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1-10 of 10
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Balding, quietly spoken, of slight build and possessed of piercing blue eyes -- often peering out from behind round, steel-rimmed glasses -- Donald Pleasence had the essential physical attributes which make a great screen villain. In the course of his lengthy career, he relished playing the obsessed, the paranoid and the purely evil. Even the Van Helsing-like psychiatrist Sam Loomis in the Halloween (1978) franchise seems only marginally more balanced than his prey. An actor of great intensity, Pleasence excelled on stage as Shakespearean villains. He was an unrelenting prosecutor in Jean Anouilh's "Poor Bitos" and made his theatrical reputation in the title role of the seedy, scheming tramp in Harold Pinter's "The Caretaker" (1960). On screen, he gave a perfectly plausible interpretation of the head of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, in The Eagle Has Landed (1976). He was a convincingly devious Thomas Cromwell in Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972), disturbing in his portrayal of the crazed, bloodthirsty preacher Quint in Will Penny (1967); and as sexually depraved, alcohol-sodden 'Doc' Tydon in the brilliant Aussie outback drama Wake in Fright (1971). And, of course, he was Ernst Stavro Blofeld in You Only Live Twice (1967). These are some of the films, for which we may remember Pleasence, but there was a great deal more to this fabulous, multi-faceted actor.
Donald Henry Pleasence was born on October 5, 1919 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, to Alice (Armitage) and Thomas Stanley Pleasence. His family worked on the railway. His grandfather had been a signal man and both his brother and father were station masters. When Donald failed to get a scholarship at RADA, he joined the family occupation working as a clerk at his father's station before becoming station master at Swinton, Yorkshire. While there, he wrote letters to theatre companies, eventually being accepted by one on the island of Jersey in Spring 1939 as an assistant stage manager. On the eve of World War II, he made his theatrical debut in "Wuthering Heights". In 1942, he played Curio in "Twelfth Night", but his career was then interrupted by military service in the RAF. He was shot down over France, incarcerated and tortured in a German POW camp. Once repatriated, Donald returned to the stage in Peter Brook's 1946 London production of "The Brothers Karamazov" with Alec Guinness although he missed the opening due to measles, followed by a stint on Broadway with Laurence Olivier's touring company in "Caesar and Cleopatra" and "Anthony and Cleopatra". Upon his return to England, he won critical plaudits for his performance in "Hobson's Choice". In 1952, Donald began his screen career, rather unobtrusively, in small parts. He was only really noticed once having found his métier as dastardly, sneaky Prince John in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955). It took several more years, until international recognition came his way: first, through the filmed adaptation of The Guest (1963), and, secondly, with his blind forger in The Great Escape (1963), a role he imbued with added conviction due to his own wartime experience.
Some of his best acting Donald reserved for the small screen. In 1962, the producer of The Twilight Zone (1959), Buck Houghton, brought Donald to the United States ("damn the expense"!) to guest star in the third-season episode "The Changing of the Guard". He was given a mere five days to immerse himself in the part of a gentle school teacher, Professor Ellis Fowler, who, on the eve of Christmas is forcibly retired after fifty-one years of teaching. Devastated, and believing himself a failure who has made no mark on the world, he is about to commit suicide when the school's bell summons him to his classroom. There, he is confronted by the spirits of deceased students who beg him to consider that his lessons have indeed had fundamental effects on their lives, even leading to acts of great heroism. Upon hearing this, Fowler is now content to graciously accept his retirement. Managing to avoid maudlin sentimentality, Donald's performance was intuitive and, arguably, one of the most poignant ever accomplished in a thirty-minute television episode. Once again, against type, he was equally delightful as the mild-mannered Reverend Septimus Harding in Anthony Trollope's The Barchester Chronicles (1982).
Whether eccentric, sinister or given to pathos, Donald Pleasence was always great value for money and his performances have rarely failed to engage.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Willard Waterman was born on 29 August 1914 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. He was an actor, known for Auntie Mame (1958), The Apartment (1960) and Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958). He was married to Mary Anna Theleen. He died on 2 February 1995 in Burlingame, California, USA.- Director
- Actor
- Producer
A leading Canadian filmmaker, Phillip Borsos has enjoyed considerable success in international markets. One of the "Vancouver School", he began his career as a director (and sometime producer and writer) with several short subjects, beginning with Cooperage (1976). Nails (1979), which Borsos also produced, was nominated for an Academy Award as best documentary (short subject). His feature film debut, The Grey Fox (1982), made when he was 27, received critical acclaim, and won the Canadian Genie awards for both best film and best direction. However, the making of the $18 million Bethune (1990), a Canada - China co-production, was marked by financial and other difficulties. Borsos did not get to make the final cut and the film itself is often considered not to go beyond hagiography. Similarly, when his backers withdrew, Borsos had to stop his filming of John Irving's novel, The Cider House Rules. From 1994, Borsos continued his career as director despite an ongoing battle with leukemia.- Fred Perry was born on 18 May 1909 in Stockport, Cheshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Le plombier amoureux (1932), Sports Quiz (1944) and Athletic Stars (1948). He was married to Barbara Riese, Lorraine Walsh, Sandra Breaux and Helen Vinson. He died on 2 February 1995 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- Edwin Finn was born on 18 November 1910 in New South Wales, Australia. He was an actor, known for Time Bandits (1981), Oliver! (1968) and Mystery and Imagination (1966). He died on 2 February 1995 in London, England, UK.
- Eugenia John was born on 30 September 1922 in Mogilev, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic [now Mogilev, Mogilev Region, Belarus]. She was married to Mieczyslaw Czechowicz and Jerzy Sliwinski. She died on 2 February 1995 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.
- Fred Briggs was born on 31 May 1932 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was married to Dorothy Briggs. He died on 2 February 1995 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
- Make-Up Department
Anita De Beltrand was born on 27 January 1906 in Texas, USA. Anita was married to Alphonse Blinstrub. Anita died on 2 February 1995 in Vista, California, USA.- Actor
- Writer
Viliam Sikula was born on 17 August 1942 in Dubová, Czechoslovakia [now Slovakia]. He was an actor and writer, known for Montiho cardás (1989), Field Lilies (1972) and Kúpelnovy hrác (1989). He died on 2 February 1995 in Bratislava, Slovakia.- André Frossard was born on 14 January 1915 in Saint-Maurice-Colombier, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France. He was married to Simone Reynaud. He died on 2 February 1995 in Versailles, Yvelines, France.