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