Those that fell in love with Lord of the Rings in the 60s and 70s didn’t even have those! In the mid-90s, those of us who wanted to experience Lord of the Rings beyond the realm of the books turned to Interplay’s old pixelated DOS games, Iron Crown’s collectible card game, and the animated films, Rankin Bass’ The Hobbit and Return of the King, the films that introduced me to Tolkien, and Ralph Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings. Back before the film trilogy set a standard for the look of Middle-earth, we turned our own mind’s eyes on and filled in bits and pieces with these various works. When I fell in love with Lord of the Rings, names like the Hildebrandt Brothers, Ted Nasmith, John Howe, and of course, Alan Lee defined the look of Middle-earth, each with their own interpretations of events and characters from the books. Now, I have nothing against Sir Ian McKellen’s timeless performance as Gandalf in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, but please remember, I come from a generation that fell in love with Lord of the Rings before the big screen pushed Tolkien’s works into the mainstream. None other than Gandalf, from Lord of the Rings. Long lists of plays I’ve never heard of, movies I’ll probably never see, and dramas that have been lost to history populate his resume, but for me, Sir Michael Hordern will forever be synonymous with one of the most iconic characters in literature history. This man is Sir Michael Hordern, an English stage and radio actor with a booming voice and acting credits that extend from 1937 until 1992. It’s not one many will recognize unless they watch a lot of British plays and dramas from the 1970’s.
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