor of the town at a time when mayors had enormous power and influence,” says Fox. But what makes his great-grandfather’s story all the more remarkable is that his rise to prominence came against all the odds.

“He came from a very poor background. He was born in Armley, which was in the country in those days, and at the age of just eight-and-a-half he was working in a weaving factory. But he wasn’t cut out for that and he insisted – so the story goes – that he would tramp around Yorkshire until he got a job in iron and steel, which is what he did. At the age of 12 he was working in an iron foundry. Can you imagine what that was like?”

His great-grandfather proved to be a skilled engineer and after setting up the Leeds Forge Company in 1874 to produce “Best Yorkshire” iron for locomotive and marine engine parts, he made his fortune. By the 1890s he was a leading community figure in Yorkshire, helping to shape the development of Harrogate and becoming mayor of the town three times. He also provided the town with public street gas lighting, a steam fire engine and built social housing which still stands today.

“Harrogate was coming up in the world and Samson’s work meant that he travelled abroad where he visited spa towns and theatres and saw for himself how people could relax and be entertained. So he persuaded his fellow Harrogate councillors to join him on a trip abroad, at his expense, to see the benefits of these spa theatres and they came back saying how wonderful they were.”

This paved the way for the Royal Hall which was created for Samson Fox by the brilliant theatrical architect Frank Matcham. “It is the most extraordinary building and not like most Victorian buildings in that it’s very open so you have one part flowing into another. But what’s most interesting is that it wasn’t just built to entertain the rich, it was to entertain local people, many of whom were very poor in those days.”

But while his illustrious ancestor built his reputation around his engineering prowess, Fox has made a name for himself as one of the most recognisable actors of his generation.

He was born in London and both his parents were involved in the world of theatre. “My father was a playwright and my mother was a bit of an actress, so it must be in our genetic make-up and I actually think there’s something wonderful about that, the idea that you’re passing knowledge on the next generation,” he says.

Both he and his younger brother, James, went into acting and like many of his contemporaries back in the 50s Edward learnt his craft in regional theatres up and down the country doing “everything under the sun”, as he puts it. “I did rep for about 12 years, sometimes it was weekly but if you were lucky you got a fortnightly run.”

He looks back on those early days with genuine affection. “They were wonderful times but it was a constant struggle, that’s the way it is in the theatre. Some people are fortunate enough to start off well and things come easily, but most people have a hard time but, of course, that’s how you learn your craft.

“In those days if you got a small part in a film you were very grateful and you made sure you made the most of it.”

Which is exactly what he did. His first film appearance was as an extra in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962), then came a non-speaking part as a barman in This Sporting Life (1963) and by the end of the sixties he had honed his very English persona with roles in major British films such as Oh! What a Lovely War (1969) and Battle of Britain (1969).

He followed this with a Bafta-winning performance as Lord Hugh Trimingham in The Go-Between (1970), but it was his starring role as the cold-blooded assassin in The Day of the Jackal three years later that made him a household name, although he is typically self-effacing about his performance.

“I was 35 when I did The Day of the Jackal and by that time one feels you’ve been around long enough to have learnt a bit about the job and that was a film that certainly got significant notice and people seem to still enjoy it today, which is rather lovely.”

It propelled Fox into the limelight and during the past 40 years he has enjoyed an remarkably varied career as an actor.

He earned rave reviews for his portrayal of Edward VIII in the TV drama series Edward and Mrs Simpson and has appeared in legendary films such as A Bridge Too Far and Gandhi, starring alongside the likes of Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier.

“The jobs are often fun to do and you want to do your job well, but it’s the people I’ve met over the years that most stick in my mind. Fred Zinnemann was a great friend, but quite often it wasn’t the big stars who impressed me most, more the theatre managers who during my early days were running reps by working seven days a week out of pure love and dedication.”

In his later career, Fox has concentrated more on stage work and the actor, who turned 75 earlier this month, is delighted to be returning to a place that means so much to him and his family.

“I love Harrogate, it’s a wonderful place. I imagine the Stray in early spring must look terrific, and for us to be in the hall that my great-grandfather, and my children’s great-great-grandfather, helped build is a tremendous honour.

“It’s a great show to be doing, especially in the context of playing at the Royal Hall and our family’s connection to it, and I hope it lightens the heart of the audience.”

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Saints and Sinners, Harrogate Royal Hall, May 6. For tickets call the box office on 01423 502 116, or visit www.harrogatetheatre.co.uk

The Fox acting dynasty

Edward Fox, along with his brother James, is part of one of the most famous acting families in the business.

His film credits include The Day of the Jackal, A Bridge Too Far and The Dresser.

His wife, the actress Joanna David, is perhaps best known for her performance as the heroine in a BBC adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca – a role their daughter Emilia Fox would go on to play.

She and Emilia, star of the TV crime drama Silent Witness, both appeared in the BBC’s acclaimed 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice.

Son Freddie Fox was recently on our screens in the title role of a TV adaptation of Charles Dickens’ final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood.