Harrison was born in Huyton on 5th March 1908, being given the forenames
Reginald Carey. He adopted ‘Rex’ as a youth as he thought it had a more raffish
flavour. His father was a stockbroker and the Harrisons were clearly
well-placed. In the 1911 census we find the 3 year-old Reginald living at his
grandmother’s home, Belle Vale Hall in Gateacre, with a significant body of servants
to attend to their needs.
Harrison spent his early years in the
Sefton Park area, living firstly at 5 Lancaster Avenue and then 110 Hartington
Road. He was educated at Birkdale Preparatory School and Liverpool College.
Gaining his first acting role with the Liverpool Playhouse in 1924 he then
moved to London in 1927, spending some six years in touring repertory. He
signed a contract with Alexander Korda at London Films in 1936 and pursued his
film career in conjunction with continuing work on the stage. After serving in
the RAF (1942-44) he established himself a leading British film star with
notable performances in Blithe Spirit (1945) and The
Rake's Progress (1945). Moving to Hollywood he had a contract with
Twentieth Century Fox which brought him roles in Anna and the King of
Siam (1946) and The Ghost and Mrs Muir (1947). His
continuing theatre work brought him Tony awards for his portrayal of Henry VIII
in Anne of a Thousand Days and Henry Higgins in My
Fair Lady. Harrison starred in the 1964 film version of My
Fair Lady for which he received an Oscar as Best Actor. Married times,
his wives included the actresses Kay Kendall, who died of leukaemia aged just
32, and Rachel Roberts. He was knighted in 1989 and died in New York on 2 June
1990. He was cremated and his ashes scattered over the sea near to the villa he
had owned at Portofino.
