Editing Michael Hordern (section)

===Marriage and post-war years===

During a short visit to Liverpool in 1943, Hordern proposed to Eve; they married on 27 April of that year with the actor [[Cyril Luckham]] as best man. After the honeymoon, Hordern resumed his duties on ''Illustrious'' while Eve returned to repertory theatre in [[Southport]]. During his time in the Admiralty Hordern and his wife rented a flat in [[Elvaston Place]] in [[Kensington]], London, and he began to seek work as an actor.<ref>Hordern, pp. 78-79.</ref> After a short while, he was approached by [[André Obey]] who cast him in his first television role, Noah, in a play adapted from the book of the same name. Hordern was apprehensive about performing in the new medium and found the rehearsal and live performance to be exhausting; but he was generously paid, earning £45 for the entire engagement.<ref name="HORDERN80">Hordern, p. 80.</ref>

Hordern's first role in 1946 came as Torvald Helmar in ''[[A Doll's House]]'' at the [[Intimate Theatre]] in [[Palmers Green]].<ref name="HORDERN82">Hordern, p. 82.</ref> This was followed by the part of Richard Fenton, a murder victim, in ''Dear Murderer'' which premiered at the [[Aldwych Theatre]] on 31 July. The play was a success<ref name="HORDERN82" /> and ran for 85 performances until its closure on 12 October.<ref>Wearing (1940–1949), p. 251.</ref> ''Dear Murderer'' thrilled the critics and Hordern was singled out by one reporter for the ''[[Hull Daily Mail]]'' who thought that the actor brought "sincerity to a difficult role".<ref>"''Dear Murderer'', Dramatic Thriller at the New Theatre", ''Hull Daily Mail'', 30 April 1946, p. 1.</ref> The following month Eve gave birth to the couple's only child,<ref name=dnb/> a daughter, Joanna, who was born at [[Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital|Queen Charlotte's Hospital]] in [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]].<ref name="HORDERN80" />{{#tag:ref|Joanna married Fritz Curzon, the son of the concert pianist [[Clifford Curzon|Sir Clifford Curzon]] in 1982. They had a son, Nicholas, on 5{{nbsp}}September 1983, followed by a daughter, Eve Maria, in June 1986.<ref>Hordern, pp. 151–152.</ref>|group= n}} That Christmas he took the role of [[Nick Bottom]] in a festive reworking of [[Henry Purcell]]'s ''[[The Fairy-Queen]]''.<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/3137705?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents "'Gallimaufry' at Covent Garden: Purcell's ''The Fairy-Queen'' in 1946"]. ''Early Music'' by Michael Burden, Vol. 23, No. 2, pp. 268–284.</ref> The play was the first performance by the Covent Garden Opera Company, which later became known as [[The Royal Opera]].<ref>[http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/performance.aspx?performance=3696&row=0 "The Fairy Queen – 12 December 1946 Evening"], Royal Opera House Collections, accessed 10 February 2016.</ref>

Towards the end of April 1947, Hordern accepted the small part of Captain Hoyle in [[Richard Llewellyn|Richard Llewellyn's]] comic drama film ''Noose''.<ref>[http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/27th-june-1947/13/noose-by-richard-llewellyn-saville ''Noose'', by Richard Llewellyn. (Seville).] ''The Spectator'', 26 June 1947, p. 13.</ref> Two other roles occurred that year: as Maxim de Winter in a television adaption of [[Daphne du Maurier|Daphne du Maurier's]] novel ''[[Rebecca (novel)|Rebecca]]'',<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120713175332/http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b7ff15044 ''Rebecca'' (1947)], British Film Institute, accessed 22 July 2015.</ref> followed by the part of a detective in ''[[Good-Time Girl]]'', alongside [[Dennis Price]] and [[Jean Kent]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120713124818/http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b6ab61d9a ''Good Time Girl'', (1947)], British Film Institute, accessed 22 July 2015.</ref> The following year he took part in three plays: [[Peter Ustinov|Peter Ustinov's]] ''The Indifferent Shepherd'', which appeared at the newly opened [[Q Theatre]] in [[Brentford]], West London; [[Henrik Ibsen|Ibsen's]] ''[[Ghosts (play)|Ghosts]]''; and an adaptation of ''[[The Wind in the Willows]]'' at the [[Royal Shakespeare Theatre|Shakespeare Memorial Theatre]] in [[Stratford-upon-Avon]] in which he portrayed the part of the blustery, eccentric [[Mr. Toad|Mr Toad]].<ref name="HORDERN86">Hordern, p. 86.</ref><ref>[https://collections.vam.ac.uk/pdf/O64250/costume-design-heeley-desmond/ "Wind in the Willows: Costume design"]{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, [[Victoria and Albert Museum]], accessed 22 January 2016.</ref>{{#tag:ref|The rest of the cast comprised [[Michael Gwynn]] as Badger, [[William Squire]] as Ratty, [[Andrew Faulds]] as Chief Weasel, and [[Michael Bates (actor)|Michael Bates]] as Chief Ferret.<ref name="HORDERN86" />|group= n}}

In early 1949 Hordern appeared as Pascal in the [[Michael Redgrave]]-directed comedy ''A Woman in Love'', but disliked the experience because of the hostile relationship between Redgrave and the show's star, [[Margaret Rawlings]].<ref name="HORDERN88">Hordern, p. 88.</ref> Next, he was engaged in the minor role of Bashford in the critically acclaimed [[Ealing Studios|Ealing comedy]] ''[[Passport to Pimlico]]'',<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120712175136/http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b6b2b2db6 "Passport to Pimlico (1949)"], [[British Film Institute]], accessed 21 July 2015.</ref> a performance which he described as "tense and hyperactive".<ref>Hordern, p. 84.</ref>