British actor Richard Briers dies at 79

Although he is famous for many comic TV and film roles, Richard Briers will always be known by Shakespeare enthusiasts as having played such roles in Kenneth Branagh’s adaptations as Polonius in Hamlet, Bardolph in Henry V and Leonardo in Much Ado About Nothing. In 1987, he joined Branagh’s Renaissance Theatre Company after deciding, he said, that “I had gone as far as I could doing sitcoms.” For Branagh he took on roles including King Lear, Malvolio in “Twelfth Night” and the buffoon Bottom in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” He will be missed!