Hugh Emrys Griffith, a larger-than-life character actor, was born in Marianglas, Anglesey, North Wales, to Mary (Williams) and William Griffith. He left a career in banking, having worked as a teller, after winning a scholarship to study acting at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he graduated with a gold medal, ranking top of his class of 300.
However, his career was put on hold due to the outbreak of World War II, during which he enlisted in the Army in 1940, serving with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers in India for six years. Following the war, Griffith enjoyed a successful career on the stage, appearing in Shakespearean plays in Stratford-upon-Avon with the Royal Shakespeare Company, earning him recognition for his roles as "Falstaff" and "King Lear", which he also performed in his native Welsh.
Griffith made his Broadway debut in 1951 and had a hit starring in "Look Homeward Angel" (1957-59) alongside Anthony Perkins and Jo Van Fleet. The play ran for 564 performances and earned Griffith a Tony Award nomination for his portrayal of "W.O. Gant". He humorously remarked that when the producers asked him to play a man from the deep south, he thought they meant a man from the deep south of Wales.
Griffith began his film career in 1948 with films such as "Dulcimer Street" and "Kind Hearts and Coronets" (1949) at Ealing. He became known for his many portrayals of eccentric, bucolic, and sometimes raucous characters, often playing portly, thickly-bearded characters with bushy eyebrows, a ruddy complexion, and a resonant voice.
In 1959, Griffith won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as "Sheikh Ilderim" in "Ben-Hur" (1959),providing Charlton Heston's character with the chariot-racing white stallions. He was also memorable as the lecherous "Squire Western" in "Tom Jones" (1963),earning him nominations for both an Oscar and a BAFTA Award as Best British Actor.
Griffith appeared in various films, including the critically-acclaimed musical version of "Oliver!" (1968),as the hilarious "King Louis" in "Start the Revolution Without Me" (1970),and as one of Vincent Price's many victims in "Dr. Phibes Rises Again" (1972). On television, he played a notable "Long John Silver" in a 1960 version of "Treasure Island" and a roving-eyed funeral director "Caradog Lloyd-Evans" in the comedy "Grand Slam" (1978).
Throughout his life, Griffith remained a lifelong friend and drinking companion of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.
