1905-01-15 Bombay, British India, India
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.
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The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | Sir Turnbull | 1968-01-07 |
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The King's Pirate | Captain Cullen | 1967-07-20 |
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Hawaii | Reverend Thorn | 1966-10-10 |
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The Holy Terror | Dr. Poole | 1965-04-07 |
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The Sandpiper | le juge Thompson | 1965-06-23 |
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Hell of Borneo | Mr. Bellflower | 1964-01-01 |
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Decision at Midnight | 1963-12-12 | |
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Drums of Africa | Jack Cuortemayn | 1963-05-15 |
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Mutiny on the Bounty | Staines | 1962-11-08 |
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Jack the Giant Killer | Pendragon | 1962-05-18 |
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The Canadians | Superintendent Walker | 1961-03-11 |
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The Citadel | Sir Robert Abbey | 1960-02-19 |
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The 7th Voyage of Sinbad | Sokurah the Magician | 1958-12-05 |
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Darby's Rangers | Sergeant McTavish | 1958-02-12 |
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Istanbul | Douglas Fielding | 1957-01-23 |
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Band of Angels | Capt. Canavan | 1957-08-03 |
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Witness for the Prosecution | Mr. Myers | 1957-12-17 |
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Diane | Louis - Count de Breze | 1956-01-12 |
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Helen of Troy | Ulysses | 1956-01-26 |
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Lady Godiva of Coventry | Lord Godwin | 1955-11-02 |
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Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing | Humphrey Palmer-Jones | 1955-08-18 |
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Bengal Brigade | Colonel Morrow | 1954-11-06 |
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Knock on Wood | Godfrey Langston | 1954-04-06 |
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The Black Shield of Falworth | Sir James | 1954-09-02 |
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The Robe | Sen. Gallio | 1953-09-16 |
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Houdini | Otto | 1953-07-02 |
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The Desert Rats | Col. Barney White | 1953-05-20 |
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Affair in Trinidad | Inspector Smythe | 1952-07-29 |
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The Crimson Pirate | Humble Bellows | 1952-09-27 |
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The Snows of Kilimanjaro | Johnson | 1952-10-08 |
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Blackbeard, the Pirate | Sir Henry Morgan | 1952-12-24 |
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The Black Rose | Harry | 1950-09-01 |
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Now Barabbas | Customs Officer | 1949-05-24 |
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Bonnie Prince Charlie | Colonel Ker | 1948-10-26 |
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The Fallen Idol | Policeman | 1948-09-30 |
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The Man Within | Jailer | 1947-05-19 |
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The End of the River | Lisboa | 1947-12-01 |
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When The Bough Breaks | Adams | 1947-11-19 |
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Jassy | Bob Wicks | 1947-08-13 |
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I See a Dark Stranger | Police Constable | 1946-07-04 |
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The Captive Heart | Repatriation Official (uncredited) | 1946-04-29 |
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Great Expectations | Bentley Drummle | 1946-12-26 |
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The Next of Kin | German General | 1942-06-15 |
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Gasbags | SS Man | 1941-02-01 |
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Major Barbara | Todger Fairmile | 1941-05-14 |
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Saloon Bar | Mr. Garrod | 1940-11-02 |
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Let George Do It! | U-Boat commander | 1940-07-12 |
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Night Train to Munich | 1940-08-31 | |
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The Case of the Frightened Lady | Jim Tilling, the Groundsman | 1940-09-28 |
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Contraband | Sailor | 1940-05-11 |
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Old Mother Riley, MP | Jack Nelson | 1939-08-15 |
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The Lion Has Wings | Seaman Receiving Information About German Activity | 1939-11-03 |
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The Spy in Black | Submarine Officer | 1939-08-03 |
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Climbing High | Jim Castle | 1938-10-31 |
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Sabotage | Mr. Verloc's Visitor (uncredited) | 1937-01-08 |
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Young and Innocent | Nobby's Lodging House Caretaker (uncredited) | 1937-11-01 |
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The Common Round | Martin | 1936-03-12 |
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The Man Who Could Work Miracles | Observer | 1936-07-23 |
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Crime Over London | 1936-10-21 | |
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Drake of England | 1935-05-16 | |
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Red Wagon | Eddie Prince | 1933-12-06 |
