Lawrence Michael Andrew Goodliffe was a renowned English actor, born on October 1, 1914, in Bebington, Cheshire, which is now part of Merseyside. He was the son of a vicar and received his education at St Edmund's School in Canterbury and Keble College, Oxford. Goodliffe began his career in repertory theatre in Liverpool, eventually joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford upon Avon.
Before the outbreak of World War II, Goodliffe joined the British Army and received a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in February 1940. He was wounded in the leg and captured at the Battle of Dunkirk. Goodliffe was mistakenly reported as killed in action, and his obituary was even published in a newspaper. He spent the remainder of the war as a prisoner in Germany.
While in captivity, Goodliffe produced, acted in, and in some cases wrote numerous plays and sketches to entertain his fellow prisoners. These productions included two performances of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, one in Tittmoning and the other in Eichstätt, in which he played the title role. He also staged the first production of Noel Coward's Post Mortem at Eichstätt. A comprehensive photographic record of these productions exists.
After the war, Goodliffe resumed his acting career, appearing in both theatre and film. He starred in the 1950 film The Wooden Horse and other POW films. His most famous film role was that of Thomas Andrews, the builder of the RMS Titanic, in the 1958 film A Night to Remember. Goodliffe also appeared in the television series Sam from 1973 to 1975, playing the role of an unemployed Yorkshire miner. He worked alongside John Thaw and James Bolam in the 1967 television series Inheritance.
Goodliffe struggled with depression and had a breakdown in 1976 while rehearsing for a revival of the play Equus. Tragically, he took his own life by jumping from a hospital fire escape at the Atkinson Morley Hospital in Wimbledon, London, just a few days later.
