Torin Thatcher
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.
Known For
Credits
- 1974 · Petrocelli as
- 1972 · Search as
- 1970 · Night Gallery as Captain of the Lusitania (segment "Lone Survivor")
- 1968 · Land of the Giants as Dr. Berger
- 1968 · The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as Sir Turnbull
- 1967 · The Guns of Will Sonnett as
- 1967 · The King's Pirate as Captain Cullen
- 1966 · Hawaii as Reverend Thorn
- 1966 · Mission: Impossible as Archbishop Djelvas
- 1966 · Mission: Impossible as General Rados Adolph Gollan
- 1966 · The Time Tunnel as Dr. Everett Holland
- 1966 · Star Trek as Marplon
- 1965 · Get Smart as
- 1965 · Lost in Space as The Space Trader
- 1965 · The Sandpiper as le juge Thompson
- 1965 · The Holy Terror as Dr. Poole
- 1964 · Profiles in Courage as Sewall
- 1964 · Profiles in Courage as Cannon
- 1964 · Daniel Boone as President John Adams
- 1964 · Daniel Boone as Cyrus Blake / Enoch Blake
- 1964 · Hell of Borneo as Mr. Bellflower
- 1963 · Decision at Midnight as
- 1963 · Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre as
- 1963 · The Great Adventure as General Howe
- 1963 · The Great Adventure as Colonel Lewis Washington
- 1963 · Drums of Africa as Jack Cuortemayn
- 1962 · Mutiny on the Bounty as Staines
- 1962 · The Alfred Hitchcock Hour as Alva Hardwicke
- 1962 · Jack the Giant Killer as Pendragon
- 1961 · The Canadians as Superintendent Walker
- 1960 · Thriller as Jeremy Teal
- 1960 · The Citadel as Sir Robert Abbey
- 1959 · Adventures in Paradise as Michael Cameron
- 1959 · One Step Beyond as Earl of Culdane
- 1958 · The 7th Voyage of Sinbad as Sokurah the Magician
- 1958 · The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen as King Bendigo
- 1958 · Peter Gunn as
- 1958 · Darby's Rangers as Sergeant McTavish
- 1957 · Witness for the Prosecution as Mr. Myers
- 1957 · DuPont Show of the Month as Rees Mathry
- 1957 · Perry Mason as Walter Frazer
- 1957 · Band of Angels as Capt. Canavan
- 1957 · Istanbul as Douglas Fielding
- 1956 · Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre as Ab Richards
- 1956 · The Deadly Riddle as The Red Knight
- 1956 · Telephone Time as
- 1956 · Helen of Troy as Ulysses
- 1956 · Diane as Louis - Count de Breze
- 1955 · Lady Godiva of Coventry as Lord Godwin
- 1955 · The 20th Century Fox Hour as
- 1955 · Alfred Hitchcock Presents as Constable Johnson
- 1955 · Alfred Hitchcock Presents as Felix Edward Manbridge
- 1955 · Gunsmoke as John Tyson
- 1955 · Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing as Humphrey Palmer-Jones
- 1955 · The Millionaire as Max MacIntyre
- 1954 · Bengal Brigade as Colonel Morrow
- 1954 · Climax! as John Philippson
- 1954 · Climax! as Fred Beresford
- 1954 · The Black Shield of Falworth as Sir James
- 1954 · Knock on Wood as Godfrey Langston
- 1953 · The Robe as Sen. Gallio
- 1953 · Houdini as Otto
- 1953 · The Desert Rats as Col. Barney White
- 1952 · Blackbeard, the Pirate as Sir Henry Morgan
- 1952 · The Snows of Kilimanjaro as Johnson
- 1952 · The Crimson Pirate as Humble Bellows
- 1952 · Affair in Trinidad as Inspector Smythe
- 1951 · Hallmark Hall of Fame as Dr. Poole
- 1950 · The Black Rose as Harry
- 1949 · Now Barabbas as Customs Officer
- 1948 · Bonnie Prince Charlie as Colonel Ker
- 1948 · The Philco Television Playhouse as
- 1948 · The Philco Television Playhouse as Othello
- 1948 · The Fallen Idol as Policeman
- 1947 · The End of the River as Lisboa
- 1947 · When The Bough Breaks as Adams
- 1947 · Jassy as Bob Wicks
- 1947 · The Man Within as Jailer
- 1946 · Great Expectations as Bentley Drummle
- 1946 · I See a Dark Stranger as Police Constable
- 1946 · The Captive Heart as Repatriation Official (uncredited)
- 1942 · The Next of Kin as German General
- 1942 · Saboteur as Man (uncredited)
- 1941 · Major Barbara as Todger Fairmile
- 1941 · Gasbags as SS Man
- 1940 · Saloon Bar as Mr. Garrod
- 1940 · The Case of the Frightened Lady as Jim Tilling, the Groundsman
- 1940 · Night Train to Munich as
- 1940 · Let George Do It! as U-Boat commander
- 1940 · Law and Disorder as Karl Bergsen
- 1940 · Contraband as Sailor
- 1939 · The Lion Has Wings as Seaman Receiving Information About German Activity
- 1939 · The Kindled Flame as Festus
- 1939 · Old Mother Riley, MP as Jack Nelson
- 1939 · The Spy in Black as Submarine Officer
- 1938 · Climbing High as Jim Castle
- 1937 · Young and Innocent as Nobby's Lodging House Caretaker (uncredited)
- 1937 · Sabotage as Mr. Verloc's Visitor (uncredited)
- 1936 · Crime Over London as
- 1936 · The Man Who Could Work Miracles as Observer
- 1936 · The Common Round as Martin
- 1935 · Drake of England as
- 1933 · Red Wagon as Eddie Prince
- Future · Shirley Temple’s Storybook: The Little Mermaid as