Torin Thatcher
Born
January 15, 1905
Died
March 4, 1981 (76 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
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.
Petrocelli
(1 episode)
1974
Search
(1 episode)
1972
Night Gallery
Captain of the Lusitania (segment "Lone Survivor") · (1 episode)
1970
Land of the Giants
Dr. Berger · (1 episode)
1968
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Sir Turnbull
1968
The Guns of Will Sonnett
(1 episode)
1967
The King's Pirate
Captain Cullen
1967
Hawaii
Reverend Thorn
1966
Mission: Impossible
Archbishop Djelvas · (1 episode)
1966
Mission: Impossible
General Rados Adolph Gollan · (1 episode)
1966
The Time Tunnel
Dr. Everett Holland · (1 episode)
1966
Star Trek
Marplon · (1 episode)
1966
Get Smart
(1 episode)
1965
Lost in Space
The Space Trader · (1 episode)
1965
The Sandpiper
le juge Thompson
1965
The Holy Terror
Dr. Poole
1965
Profiles in Courage
Sewall · (1 episode)
1964
Profiles in Courage
Cannon · (1 episode)
1964
Daniel Boone
President John Adams · (1 episode)
1964
Daniel Boone
Cyrus Blake / Enoch Blake · (1 episode)
1964
Hell of Borneo
Mr. Bellflower
1964
Decision at Midnight
1963
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
(2 episodes)
1963
The Great Adventure
General Howe · (1 episode)
1963
The Great Adventure
Colonel Lewis Washington · (1 episode)
1963
Drums of Africa
Jack Cuortemayn
1963
Mutiny on the Bounty
Staines
1962
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Alva Hardwicke · (1 episode)
1962
Jack the Giant Killer
Pendragon
1962
The Canadians
Superintendent Walker
1961
Thriller
Jeremy Teal · (1 episode)
1960
The Citadel
Sir Robert Abbey
1960
Adventures in Paradise
Michael Cameron · (1 episode)
1959
One Step Beyond
Earl of Culdane · (1 episode)
1959
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
Sokurah the Magician
1958
The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen
King Bendigo · (1 episode)
1958
Peter Gunn
(1 episode)
1958
Darby's Rangers
Sergeant McTavish
1958
Witness for the Prosecution
Mr. Myers
1957
DuPont Show of the Month
Rees Mathry · (1 episode)
1957
Perry Mason
Walter Frazer · (1 episode)
1957
Band of Angels
Capt. Canavan
1957
Istanbul
Douglas Fielding
1957
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Ab Richards · (1 episode)
1956
The Deadly Riddle
The Red Knight
1956
Telephone Time
(1 episode)
1956
Helen of Troy
Ulysses
1956
Diane
Louis - Count de Breze
1956
Lady Godiva of Coventry
Lord Godwin
1955
The 20th Century Fox Hour
(2 episodes)
1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Constable Johnson · (1 episode)
1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Felix Edward Manbridge · (1 episode)
1955
Gunsmoke
John Tyson · (1 episode)
1955
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
Humphrey Palmer-Jones
1955
The Millionaire
Max MacIntyre · (1 episode)
1955
Bengal Brigade
Colonel Morrow
1954
Climax!
John Philippson · (1 episode)
1954
Climax!
Fred Beresford · (1 episode)
1954
The Black Shield of Falworth
Sir James
1954
Knock on Wood
Godfrey Langston
1954
The Robe
Sen. Gallio
1953
Houdini
Otto
1953
The Desert Rats
Col. Barney White
1953
Blackbeard, the Pirate
Sir Henry Morgan
1952
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
Johnson
1952
The Crimson Pirate
Humble Bellows
1952
Affair in Trinidad
Inspector Smythe
1952
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Dr. Poole · (1 episode)
1951
The Black Rose
Harry
1950
Now Barabbas
Customs Officer
1949
Bonnie Prince Charlie
Colonel Ker
1948
The Philco Television Playhouse
(1 episode)
1948
The Philco Television Playhouse
Othello · (1 episode)
1948
The Fallen Idol
Policeman
1948
The End of the River
Lisboa
1947
When The Bough Breaks
Adams
1947
Jassy
Bob Wicks
1947
The Man Within
Jailer
1947
Great Expectations
Bentley Drummle
1946
I See a Dark Stranger
Police Constable
1946
The Captive Heart
Repatriation Official (uncredited)
1946
The Next of Kin
German General
1942
Saboteur
Man (uncredited)
1942
Major Barbara
Todger Fairmile
1941
Gasbags
SS Man
1941
Saloon Bar
Mr. Garrod
1940
The Case of the Frightened Lady
Jim Tilling, the Groundsman
1940
Night Train to Munich
1940
Let George Do It!
U-Boat Commander
1940
Law and Disorder
Karl Bergsen
1940
Contraband
Sailor
1940
The Lion Has Wings
Seaman Receiving Information About German Activity
1939
The Kindled Flame
Festus
1939
Old Mother Riley, MP
Jack Nelson
1939
The Spy in Black
Submarine Officer
1939
Climbing High
Jim Castle
1938
Young and Innocent
Nobby's Lodging House Caretaker (uncredited)
1937
Sabotage
Mr. Verloc's Visitor (uncredited)
1937
Crime Over London
1936
The Man Who Could Work Miracles
Observer
1936
The Common Round
Martin
1936
Drake of England
1935
Red Wagon
Eddie Prince
1933