Sir Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde, known as
Dirk Bogarde (28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999) was an English actor and writer. Initially a
matinée idol in films such as
Doctor in the House (1954) for the
Rank Organisation, he later acted in
art-house films. In a second career, he wrote seven best-selling volumes of memoirs, six novels and a volume of collected journalism, mainly from articles in
The Daily Telegraph.