![]() ![]() He appeared in programmes such as The Real McCoys, Thriller, Gunsmoke, Perry Mason, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Daniel Boone and Mission: Impossible. 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). Cronin's Beyond This Place (1957) and The Citadel (1960), Bonanza (1961), and Brenda Starr (1976). All of these plays were filmed, but Thatcher did not appear in the film versions.Īlso a steady fixture on television, he appeared in such made-for-TV films as adaptations of A.J. In 1959, he portrayed Captain Keller in the award-winning play The Miracle Worker with Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke. 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). He also appeared in the Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard 1962 remake of Mutiny on the Bounty. 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 Marcellus), The Black Shield of Falworth (1954), Helen of Troy (1956), Darby's Rangers (1958) and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958). 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. During the Second World War, he served with the Royal Artillery and was demobilised with the rank of lieutenant colonel. 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. He worked as a schoolmaster before first appearing on the London stage in 1927 and then entering British films in 1934. The widower of TV actress Rita Daniel, he was long married to second wife, Anne Le Borgne, at the time of his death.He was educated in Britain at Bedford School and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Diagnosed with cancer, Thatcher died on March 4, 1981, in Thousand Oaks, California (near Los Angeles). Hyde (1968) starring Jack Palance and Brenda Starr (1976), his final on-camera appearance, starring Jill St. "Bonanza," "Perry Mason," "The Real McCoys," "The Untouchables," "My THree Sons," "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea," "Perry Mason," "Get Smart," "Lost in Space," "Star Trek," "Gunsmoke," "Daniel Boone," "Mission: Impossible," "Night Gallery," "Search" and "Petrocelli." He also showed up in support in the TV movies The Strange Case of Dr. Also a steady fixture on American TV from the mid-1950's on, Torin appeared in a number of quality TV anthologies ("Omnibus," "Playhouse 90, "Zane Grey Theatre") before making fairly steady guest appearances on such shows as "The Millionaire," "Ellery Queen," "Peter Gunn," "Wagon Train," In 1959 he portrayed Captain Keller in the award-winning Thatcher returned to the stage quite frequently, notably on Broadway, in such esteemed Wellington, the Marlon Brando/ Trevor Howard remake ofĪnd Hawaii (1966). Were constantly in demand, gnashing his teeth in a slew of popularĪs the evil, shaven-domed magician Sokurah who shrinks the princess to In Hollywood from the 1950s on, the actor's looming figure and baleful countenance Great Expectations (1946), as Bentley ("The Spider") Drummle, Jassy (1947) and Major Barbara (1941), I See a Dark Stranger (1946), They included Sabotage (1936), Dark Journey (1937), Night Train to Munich (1940), Thatcher began in minor roles and progressed to better ones in a number of classic British films in the late 1930sĪnd 1940s as the years went on. Sinister roles over the years primarily in larger-than-life action Specimen and it offered him a number of tough, commanding, often He was an extremely imposing, powerfully built World War II he served with the Royal Artillery and achieved the rank ![]() Among his earlier stage plays was a 1937 version of "Hamlet" which starred Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. He would be notable for his stage prowess in the works of Shaw, Shakespeare, and the Greek tragedies. A former schoolteacher, he appeared on the London stage, notably the Old Vic, in 1927 before entering British films in 1934. The son of a police officer (who died when Torin was 10) and a voice/piano teacher, he was educated in England at the Bedford School and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Torin Herbert Erskine Thatcher was born in Bombay, India to British parents on Januaryġ5, 1905. Associated with gritty, flashy film villainy, veteran character actor ![]()
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