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Torin Thatcher
Actor

Torin Thatcher

15 Jan 1905Born
4 Mar 1981Died
76Age at death
99Credits

Biography

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.

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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

Filmography

The 80 most recent of 99 credits.

  1. 1974PetrocelliSeries (1 episode)
  2. 1972SearchSeries (1 episode)
  3. 1970Night GallerySeries: Captain of the Lusitania (segment "Lone Survivor") (1 episode)
  4. 1968Land of the GiantsSeries: Dr. Berger (1 episode)
  5. 1968The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeFilm: Sir Turnbull
  6. 1967The Guns of Will SonnettSeries (1 episode)
  7. 1967The King's PirateFilm: Captain Cullen
  8. 1967The Sweet and the BitterFilm
  9. 1966HawaiiFilm: Reverend Thorn
  10. 1966Mission: ImpossibleSeries: Archbishop Djelvas, General Rados Adolph Gollan (1 episode)
  11. 1966The Time TunnelSeries: Dr. Everett Holland (1 episode)
  12. 1966Star TrekSeries: Marplon (1 episode)
  13. 1965Get SmartSeries: Dr. Braam (1 episode)
  14. 1965Lost in SpaceSeries: The Space Trader (1 episode)
  15. 1965The SandpiperFilm: le juge Thompson
  16. 1965The Holy TerrorFilm: Dr. Poole
  17. 1964Profiles in CourageSeries: Sewall, Cannon (1 episode)
  18. 1964Daniel BooneSeries: President John Adams, Cyrus Blake / Enoch Blake (1 episode)
  19. 1964Voyage to the Bottom of the SeaSeries: MacDougall (1 episode)
  20. 1964Hell of BorneoFilm: Mr. Bellflower
  21. 1963Decision at MidnightFilm: Southstream
  22. 1963The Great AdventureSeries: General Howe, Colonel Lewis Washington (1 episode)
  23. 1963Drums of AfricaFilm: Jack Cuortemayn
  24. 1962Mutiny on the BountyFilm: Staines
  25. 1962The Alfred Hitchcock HourSeries: Alva Hardwicke (1 episode)
  26. 1962Jack the Giant KillerFilm: Pendragon
  27. 1961The CanadiansFilm: Superintendent Walker
  28. 1960ThrillerSeries: Jeremy Teal (1 episode)
  29. 1960The CitadelFilm: Sir Robert Abbey
  30. 1959Adventures in ParadiseSeries: Michael Cameron (1 episode)
  31. 1959One Step BeyondSeries: Earl of Culdane (1 episode)
  32. 1958The 7th Voyage of SinbadFilm: Sokurah the Magician
  33. 1958The Further Adventures of Ellery QueenSeries: King Bendigo (1 episode)
  34. 1958Peter GunnSeries (1 episode)
  35. 1958Darby's RangersFilm: Sergeant McTavish
  36. 1957Witness for the ProsecutionFilm: Mr. Myers
  37. 1957DuPont Show of the MonthSeries: Rees Mathry (1 episode)
  38. 1957Perry MasonSeries: Walter Frazer (1 episode)
  39. 1957Band of AngelsFilm: Capt. Canavan
  40. 1957IstanbulFilm: Douglas Fielding
  41. 1957So Soon to DieFilm: Inspector Galloway
  42. 1956Dick Powell's Zane Grey TheatreSeries: Ab Richards (1 episode)
  43. 1956The Deadly RiddleFilm: The Red Knight
  44. 1956Telephone TimeSeries (1 episode)
  45. 1956Helen of TroyFilm: Ulysses
  46. 1956DianeFilm: Louis - Count de Breze
  47. 1955Lady Godiva of CoventryFilm: Lord Godwin
  48. 1955The 20th Century Fox HourSeries: Roger Newcombe (1 episode)
  49. 1955Alfred Hitchcock PresentsSeries: Constable Johnson, Felix Edward Manbridge (1 episode)
  50. 1955GunsmokeSeries: John Tyson (1 episode)
  51. 1955Love Is a Many-Splendored ThingFilm: Humphrey Palmer-Jones
  52. 1955The MillionaireSeries: Max MacIntyre (1 episode)
  53. 1954Bengal BrigadeFilm: Colonel Morrow
  54. 1954Climax!Series: John Philippson, Fred Beresford (1 episode)
  55. 1954The Black Shield of FalworthFilm: Sir James
  56. 1954Knock on WoodFilm: Godfrey Langston
  57. 1953The RobeFilm: Sen. Gallio
  58. 1953HoudiniFilm: Otto
  59. 1953The Desert RatsFilm: Col. Barney White
  60. 1952Blackbeard, the PirateFilm: Sir Henry Morgan
  61. 1952The Crimson PirateFilm: Humble Bellows
  62. 1952The Snows of KilimanjaroFilm: Johnson
  63. 1952Affair in TrinidadFilm: Inspector Smythe
  64. 1951Hallmark Hall of FameSeries: Dr. Poole (1 episode)
  65. 1950The Black RoseFilm: Harry
  66. 1949Now BarabbasFilm: Customs Officer
  67. 1948Bonnie Prince CharlieFilm: Colonel Ker
  68. 1948The Philco Television PlayhouseSeries: Othello (1 episode)
  69. 1948The Fallen IdolFilm: Policeman
  70. 1947The End of the RiverFilm: Lisboa
  71. 1947When The Bough BreaksFilm: Adams
  72. 1947JassyFilm: Bob Wicks
  73. 1947The Man WithinFilm: Jailer
  74. 1946Great ExpectationsFilm: Bentley Drummle
  75. 1946I See a Dark StrangerFilm: Police Constable
  76. 1946The Captive HeartFilm: Repatriation Official (uncredited)
  77. 1942The Next of KinFilm: German General
  78. 1942SaboteurFilm: Man (uncredited)
  79. 1941Major BarbaraFilm: Todger Fairmile
  80. 1941GasbagsFilm: SS Man

Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.