Donald Pleasence

Donald Henry Pleasence (Template:IPAc-en;<ref>"Pleasence" Template:Webarchive, Collins English Dictionary</ref> 5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> was an English actor. He was known for his "bald head and intense, staring eyes,"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and played more than 250 stage, film, and television roles across a nearly sixty-year career.

Pleasence began his career on stage in the West End before having a screen career, which included starring in a 1954 BBC adaptation of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, before playing numerous supporting and character roles, developing a reputation for playing "nervy, unstable characters" including Flight Lieutenant Colin Blythe in The Great Escape (1963), the villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice (1967), SEN 5241 in THX 1138 (1971), and the deranged Clarence "Doc" Tydon in Wake in Fright (1971). He also maintained an acclaimed career on the Broadway stage.

Pleasence starred as psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Loomis in Halloween (1978) and four of its sequels, a role for which he was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actor. The series' popularity and critical success led to a resurgent career for Pleasence, who appeared in numerous American and European-produced horror and thriller films. He collaborated with Halloween director John Carpenter twice more, as the President of the United States in Escape from New York (1981) and as the Priest in Prince of Darkness (1987).

For his stage work, Pleasence won a Drama Desk Award and was nominated for four Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Play. He was appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his services to drama by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994.

Early life

Pleasence was born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, the son of Alice (née Armitage) and Thomas Stanley Pleasence, a railway station master.<ref name="ref1">Template:Cite book</ref> His grandfather was a railwayman, who lived at Portland Place in Worksop, where Donald developed an interest in cricket.

He received his formal education at Crosby Junior School, known as Doncaster Road School, in Scunthorpe.<ref name=ST>Star Pupils Revealed at Scunthorpe Telegraph Template:Webarchive. Retrieved 9 July 2016</ref> He lived at 111 Frodingham Road for nine years. Aged seven he took part in his first play, in Scunthorpe called Passers By.<ref>Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph Saturday 1 August 1998, page 83</ref>

He was brought up as a strict Methodist in the small village of Grimoldby, Lincolnshire, from the age of nine.<ref name=ref09/> With his older brother Ralph, both went to Eastfield Road school in Louth.<ref>Louth Standard Saturday 9 January 1932, page 10</ref><ref>Louth Standard Saturday 2 July 1932, page 9</ref> He was in the local Scouts, the 4th United Methodist in Louth.<ref>Louth Standard Saturday 27 August 1932, page 9</ref><ref>Louth Standard Friday 12 December 1958</ref> He produced the school Christmas concert, in Louth, in his early teens.<ref>Louth Standard Friday 21 February 1964, page 16</ref><ref>Lincolnshire Standard Friday 21 February 1964, page 16</ref><ref>Sleaford Standard Friday 21 February 1964, page 14</ref><ref>Louth Standard Friday 10 February 1995, page 4</ref><ref>Lincolnshire Echo Thursday 2 February 1995, page 15</ref><ref>Grimsby Evening Telegraph Wednesday 8 January 1997, page 16</ref>

His father was the stationmaster at Grimoldby railway station for five years, on the Mablethorpe loop railway. <ref>Louth Standard Saturday 11 January 1947, page 6</ref> His parents were in the temperance society, as they were Methodists,<ref>Louth Standard Saturday 6 December 1930, page 10</ref><ref>Louth Standard Saturday 12 March 1932, page 16</ref> and his mother was in the Grimoldby and Manby WI.<ref>Louth Standard Saturday 4 March 1933, page 14</ref>

By early 1934 he had moved from Lincolnshire, where his father had been the LNER stationmaster from around early 1929.<ref>Nottingham Guardian Wednesday 5 July 1967, page 6</ref> His father was the stationmaster at Ecclesfield. His father would die aged 77 in around 1965, after moving to Teddington in the late 1950s.

He found his way into grammar school, at Ecclesfield Grammar School near Sheffield, which he said changed his life. Mr Clay was head of English, and with the headmaster, encouraged him, saying 'I owe virtually everything to them'. He developed his acting in Mr Clay's 'Wednesday Club' drama society. He has said that he was good at English but 'not much else'. Donald's father asked the headmaster to persuade his son to not choose to be an actor. A class friend Sam Hemingfield, would become a teacher, and later head of the sixth form at Ecclesfield School. Another friend was John Bertram, who would become a teacher, and head of English at Bradfield School.

For eighteen months he worked as a booking clerk at Swinton railway station,<ref>Obituary for Pleasence, 'The Independent', 2 February 1995.</ref> with LNER<ref>Lincolnshire Standard Friday 17 July 1964, page 5</ref> and decided that he wanted to be a professional actor, taking up a placement with the Jersey Repertory Company in 1939.<ref name=ref09>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His first professional play at the Playhouse, in Jersey in July 1939 was as assistant stage manager with the Kent-Naismith Rep Company, where he played Hareton Earnshaw in Wuthering Heights.<ref>Eckington and Staveley Express Saturday 15 July 1939, page 4</ref>

Until 1941, he worked in repertory theatre. Until leaving rep, he had a rebellious nature, and often upset theatre directors and managers, leading to him being dismissed.Template:Citation needed

Second World War

In December 1939, Pleasence initially refused conscription into the British Armed Forces, registering as a conscientious objector, but changed his stance in autumn 1940, after the attacks upon London by the Luftwaffe, and volunteered with the Royal Air Force.<ref>Obituary for D. Pleasence, 'The Independent', 3 February 1995.</ref> He served as aircraft wireless-operator with No. 166 Squadron in Bomber Command, with which he flew almost sixty raids against the Axis Powers over occupied Europe.

On 31 August 1944, his Lancaster NE112 was shot down during an attack on Agenville, France,<ref name="lost12715">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Chorley, W.R. (1997), Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War, Volume 5: 1944; p 407. Midland Counties Publications, UK. Template:ISBN.</ref> and he was captured and imprisoned in the German prisoner-of-war camp Stalag Luft I. Pleasence produced and acted in many plays for the entertainment of his fellow captives. Years later, he used his experiences in POW experiences in his role in The Great Escape.

After the war and his release, he was discharged from the RAF in 1946.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Acting career

Returning to acting after the war, Pleasence resumed working in repertory theatre companies in Birmingham and Bristol.<ref name=indepobit>Template:Cite news</ref>

His first production was The Brothers Karamazov, where he played the interrogator Mavriky, when one of the actors was ill at the Lyric Theatre (Hammersmith). It was his first 'unpleasant' acting role. He joined Birmingham Rep, where stayed for two years, then the Bristol Old Vic. He toured the US in 1950.<ref>Grimsby Evening Telegraph Friday 11 February 1955, page 5</ref>

In the 1950s, Pleasence's stage work included performing as Willie Mossop in a 1952 production of Hobson's Choice at the Arts Theatre, London and as Dauphin in Jean Anouilh's The Lark (1956).<ref name=indepobit/> In 1960, Pleasence gained excellent notices as the tramp in Harold Pinter's The Caretaker at the Arts Theatre, a role he would again play in a 1990 revival.<ref name=indepobit/> Other stage work in the 1960s included Anouilh's Poor Bitos (1963–64) and Robert Shaw's The Man in the Glass Booth (1967), for which he won the London Variety Award for Stage Actor of the Year in 1968.<ref name=indepobit/> Pleasence's later stage work included performing in a double bill of Pinter plays, The Basement and Tea Party, at the Duchess Theatre in 1970.<ref name=indepobit/>

Television

Pleasence made his television debut in I Want to Be a Doctor (1946).<ref name=indepobit/> He received positive critical attention for his role as Syme in the BBC version of Nineteen Eighty-Four (1954) from the novel by George Orwell.<ref name=indepobit/> The adaptation was by Nigel Kneale and featured Peter Cushing in the lead role of Winston Smith.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Pleasence played Prince John in several episodes of the ITV series The Adventures of Robin Hood (1956–1958). He appeared twice with Patrick McGoohan in the British spy series, Danger Man, in episodes "Position of Trust" (1960) and "Find and Return" (1961). Pleasence's first appearance in America was in an episode of The Twilight Zone, playing an aging teacher at a boys' school in the episode "The Changing of the Guard" (1962). In 1963, he appeared in an episode of The Outer Limits titled "The Man with the Power". In 1966, he also guest starred in an episode of The Fugitive entitled "With Strings Attached".

In 1973, Pleasence played a sympathetic murderer in an episode of Columbo entitled "Any Old Port in a Storm". Also that year, he played a supporting role in David Winters' musical television adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

He also portrayed a murderer captured by Mrs. Columbo in "Murder Is a Parlor Game" (1979). In 1978, he played a scout, Sam Purchas in an adaptation of James A. Michener's Centennial. Pleasence starred as the Reverend Septimus Harding in the BBC's TV series The Barchester Chronicles (1982).<ref name=autogenerated1 /> In this series, his daughter Angela Pleasence played his onscreen daughter Susan.

He hosted the 1981 Halloween episode of Saturday Night Live with music guest Fear.

In 1986, Pleasence joined Ronald Lacey and Polly Jo Pleasence for the television thriller Into the Darkness.

Pleasence and Michael Nader portrayed the villains in 1988's The Great Escape II: The Untold Story,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> which costar Christopher Reeve explained as not being a remake of the 1963 original film and being based on Paul Brickhill's non-fiction account The Great Escape. Noting his involvement in the original film, Joan Hanauer wrote that Pleasence had "graduated to an S.S. villain, and he is a marvel of soft-spoken, almost finicky evil."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Film

File:Donald Pleasence in Eye of the Devil trailer 1.jpg

Pleasence in the trailer for the film Eye of the Devil (1966).

Pleasence made his big-screen debut with The Beachcomber (1954).<ref name=autogenerated1 /> Some notable early roles include Parsons in 1984 (1956), and minor roles opposite Alec Guinness in Barnacle Bill (1957) and Dirk Bogarde in The Wind Cannot Read (1958). In Tony Richardson's film of Look Back in Anger (1959), he plays a vindictive market inspector opposite Richard Burton. In the same year, Pleasence starred in the horror films Circus of Horrors directed by Sidney Hayers, playing the role of Vanet, the owner of a circus, and The Flesh and the Fiends as the real-life murderer William Hare, alongside Peter Cushing, George Rose and Billie Whitelaw.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Endowed with a bald head, a penetrating stare, and an intense voice, usually quiet but capable of a piercing scream, he specialised in portraying insane, fanatical, or evil characters, including the title role in Dr Crippen (1962), the frontier prophet Oracle Jones in Hallelujah Trail, the double agent Dr Michaels in the science-fiction film Fantastic Voyage (1966), the white trader who sells guns to the Cheyenne Indians in the revisionist western Soldier Blue (1970), the mad German psychoanalyst with Bud Spencer–Terence Hill in Watch Out, We're Mad! (1974), Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler in The Eagle Has Landed (1976), and the Bond arch-villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld in You Only Live Twice (1967), the first film in which Blofeld's face is clearly seen. His interpretation of the character has become predominant in popular culture considering the popularity of the comic villain, Dr. Evil in the successful Austin Powers film series, which primarily parodies it. In the crime drama Hell is a City (1960), shot in Manchester, he starred opposite Stanley Baker, while he was memorably cast in the horror comedy What a Carve Up! (1961) as the "horrible-looking zombie" solicitor opposite Shirley Eaton, Sid James, Kenneth Connor and Dennis Price.

He appeared as the mild-mannered and good-natured POW forger Colin Blythe in the film The Great Escape (1963), who discovers that he is slowly going blind, but nonetheless participates in the mass break-out, only to be shot down by German soldiers because he is unable to see them. Variety highlighted Pleasence and Richard Attenborough as giving some of the better performances in the film, Pleasence specifically being praised for having the most moving portrayal and depicting "the film's most touching character."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Pleasence played Lucifer in the religious epic The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). He was one of many stars who were given cameos throughout the film. He also acted in Roman Polanski's Cul-de-sac (1966), in which he portrayed the love-sodden husband of a much younger French wife (Françoise Dorléac). He ventured successfully into American cowboy territory, playing a sadistic self-styled preacher who goes after stoic Charlton Heston in the Western Will Penny (1968).

In The Night of the Generals (1967), Pleasence played, as he did in The Great Escape, an uncharacteristically sympathetic role - this time, as an old-school German general involved in a plot to kill Adolf Hitler.

Pleasence was the original choice of Michael Reeves for the title role of the folk horror film Witchfinder General (a.k.a. The Conqueror Worm, 1968) but once American International Pictures became involved in the production, they insisted that their contract star, Vincent Price, be given the lead, and Pleasence was dropped from the film.

In 1971, Pleasence delivered a tour de force performance in the role of an alcoholic Australian doctor in Ted Kotcheff's nightmarish outback drama Wake in Fright. A lost film for many decades, Wake in Fright is now considered a pivotal film of both the Australian New Wave<ref>Rapold, Nicolas (4 October 2012). "'Wake in Fright' and Australian New Wave", The New York Times. Retrieved 12 January 2012.</ref> and the Ozploitation cycle,<ref name=ozploitation>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> earning praise from contemporary critics for Kotcheff's direction and the cast's performances.<ref name=rt>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Pleasence portrayed SEN 5241 in THX 1138 (1971), opposite Robert Duvall which was the directorial debut of George Lucas. The next year he appeared as an eccentric, tea-obsessed police inspector in the cult horror film Death Line alongside Norman Rossington and Christopher Lee. A few years later, he portrayed antagonist Lucas Deranian, in Walt Disney's Escape to Witch Mountain (1975) and, in Telefon (1977), Nicolai Dalchimsky, the Russian seeking to start a war between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Pleasence appeared as Dr. Samuel Loomis in John Carpenter's horror film Halloween (1978).<ref name="Smith 2003">Prometheus Entertainment, Halloween: A Cut Above the Rest, 2003</ref> The film was a major success and was considered the highest grossing independent film of its time, earning accolades as a classic of the horror genre. He also played the teacher, Kantorek in All Quiet on the Western Front (1979), Dr. Kobras in The Pumaman (1980) and the held-hostage President of the United States in Escape from New York (1981). The rather sinister accent which Pleasence employed in this and other films may be credited to the elocution lessons he had as a child. He reprised his Dr. Sam Loomis role in Halloween II (1981), Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988), Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) and Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995).

Pleasence, Daria Nicolodi, and Jennifer Connelly starred in Dario Argento's Phenomena (1985),<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> where Pleasence portrayed a wheelchair-using forensic entomologist.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Although Austin Trunick of Under the Radar criticized Connelly for not being an active heroine, he cited "a lot of nice interaction between Connelly and Pleasence's eccentric character" as a positive tradeoff.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Later that year, Pleasence played a retiring inspector who investigates the disappearance of the sister of Tom Schanley's character in Nothing Underneath.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> JA Kerswell called Pleasence's role "clichéd" for the actor while also praising his presence as "a welcome bonus."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The reviewer from Horror Society wrote of liking Schanley and Pleasence "but the story is the main focus here and not the cast which is a bit of a shame because both did fantastic jobs."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Operation Nam was Pleasence's sole film appearance in 1986, playing "a minor part as a priest" who services Vietnam soldiers.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Pleasence collaborated with Carpenter again when he starred in Prince of Darkness (1987), where he played a priest who seeks the aid of a professor and a few of the latter's quantum physics students to uncover the mystery of a glowing liquid in a canister.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Though mixed about the film, Starburst praised Pleasence's performance, admitting that to them, "there are very few sights in genre cinema as marvelous as seeing Pleasence delivering an intense, slightly erratic monologue, and he gets plenty to sink his teeth into here."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Megan Summers asserted that Pleasence brought "his standard emotional prowess and psychological stability to his role" in the film,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Michael Wilmington declared Pleasence and Victor Wong as "both fine; these two know how to make the most of shallow excess."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1988, Pleasence played a priest in the Italian horror film Vampire in Venice (a.k.a. Nosferatu in Venice), a quasi-sequel to Werner Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979).

Pleasence admired Sir Laurence Olivier,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> with whom he worked on-stage in the 1950s, and later on the film version of Dracula (1979). Two years earlier, Pleasence did an amusingly broad impersonation of Olivier in the guise of a horror-film actor called "Valentine De'ath" in the film The Uncanny (1977). According to the film critic Kim Newman on a DVD commentary for Halloween II, the reason for Pleasence's lengthy filmography was that he never turned down any role that was offered.

Spoken records and voice-overs

During the early 1960s, Pleasence recorded several children's-story records on the Atlas Record label. These were marketed as the Talespinners series in the United Kingdom. They were also released in the United States as Tale Spinners for Children by United Artists. The stories included Don Quixote and the Brave Little Tailor. He also wrote, directed and narrated Scouse the Mouse in 1977.

Pleasence provided the voice-over for the British public information film, The Spirit of Dark and Lonely Water (1973). The film, intended to warn children of the dangers of playing near water, attained notoriety for allegedly giving children nightmares.<ref>"Water horror" Template:Webarchive, BBC News Magazine, 09-02-2006. Retrieved 04-10-2010</ref>

Books

Pleasence was the author of the children's book Scouse the Mouse (1977) (London: New English Library), which was animated by Canadian animator/film director Gerald Potterton (a friend of the actor, who directed him in the Canadian film The Rainbow Boys (1973), retitled The Rainbow Gang for VHS release in the United States) and also adapted into a children's recording (Polydor Records, 1977) with Ringo Starr voicing the book's title character, Scouse the Mouse.

In his book British Film Character Actors (1982), Terence Pettigrew describes Pleasence as "a potent combination of eyes and voice. The eyes are mournful but they can also be sinister or seedy or just plain nutty. He has the kind of piercing stare which lifts enamel off saucepans."

Honours

Pleasence was appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his services to the acting profession by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994.

Personal life

Pleasence married four times and had five daughters from his first three marriages. He had Angela and Jean with Miriam Raymond (m. 1941–1958); Lucy and Polly with Josephine Martin Crombie (m. 1959–1970); and Miranda with Meira Shore (m. 1970–1988). His last marriage was to Linda Kentwood (m. 1988–1995; his death).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In the late 1970s, he lived near the eastern side of Kew Bridge. In the early 1960s his brother Ralph was stationmaster at Smeeth Road railway station.<ref>Lincolnshire Standard Friday 17 July 1964, page 5</ref> Ralph had retired to Lincoln in the 1970s.

He lived in the south of France for a number of years, up until his death.

Death

On 2 February 1995, Pleasence died at age 75 at his home in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, from complications of heart failure following heart valve replacement surgery.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His body was cremated.

Legacy

The 1995 film Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers was dedicated to Donald Pleasence. The 1998 film Halloween H20: 20 Years Later also features a dedication to Pleasence in the end credits, with voice actor Tom Kane providing a voice-over for Loomis in the film. In the 2018 film, Halloween, comedian Colin Mahan voiced Loomis.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the 2021 film Halloween Kills Tom Jones, Jr. played Loomis, wearing prosthetic make-up to resemble Pleasence. Loomis' voice was again provided by Mahan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Dr. Evil, the character played by Mike Myers in the Austin Powers comedy films (1997–2002), and Doctor Claw from Inspector Gadget are parodies of Pleasence's performance as Blofeld in You Only Live Twice.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1954	Private's Progress	Scotland Yard Detective	Uncredited
	The Beachcomber	Tromp
1955	Orders Are Orders	Corporal Martin	Credited as Donald Plesance
	Value for Money	Limpy
1956	1984	Parsons
	The Black Tent	Ali
1957	The Man in the Sky	Crabtree
	Manuela	Evans
	Barnacle Bill	Cashier
1958	A Tale of Two Cities	John Barsad
	Heart of a Child	Spiel
	The Wind Cannot Read	Doctor
	The Man Inside	Organ-Grinder
	The Two-Headed Spy	General Hardt
1959	Look Back in Anger	Hurst
	Killers of Kilimanjaro	Captain
	The Battle of the Sexes	Irwin Hoffman
1960	The Shakedown	Jessel Brown
	The Flesh and the Fiends	William Hare
	Circus of Horrors	Vanet
	Hell Is a City	Gus Hawkins
	Sons and Lovers	Pappleworth
	The Big Day	Victor Partridge
	Suspect	Parsons / Bill Brown
	The Hands of Orlac	Graham Coates
1961	No Love for Johnnie	Roger Renfrew
	The Wind of Change	'Pop' Marley
	A Story of David	Nabal
	Spare the Rod	Mr. Jenkins
	What a Carve Up!	Everett Sloane
1962	The Inspector	Sergeant Wolters
1963	The Caretaker	Mac Davies / Bernard Jenkins
	The Great Escape	Flight Lieutenant Colin Blythe, "The Forger"
	Dr. Crippen	Dr. Crippen
1965	The Greatest Story Ever Told	Satan
	The Hallelujah Trail	Oracle Jones
1966	Cul-de-sac	George
	Eye of the Devil	Pere Dominic
	Fantastic Voyage	Dr. Michaels
1967	The Night of the Generals	General Kahlenberge
	You Only Live Twice	Ernst Stavro Blofeld
	Matchless	Gregori Andreanu
1968	Will Penny	Preacher Quint
	Sleep Is Lovely	Clive
	Creature of Comfort	James Thorne
1969	Arthur? Arthur!	Arthur Brownjohn
	The Madwoman of Chaillot	Prospector
1970	Soldier Blue	Isaac Q. Cumber
1971	THX 1138	SEN 5241
	Wake in Fright	Clarence 'Doc' Tydon
1972	Death Line	Inspector Calhoun
	The Jerusalem File	Major Samuels
	The Pied Piper	Baron
	Henry VIII and His Six Wives	Thomas Cromwell
	Innocent Bystanders	Loomis
	Wedding in White	Jim Dougall
1973	Kidnapped	Ebenezer Balfour
	The Rainbow Boys	Ralph Logan
	Lonely Water	The Spirit (voice)	Short film
	Malachi's Cove	Malachi
	Tales That Witness Madness	Professor Tremayne
1974	From Beyond the Grave	Jim Underwood	Segment: "An Act of Kindness"
	Watch Out, We're Mad!	Doctor
	The Black Windmill	Cedric Harper
	House of the Damned	Martin Zayas
	The Mutations	Professor Nolter
	Barry McKenzie Holds His Own	Count Plasma
1975	The Count of Monte Cristo	Baron Danglars
	Escape to Witch Mountain	Lucas Deranian
	I Don't Want to Be Born	Dr. Finch
	Journey into Fear	Kuvelti
	Hearts of the West	A.J. Neitz
1976	Trial by Combat	Sir Giles Marley
	Land of the Minotaur	Father Roche
	Goldenrod	John Tyler Jones
	The Passover Plot	Pontius Pilate
	The Last Tycoon	Boxley
	The Eagle Has Landed	Heinrich Himmler
1977	The Uncanny	Valentine De'ath	Segment: "Hollywood 1936"
	Oh, God!	Dr. Harmon
	Telefon	Nikolai Dalchimsky
1978	Blood Relatives	James Doniac
	Tomorrow Never Comes	Dr. Todd
	Night Creature	Axel MacGregor
	Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band	B.D. Hoffler
	Power Play	Blair
	L'Ordre et la sécurité du monde	Rothko
	Halloween	Dr. Sam Loomis
1979	Jigsaw	Albert Rumpelmayer
	Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff	Dr. Steiner
	Dracula	Dr. Jack Seward
	Jaguar Lives!	General Villanova
1980	The Pumaman	Dr. Kobras
	The Monster Club	Pickering
1981	Escape from New York	The President of the United States
	Halloween II	Dr. Sam Loomis
	Race for the Yankee Zephyr	Gilbert 'Gibbie' Carson
1982	Alone in the Dark	Dr. Leo Bain
1983	To Kill a Stranger	Colonel Kostik
	Warrior of the Lost World	Prossor
	The Devonsville Terror	Dr. Warley
1984	Frankenstein's Great Aunt Tillie	Baron Victor Frankenstein
	Where Is Parsifal?	Mackintosh
	The Ambassador	Eretz
	A Breed Apart	J.P. Whittier
	Terror in the Aisles	Himself (host)
1985	Phenomena	John McGregor
	Treasure of the Amazon	Klaus Von Blantz
	Nothing Underneath	Inspector Danesi
1986	Operation Nam	Father Lenoir
1987	Warrior Queen	Clodius
	Specters	Professor Lasky
	Double Target	Senator Blaster
	Ground Zero	Prosper Gaffney
	Django 2	Gunn
	Prince of Darkness	Priest
	To Kill a Stranger	Colonel Kostik
	Animali metropolitani	Professor Livingstone
1988	Phantom of Death	Inspector Datti
	The Commander	Henry Carlson
	Last Platoon	Colonel B. Abrams
	Vampire in Venice	Don Alvise
	Hanna's War	Captain Thomas Rosza
	Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers	Dr. Sam Loomis
1989	The House of Usher	Walter Usher
	Ten Little Indians	Judge Lawrence Wargrave
	Paganini Horror	Mr. Pickett
	River of Death	Heinrich Spaatz
	Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers	Dr. Sam Loomis
	Casablanca Express	Colonel Bats
1990	Buried Alive	Dr. Schaeffer
	American Rickshaw	Reverend Mortom
1991	L'avvoltoio può attendere	Aaron Shalik
	Millions	Ripa
	Shadows and Fog	Doctor
1992	Dien Bien Phu	Howard Simpson
1993	The Thief and the Cobbler	Phido the Vulture (voice)	1992 workprint and Fred Calvert version only
	The Big Freeze	Soup Slurper
	The Hour of the Pig	Pincheon
1995	Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers	Dr. Sam Loomis	Posthumous release
	Safe Haven	The Sailor	Posthumous release
1996	Fatal Frames	Professor Robertson	Posthumous release (final film role)
2021	Halloween Kills	Dr. Sam Loomis	Posthumous release, prosthetic makeup used for likeness

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1952	The Dybbuk	Second batlon	Television film
1952–1959	Sunday Night Theatre	Various roles	6 episodes
1954	Montserrat	Juan Alvarez	Television film
	The Face of Love	Alex
	Nineteen Eighty-Four	Syme
1955	The Grove Family	Monsieur Paul	Episode: "Parlez-Vous Français?"
1956	The Adventures of Robin Hood	Prince John	4 episodes
1956–1959	ITV Playhouse	Various roles	6 episodes
1957	Assignment Foreign Legion	Commandant	Episode: "The Coward"
1957–1967	Armchair Theatre	Various roles	8 episodes
1958	I Spy	Mr. Frute	Television film
	Granite	A Nameless Man
1959	The Killing Stones	Jakob Kleiber	Episode: "The Carefulness of Kleiber"
	The Scarf	Detective Inspector Harry Yates	6 episodes
	The Adventures of William Tell	The Spider	Episode: "The Spider"
	The Traitor	Grantley Caypor	Television film
1960	The Four Just Men	Paul Koster	Episode: "The Survivor"
	Interpol Calling	Karl Haussman	Episode: "The Absent Assassin"
	Rendezvous	Potter	Episode: "The Dodo"
1960–1961	Danger Man	Nikolides / Captain Aldrich	2 episodes
1960–1965	Armchair Mystery Theatre	Host / Ambrose	Episode: "Ambrose"
1961	Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond	Harvey Laurence	Episode: "The Confession"
	Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color	Captain Pinski	Episode: "The Horsemasters"
1962	The Twilight Zone	Professor Ellis Fowler	Episode: "The Changing of the Guard"
1963	The Outer Limits	Professor Harold Finley	Episode: "The Man with the Power"
1964	Espionage	Escalon	Episode: "The Liberators"
1965	The Defenders	Dr. Byron Saul	Episode: "Fires of the Mind"
1966	The Fugitive	Max Pfeiffer	Episode: "With Strings Attached"
	The Wednesday Play	The Head Waiter	Episode: "The Head Waiter" (teleplay)
1967	The Diary of Anne Frank	Mr. Dusseli	Television film
1967–1968	Thirty-Minute Theatre	J.G. / Richard Pratt	2 episodes
1971	The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes	Carnacki	Episode: "The Horse of the Invisible"
1971–1983	Play for Today	Samuel Johnson / Gerry Muddiman / Tom	3 episodes
1972	Hawaii Five-O	Hans Vogler	Episode: "The Ninety-Second War: Part II"
	The Man Outside	Victor Cobb	Episode: "A Glass of Snake Wine"
	Police Surgeon	Jerry Hahn	Episode: "Lady X"
1973	Columbo	Adrian Carsini	Episode: "Any Old Port in a Storm"
	Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde	Fred Smudge	Television film
	Orson Welles Great Mysteries	Cawser	Episode: "Captain Rogers"
1974	Occupations	Christo Kabak	Television film
	Performance	Wilhelm Voigt	Episode "The Captain of Köpenick"
1975	The Count of Monte Cristo	Baron Danglars	Television film
	Shades of Greene	Puckler	Episode: "The Root of All Evil"
1976	Peep Show	Max	Episode: "Death"
	Laurence Olivier Presents	Nat Jeffcote	Episode: "Hindle Wakes"
1977	Jesus of Nazareth	Melchior	Miniseries
	The Dark Secret of Harvest Home	Narrator
1978	The Defection of Simas Kudirka	Captain Vladimir Popov	Television film
	The Bastard	Solomon Sholto	Miniseries
1978–1979	Centennial	Sam Purchas
1979	Mrs. Columbo	Ian A. Morly	Episode: "Murder Is a Parlor Game"
	All Quiet on the Western Front	Kantorek	Television film
	Gold of the Amazon Women	Clarence Blasko
	The French Atlantic Affair	Max Dechambre	Miniseries
	Better Late Than Never	Colonel Riddle	Television film
1980	The Ghost Sonata	The Old Man
	Blade on the Feather	Professor Jason Cavendish
1981	Dick Turpin	Ignatius Slake	2 episodes
	Saturday Night Live	Host	Episode: "Donald Pleasence/Fear"
1982	Witness for the Prosecution	Mr. Myers	Television film
	The Barchester Chronicles	Reverend Septimus Harding	7 episodes
1984	Master of the Game	Salomon Van der Merwe	Miniseries
	Arch of Triumph	Haake	Television film
1985	Black Arrow	Sir Oliver Oates
1987	Scoop	Lord Copper
	Basements	Mr. Kidd	Episode: "The Room"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1988	The Ray Bradbury Theater	George Hill	Episode: "Punishment Without Crime"
	The Great Escape II: The Untold Story	Dr. Absalon	Television film
1989	Agatha Christie's Miss Marple: A Caribbean Mystery	Jason Rafiel
1991	Women in Arms	Dreyfuss
1992	Lovejoy	Karel Redl	Episode: "The Prague Sun"
1993	Screen Two	Victor Harty	Episode: "Femme Fatale"
1995	Signs and Wonders	Cornelius Van Damm	Miniseries

Awards and nominations

Award	Year	Category	Work	Result
Australian Film Institute Awards	1987	Best Actor in a Supporting Role	Ground Zero	Template:Nominated
British Academy Television Awards	1959	Light Entertainment AwardTemplate:Cn	Template:N/A	Template:Won
Drama Desk Awards<ref name=":0" />	1969	Outstanding Performance	The Man in the Glass Booth	Template:Won
Primetime Emmy Awards<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	1978	Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Drama Special	The Defection of Simas Kudirka	Template:Nominated
Saturn Awards	1980	Best Supporting Actor	Dracula	Template:Nominated
	1982	Best Actor	Halloween II	Template:Nominated
Tony Awards<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	1962	Best Actor in a Play	The Caretaker	Template:Nom
	1965	Poor Bitos		Template:Nom
	1969	The Man in the Glass Booth		Template:Nom
	1972	Wise Child		Template:Nom

External links

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