Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde (March 28, 1921 - May 8, 1999), better known by the stage name Dirk Bogarde, was an actor.

Bogarde was born in the London 'village' of West Hampstead, of mixed Belgian-British ancestry. His father was the art editor of the London Times; his mother was a former actress. He joined the army and served in World War II, after which his good looks helped him begin a career as a film actor, contracted to The Rank Organisation. His 1950 appearance as the criminal, Tom Riley, who shot P.C. George Dixon in The Blue Lamp launched him as a lead player, but it was the comedy, Doctor in the House (1954), that made him a star. He quickly became a matinee idol .

During the 1960s and 1970s, Bogarde gradually abandoned his heart-throb image for more challenging parts, such as The Servant Hugo Barrett (directed by Joseph Losey), the ex-Nazi, Max, in The Night Porter (1974), a bored University professor, Stephen, in Accident (1967), and, most notably, as Gustav von Aschenbach in Death in Venice (1971) directed by Luchino Visconti. In all he made 63 films between 1939 and 1991.

In 1975 he embarked on his second career - as a writer. Starting with a first volume A Postillion Struck by Lightning, he wrote a series of autobiographical volumes, novels and book reviews.

Bogarde never married and, even during his lifetime, was reported to be homosexual. For many years he shared a home with a male friend, Tony Forwood (a former husband of actress Glynis Johns) but repeatedly denied that their relationship was anything other than platonic. In 2001, however, a British documentary called "The Private Dirk Bogarde," produced in agreement with Bogarde's family, made it very clear that he and Forwood had a lifelong commitment.

His only serious relationship with a woman seems to have been with the bisexual actress, Capucine.

He was knighted in 1992 for his services to acting.

Selected filmography

• The Blue Lamp (1950)
• Hunted (1952)
• Doctor in the House (1954)
• The Spanish Gardener (1956)
• Campbell's Kingdom (1958)
• A Tale of Two Cities (1958)
• Song Without End in which he played Franz Liszt (1960)
• Victim (1961)
• The Servant (1963)
• Darling (1965)
• Accident (1967)
• The Damned (1970)
• Death in Venice (1971)
• The Night Porter (1974)
• A Bridge Too Far (1977)
• Providence (1978)
• Daddy Nostalgie (1991)

Autobiography/Memoirs

• A Postillion Struck by Lightning
• An Orderly Man
• Dirk Bogarde: The Complete Autobiography
• Dirk Bogarde: The Complete Career Illustrated w/Robert Tanitch

Dirk Bogarde's authorised biography, by John Coldstream, appeared in 2004.