Be sure to visit the extensive photo gallery of The Fall of The Roman Empire at https://stephenboydblog.com/fall-of-the-roman-empire/
Stephen Boyd interviewed by John Neal – “The Man Who Never Wants to Pour Another Coffee”
What a great photo! Stephen looks like he’d ready to take on the world here. This is a fascinating read from very early on in Stephen’s budding career, or what the author dubs as “the greatest find since James Mason.” It also mentions the Clair Tree Major Stock company which Boyd toured America with in 1950 when he performed as Stanley Kowalski in “A Streetcar Named Desire”, a performance which later Stephen would recall as his best.
Sophia Loren and Stephen Boyd Photo during a break on the set of “The Fall of the Roman Empire”, 1963
Handsome Stephen Boyd seems to be giving the lovely Italian film goddess Sophia Loren his rapt attention here during a cigarette break on the set of “The Fall of the Roman Empire”, May 30, 1963.
Stephen Boyd is still fondly remembered by his fans 41 years after his death
Stephen has such a wonderful fan base worldwide even today in 2018 and it is so wonderful to know how many people visit this blog daily to look up information on Stephen’s life, movies or to just to view some of the many handsome photos. So a heartfelt thank you goes out to all of you today as I know many of you- like me- find this a sad day knowing that Stephen Boyd’s life ended so suddenly and too soon. We miss him as fans, but he will never be forgotten.
Thanks to all the Stephen Boyd fans out there!
A few new Stephen Boyd pictures
Remembering Stephen Boyd on June 2nd and his last performance on Hawaii Five-0
Above, Stephen Boyd with Jack Lord and co-star Elayne Heilveil in “Up The Rebels”, the 10th season premiere of the original Hawaii Five-0 TV show which aired on September 15, 1977.
This will make 41 years since Stephen Boyd passed away on June 2nd, 1977. Stephen was enjoying a round of golf (his favorite pastime) with his wife Elizabeth Mills at the Porter Valley Country Club in Northridge, California when he suffered a heart attack between the 5th and 6th holes in his golf cart. By the time he received emergency aid, he was gone. Tragically he was only 45 years old.
Only three weeks prior to his death Stephen was completing the film work for an episode of Hawaii Five-0, a show which he had initially been offered to star in during the late 1960’s, but which he obviously declined. The show would air posthumously in September of that same year. Playing the villain again, Boyd gets to show off his Ulster brogue and play a ruthless Catholic rebel priest smuggling arms to Ireland (via Hawaii!). Boyd gives an excellent performance but sadly his last. In his final on-screen dialogue Boyd speaks something in Gaelic, and then says “Up The Rebels” in English with an Irish wink. It’s an eerie farewell.
Stephen did know some Gaelic and even pulled a practical trick on director John Houston once on the set of “The Bible” using it. As Boyd tells it :
“The one rib he tried to pull on my backfired…He introduced me to a chap, saying: “Steve, I want you to know this man who’ll help you more than anyone has helped you before.” He didn’t know I’d met the same fellow while making ‘Ben-Hur’ in Rome several years ago. He gives forth with the double talk so fast you think you’re an ignoramus.
“So I coached this guy in some Gaelic and told him to go back and do the double-talk in that tongue, with an occasional English word thrown in. He had Huston going for a while but he’s very hep and a good sport, too, getting a hearty laugh at me for turning the tables.” (Philadelphia Daily News, Jan 19, 1965)
Below are some nice pictures of Stephen from Hawaii-Five 0 and a short summary of events from 1977.
What Happened in 1977 Important News and Events, Key Technology and Popular Culture
Star Wars opens in cinemas, first Apple II computers go on sale, TV Mini Series “Roots” is aired, First commercial flight Concord, Elvis Presley Dies at the age of 42, NASA space shuttle first test flight, UK Jubilee celebrations, Roman Polanski is arrested and Charged, Alaskan Oil Pipeline completed, New York City Blackout lasts for 25 hours Quebec adopts French as the official language. Jimmy Carter is elected as the President of United States . The precursor to the GPS system in use today is started by US Department of defense. Elvis Presley Dies from a heart attack aged 42.
Watch Stephen Boyd in “Frauenstation”/ “Women in Hospital” (Germany) from 1977
Sometimes life treats you to something very special, and luckily last month a very kind Stephen Boyd fan in France (Emmanuel) contacted me and offered to send me the DVD of Frauenstation, a late 1970’s German film Stephen Boyd made with Horst Buchholz (The Magnificent Seven). I was so excited to get this movie as I had never been able to track it down. And what an amazing performance I had been missing!
Frauenstation, or Women in Hospital, is based on a 1964 novel by Marie Louise Fischer. It was directed by Rolf Thiele. It was released in April of 1977. In the film Stephen plays Dr. Oberhoff, a doctor in a women’s hospital ward. He works tirelessly with fellow doctor and friend Horst Buchholz (Dr. Schuman). The two doctors give abortions, help with pregnancies and even perform C-sections. There seems to be some philosophical conflict between the two men. (The dialogue is only in German so you have to read between the lines!) Stephen’s character is the father of a precocious young teenage girl (Pirko Zenker) who has had a baby out of wedlock which he helps take care of. Perhaps he himself is against abortion? Horst’s character tends to a very emotional yet beautiful, drug-addicted wife (Lillian Müller) who, it seems, gave herself a grisly abortion in dream-like flashbacks and tries to drown her sorrows in pills. Boyd is very tender on-screen with his young daughter and grandson and rigidly devoted to his profession as a world weary doctor who still has time to flirt with the sexy nurses. It’s a fascinating and layered performance. He looks very handsome with his coiffed mustache and white doctor’s coat as well.
Watch this incredible performance by Stephen Boyd as Dr. Oberhoff below!
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074550/
Schuman and Oberhoff are successful hospital doctors who treat pregnant women. However, their personal lives are a mess. Schuman has to deal with his drug-addicted wife Claudia, while Oberhoff deals with his teenage daughter’s pregnancy.
Director:
Writers:
Marie Louise Fischer (novel), Ted Rose | 1 more credit »
Stars:
Horst Buchholz, Stephen Boyd, Lillian Müller |See full cast & crew »
