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Torin Thatcher
Actor
Died March 4, 1981 (76 years)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Torin Thatcher (15 January 1905 - 4 March 1981) was an English actor born in Bombay, British India, India), to English parents. He was an imposing, powerfully built figure noted for his flashy portrayals of screen villains.
He was educated in England at Bedford School and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He worked as a schoolmaster before first appearing on the London stage in 1927 and then entering British films in 1934. He appeared in the 1937 Old Vic stage production of Hamlet, in which Laurence Olivier made his first appearance in the title role, opposite Vivien Leigh as Ophelia. During the Second World War, he served with the Royal Artillery and was demobilized with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Thatcher appeared in classic British films of the late 1930s and 1940s, including Major Barbara (1941) and Great Expectations (1946), in which he played Bentley Drummle. He moved to Hollywood in the 1950s. He was constantly in demand, invariably lending his looming figure and baleful countenance to sinister or stern roles in popular costume thrillers such as The Crimson Pirate (1952), Blackbeard the Pirate (1952), The Robe (1953) (as the disapproving father of Richard Burton's character), The Black Shield of Falworth (1954), Helen of Troy (1956), Darby's Rangers (1958), and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958). He also appeared in the Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard 1962 remake of Mutiny on the Bounty.
He returned to the stage quite frequently, notably on Broadway, in such esteemed productions as Edward, My Son (1948), That Lady (1949) and Billy Budd (1951). In 1959, he portrayed Captain Keller in the award-winning play The Miracle Worker with Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke. All of these plays were filmed, but Thatcher did not appear in the movie versions.
Also a steady fixture on television, he appeared in such made-for-TV films as adaptations of A. J. Cronin's Beyond This Place (1957) and The Citadel (1960),Bonanza(1961), and Brenda Starr (1976). He also played the title role in a Philco Television Playhouse version of Othello and acted in a CBS production of Beyond This Place (1957).
Thatcher died of cancer on March 4, 1981, in Thousand Oaks, California, in the Los Angeles area.
Filmography
| 1998 | The Harryhausen Chronicles · as Sokurah the Magician |
| 1974 | Petrocelli (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1969 | Night Gallery (TV Series) · as Captain of the Lusitania (segment "Lone Survivor") |
| 1968 | The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde · as Sir Turnbull |
| 1968 | Land of the Giants (TV Series) · as Dr. Berger |
| 1967 | Hell of Borneo · as Mr. Bellflower |
| 1966 | Hawaii · as Rev. Dr. Thorn |
| 1966 | The Time Tunnel (TV Series) · as Dr. Everett Holland |
| 1966 | Star Trek (TV Series) · as Marplon |
| 1966 | Mission: Impossible (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1965 | The Sandpiper · as le juge Thompson |
| 1965 | Decision at Midnight · as Unknown |
| 1965 | Get Smart (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1965 | Lost in Space (TV Series) · as The Space Trader |
| 1964 | Daniel Boone (TV Series) · as President John Adams |
| 1964 | Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (TV Series) · as MacDougall |
| 1963 | Drums of Africa · as Jack Cuortemayn |
| 1962 | Mutiny on the Bounty · as Staines |
| 1962 | Jack the Giant Killer · as Pendragon |
| 1962 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (TV Series) · as Alva Hardwicke |
| 1961 | The Canadians · as Superintendent Walker |
| 1961 | Follow The Sun (TV Series) · as Driscoll |
| 1961 | Hazel (TV Series) · as Sir Horace |
| 1960 | Thriller (TV Series) · as Jeremy Teal |
| 1960 | Diagnosis: Unknown (TV Series) · as Professor Paul Gordon |
| 1960 | My Three Sons (TV Series) · as Sir George Heather |
| 1959 | |
| 1959 | One Step Beyond (TV Series) · as Earl of Culdane |
| 1959 | The Untouchables (TV Series) · as Ed 'The Duke' Monte |
| 1958 | The 7th Voyage of Sinbad · as Sokurah the Magician |
| 1958 | Darby's Rangers · as Sergeant McTavish |
| 1958 | Shirley Temple's Storybook (TV Series) · as Human King |
| 1958 | Peter Gunn (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1957 | Band of Angels · as Capt. Canavan |
| 1957 | Perry Mason (TV Series) · as Walter Frazer |
| 1957 | Tales of Wells Fargo (TV Series) · as Grey Man |
| 1957 | The Real McCoys (TV Series) · as Sir Fergus McCoy |
| 1957 | Wagon Train (TV Series) · as Lord Steve Campden |
| 1957 | Witness for the Prosecution · as Mr. Myers |
| 1956 | Helen of Troy · as Ulysses |
| 1956 | Diane · as Louis - Count de Breze |
| 1956 | Zane Grey Theater (TV Series) · as Ab Richards |
| 1955 | Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing · as Humphrey Palmer-Jones |
| 1955 | Lady Godiva of Coventry · as Lord Godwin |
| 1955 | Gunsmoke (TV Series) · as John Tyson |
| 1955 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV Series) · as Felix Edward Manbridge |
| 1954 | The Black Shield of Falworth · as Sir James |
| 1954 | Knock on Wood · as Godfrey Langston |
| 1954 | Climax! (TV Series) · as Fred Beresford |
| 1953 | The Desert Rats · as Col Barney White |
| 1953 | Houdini · as Otto |
| 1953 | The Robe · as Sen. Gallio |
| 1952 | The Crimson Pirate · as Humble Bellows |
| 1952 | Affair in Trinidad · as Inspector Smythe |
| 1952 | Blackbeard, the Pirate · as Sir Henry Morgan |
| 1952 | The Snows of Kilimanjaro · as Johnson |
| 1951 | Hallmark Hall Of Fame (TV Series) · as Dr. Poole |
| 1950 | The Black Rose · as Harry |
| 1950 | The Lux Video Theatre (TV Series) · as Uncle |
| 1949 | Now Barabbas · as Unknown |
| 1949 | Suspense (TV Series) · as actor |
| 1948 | The Fallen Idol · as Policeman |
| 1948 | Bonnie Prince Charlie · as Col. Kor |
| 1947 | When the Bough Breaks · as Adams |
| 1947 | Jassy · as Bob Wicks |
| 1947 | The End of the River · as Lisboa |
| 1946 | Great Expectations · as Bentley Drummle |
| 1946 | I See a Dark Stranger · as Police Constable |
| 1946 | The Captive Heart · as Repatriation Official |
| 1942 | Saboteur · as Man |
| 1941 | Major Barbara · as Todger Fairmile |
| 1941 | Gasbags · as SS Man |
| 1940 | The Frightened Lady · as Jim Tilling, the Groundsman |
| 1940 | To Hell with Hitler · as U-Boat commander |
| 1940 | Night Train to Munich · as Unknown |
| 1940 | Law and Disorder · as Karl Bergsen |
| 1939 | The Lion Has Wings · as Seaman Receiving Information About German Activity |
| 1939 | The Spy in Black · as Submarine Officer |
| 1939 | Old Mother Riley M.P. · as Jack Nelson |
| 1938 | The Challenge · as Young officer |
| 1937 | Young and Innocent · as Nobby's Lodging House Caretaker (uncredited) |
| 1937 | Knight Without Armor · as British Passport Official |
| 1937 | Dark Journey · as Strasser |
| 1937 | The Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel · as Minor Role |
| 1936 | The Man Who Could Work Miracles · as Observer |
| 1936 | Sabotage · as Mr. Verloc's Visitor (uncredited) |
| 1935 | Drake the Pirate · as Unknown |