Robert Eddison

Robert Leadam Eddison OBE 10 June 1908 14 December 1991 was an English actor who is probably most widely remembered in the role of the Grail Knight in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade He also played the tragic ferryman in The Storyteller episode The Luck Child Born in Japan to English parents Edwin Eddison and Hilda Muriel Leadham he had a twin brother Talbot Leadam Eddison Through his paternal grandmother Anna Paulina Tatham of Philadelphia he was related to the Tatham Brothers Iron pipe manufacturers of Philadelphia As his paternal greatgrandfather Henry Billington Tathams name suggests he was a descendant of the Billington family who came to America from England on the Mayflower Eddison was known for his resonant baritone voice and long lean figure He performed William Shakespeare and other classics was noted for his Hamlet at the Old Vic and later playing the comic roles of Feste and Sir Andrew Aguecheek inTwelfth Night and King Lear on the New York stage He was also a familiar figure in plays by Ibsen Chekhov andSophocles and played Canon Chasuble in Oscar Wildes The Importance of Being Earnest Eddison also made his mark in radio in countless BBC dramas through the decades with some of his last roles includingDeath in The Canterbury Tales and parts in an adaptation of Japanese Noh plays His film career was limited but included a supporting role in Peter Ustinovs 1948 comedy Vice Versa the electrical Nick in The Boy Who Turned Yellow 1972 the college president in American Friends 1991 and a notable cameo in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusadeas the ancient Grail Knight warning adventurers to choose wisely