Donald Pleasence
| Donald Pleasence OBE | |
|---|---|
 Pleasence in London, 1973. Portrait by Allan Warren | |
| Born |
Donald Henry Pleasence 5 October 1919 Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, UK |
| Died |
2 February 1995 (aged 75) Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Alpes-Maritimes, France |
| Cause of death | Heart failure |
| Alma mater | Ecclesfield School |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1939–95 |
| Spouse(s) |
Miriam Raymond (1941–58) Josephine Crombie (1959–70) Meira Shore (1970–88) Linda J. Kentwood (1988–95; his death) |
| Children | 5 daughters |
Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE (/ˈplɛzəns/;[1] 5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995)[2] was an English film, television, and stage actor. His most notable film roles include psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis in most of the Halloween series, the villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice, RAF Flight Lieutenant Colin Blythe in The Great Escape and George in Cul-de-sac.
Early life
Pleasence was born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, the son of Alice (née Armitage) and Thomas Stanley Pleasence, a railway stationmaster.[3] He was brought up as a strict Methodist in the small village of Grimoldby, Lincolnshire.[4] Pleasence attended Ecclesfield Grammar School, in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire, and subsequently dropped out to work as a railway clerk, while looking for a job as an actor.[4] During the Second World War Pleasence was initially a conscientious objector, but later changed his stance and was commissioned into the Royal Air Force, serving with 166 Squadron, RAF Bomber Command. His Lancaster NE112 was shot down on 31 August 1944, during a raid on Agenville.[5][6] He was taken prisoner and placed in the German prisoner-of-war camp Stalag Luft I, where he produced and acted in plays. He would later play Flight Lieutenant Colin Blythe in The Great Escape where much of the story takes place inside a German POW camp.
Career
Stage
In 1939 Pleasence started working in repertory theatre as an assistant stage manager with Jersey Repertory, making his acting debut with the company as Hareton in Wuthering Heights. He subsequently worked in repertory theatre in Birmingham and Bristol before making his London stage debut as Valentine in Twelfth Night in 1942.[7]
In the 1950s Pleasence's stage work included performing as Willie Mossop in a 1952 production of Hobson's Choice at the Arts Theatre and as Dauphin in Jean Anouilh's The Lark (1956).[7]
In 1960 Pleasence won acclaim as the tramp in Harold Pinter's The Caretaker at the Arts Theatre, a part he would again play in a 1990 revival.[7] Other stage work in the 1960s included Anouilh's Poor Bitos (1967) 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.[7]
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.[7]
Television
Pleasence made his television debut in I Want to Be a Doctor in 1946.[7] In 1954 he received critical acclaim as Syme in a BBC adaptation of George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.[7] The adaptation was by Nigel Kneale and also starred Peter Cushing, another British actor who would go on to find fame in many horror-film roles.
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 entitled "The Man With the Power".
In 1973 Pleasence played the murderer in an episode of Columbo, in which Lt. Columbo took actual pity on, entitled "Any Old Port in a Storm". He also had the distinction of playing a culprit captured by Mrs. Columbo in "Murder is a Parlour Game" (1979). In 1978, he played a scout, Sam Purchas in James A. Michener's Centennial. Pleasence starred as the Reverend Septimus Harding in the BBC's 1982 TV series The Barchester Chronicles. In this series has 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.
Film
Pleasence made his big-screen debut with The Beachcomber (1954). Some notable early roles include Parsons in 1984 (1956), his second Orwell film, 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 film, Circus of Horrors directed by Sidney Hayers, playing the role of Vanet, the owner of a circus.[8]
Endowed with a shiny bald head, a penetrating stare, and an intense voice, usually quiet but capable of a piercing scream, he specialised in portraying insane or evil characters, including the title role in Dr Crippen (1962), the double agent Dr. Michaels in the (1966) sci-fi hit "Fantastic Voyage", the violent alcoholic Doc Tydon in Wake in Fright (1971), the mad Doctor in the Bud Spencer–Terence Hill film Watch Out, We're Mad (1974), 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 the villain'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) he starred opposite Stanley Baker. The film was shot on location in Manchester.
He appeared as the POW forger Colin Blythe in the 1963 film The Great Escape, 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. In The Night of the Generals (1967), he played another uncharacteristically sympathetic role, this time as an old-school German general involved in a plot to kill Adolf Hitler. In 1971, he returned to the realm of the deranged, delivering a tour de force performance in the role of an alcoholic Australian doctor in Ted Kotcheff's nightmarish outback drama Wake in Fright.
Pleasence played Lucifer in the religious epic The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). His character taking on many dark, shadowy human disguises throughout the film was unprecedented in breathing life into the Luke 4:13 phrase "... he left Him until an opportune time ..." 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). In 1968, he ventured successfully into American cowboy territory, playing a sadistic self-styled preacher who goes after stoic Charlton Heston in the Western Will Penny.
In his later years he portrayed Lucas Deranian in Walt Disney's Escape to Witch Mountain (1975), Dr. Loomis in Halloween (1978), Dr. Kobras in The Pumaman (1980) and the President in Escape from New York (1981). The distinctive, rather sinister accent which Pleasence employed in this and other films may be credited to the elocution lessons that he had as a child. He reprised his Dr. 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 admired Sir Laurence Olivier,[9] with whom he worked on-stage in the 1950s, and later on the 1979 film version of Dracula. 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.
Spoken records and voiceovers
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 UK. 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.
Pleasence provided the voice-over for the British Public Information Film, The Spirit of Dark and Lonely Water in 1973. The film, intended to warn children of the dangers of playing near water, attained notoriety for allegedly giving children nightmares.
Books
Pleasence was the author of the 1977 children's book Scouse the Mouse (London: New English Library), which was animated by Canadian animator/film director Gerald Potterton (a friend of the actor, who directed him in the 1973 Canadian film The Rainbow Boys, 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 described him 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.'
Awards
Pleasence was nominated four times for the Tony Award for best performance by a leading actor in a Broadway play: in 1962 for Harold Pinter's The Caretaker, in 1965 for Jean Anouilh's Poor Bitos, in 1969 for Robert Shaw's The Man in the Glass Booth, and in 1972 for Simon Gray's Wise Child.
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 to Linda Kentwood (m. 1988–1995; his death)
Death
In 1995, Pleasence died at the age of 75 in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, from complications of heart failure following heart valve replacement surgery.[10] His body was cremated.
Legacy
Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later and Halloween Resurrection were both dedicated to the memory of Pleasence.
Dr. Evil, the character played by Mike Myers in the Austin Powers comedy films (1997–2002) and Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget are parodies of Pleasence's performance as Blofeld in You Only Live Twice.
Donald's grandson Jack O'Hare (Jak O'Hare) is a director in London, UK.
Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | The Beachcomber | Tromp | |
| 1954 | Orders Are Orders | Corporal Martin | Credited as Donald Plesance |
| 1955 | Value for Money | Limpy | |
| 1956 | 1984 | R. Parsons | |
| 1956 | The Black Tent | Ali | |
| 1956 | The Adventures of Robin Hood | Prince John | TV series (4 episodes) |
| 1957 | The Man in the Sky | Crabtree | (titled Decision Against Time in the U.S.) |
| 1957 | Manuela | Evans | |
| 1957 | Barnacle Bill | Cashier | (titled All at Sea in the U.S.) |
| 1958 | A Tale of Two Cities | John Barsad | |
| 1958 | Heart of a Child | Spiel | |
| 1958 | The Wind Cannot Read | Doctor | |
| 1958 | The Man Inside | Organ-grinder | |
| 1958 | The Two-Headed Spy | General Hardt | |
| 1959 | The Scarf | Detective Inspector Harry Yates | TV series (6 episodes) |
| 1959 | Look Back in Anger | Hurst | |
| 1959 | Killers of Kilimanjaro | Captain | |
| 1959 | The Battle of the Sexes | Irwin Hoffman | |
| 1960 | The Shakedown | Jessel Brown | |
| 1960 | The Flesh and the Fiends | William Hare | |
| 1960 | Sons and Lovers | Pappleworth | |
| 1960 | Hell Is a City | Gus Hawkins | |
| 1960 | Circus of Horrors | Vanet | |
| 1960 | The Hands of Orlac | Graham Coates | |
| 1961 | What a Carve Up! | Everett Sloane | |
| 1961 | No Love for Johnnie | Roger Renfrew | |
| 1961 | A Story of David | Nabal | |
| 1961 | Spare the Rod | Mr. Jenkins | |
| 1962 | The Inspector | Sergeant Wolters | |
| 1962 | Dr. Crippen | Dr. Crippen | |
| 1963 | The Great Escape | RAF Flt. Lt. Colin Blythe, "The Forger" | |
| 1963 | The Outer Limits | Prof. Harold Finley | TV series (episode: "The Man With the Power") |
| 1965 | The Hallelujah Trail | Oracle Jones | |
| 1965 | The Greatest Story Ever Told | The Dark Hermit, Satan | |
| 1966 | Fantastic Voyage | Dr. Michaels | |
| 1966 | Cul-de-sac | George | |
| 1966 | Eye of the Devil | Pere Dominic | |
| 1967 | You Only Live Twice | Ernst Stavro Blofeld | |
| 1967 | The Night of the Generals | General Kahlenberge | |
| 1967 | Matchless | Gregori Andreanu | |
| 1968 | The Other People | Clive | |
| 1968 | Will Penny | Preacher Quint | |
| 1969 | Arthur? Arthur! | Arthur Brownjohn | |
| 1969 | The Madwoman of Chaillot | The Prospector | |
| 1970 | Soldier Blue | Isaac Q. Cumber | |
| 1971 | THX 1138 | SEN 5241 | |
| 1971 | Wake in Fright | Doc Tydon | |
| 1971 | Kidnapped | Ebenezer Balfour | |
| 1972 | The Pied Piper | The Baron | |
| 1972 | Death Line | Inspector Calhoun | |
| 1972 | Innocent Bystanders | Loomis | |
| 1972 | Henry VIII and His Six Wives | Thomas Cromwell | |
| 1972 | The Jerusalem File | Major Samuels | |
| 1972 | Wedding in White | Jim Dougall | |
| 1973 | Tales That Witness Madness | Professor Tremayne | |
| 1973 | Malachi's Cove | Malachi | |
| 1973 | Columbo | Adrian Carsini | |
| 1974 | Watch Out, We're Mad | The Doctor | |
| 1974 | From Beyond the Grave | Jim Underwood | Segment: "An Act of Kindness" |
| 1974 | House of the Damned | Martin Zayas | Original title: La loba y la Paloma |
| 1974 | The Mutations | Professor Nolter | |
| 1974 | The Black Windmill | Cedric Harper | |
| 1974 | Barry Mckenzie Holds His Own | Count Plasma | |
| 1975 | Escape to Witch Mountain | Lucas Deranian | |
| 1975 | The Count of Monte Cristo | Baron Danglars | |
| 1975 | I Don't Want to Be Born | Dr. Finch | |
| 1975 | Journey into Fear | Kuvelti | |
| 1975 | Hearts of the West | A.J. Neitz | Alternate title: Hollywood Cowboy |
| 1976 | Land of the Minotaur | Father Roche | Alternate title: The Devil's Men |
| 1976 | The Eagle Has Landed | Himmler | |
| 1976 | Trial by Combat | Sir Giles Marley | Alternate title: Dirty Knights' Work |
| 1976 | The Last Tycoon | Boxley | |
| 1976 | The Passover Plot | Pontius Pilate | |
| 1977 | The Uncanny | Valentine De'ath | Segment: "Hollywood 1936" |
| 1977 | Oh, God! | Dr. Harmon | |
| 1977 | Telefon | Nikolai Dalchimsky | |
| 1977 | Jesus of Nazareth | Melchior | TV miniseries |
| 1978 | Halloween | Dr. Loomis | |
| 1978 | Blood Relatives | James Doniac | |
| 1978 | Night Creature | Axel MacGregor | Alternate title: Out of the Darkness |
| 1978 | The Bastard | Solomon Sholto | TV miniseries |
| 1978 | Tomorrow Never Comes | Dr. Todd | |
| 1978 | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band | B.D. Hoffler/B.D. Brockhurst | |
| 1978 | Power Play | Blair | |
| 1978 | Centennial | Sam Purchas | TV miniseries |
| 1978 | L'Ordre et la sécurité du monde | Rothko | Alternate title: Last In, First Out |
| 1979 | Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff | Dr. Steiner | |
| 1979 | Dracula | Dr. Jack Seward | |
| 1979 | All Quiet on the Western Front | Kantorek | TV film |
| 1979 | Jaguar Lives! | General Villanova | |
| 1979 | The French Atlantic Affair | Max Dechambre | TV miniseries |
| 1980 | The Pumaman | Dr. Kobras | |
| 1980 | The Monster Club | Pickering | |
| 1980 | Halloween: Extended Edition | Dr. Loomis | Appeared in additional footage (filmed during the production of Halloween II) not included in the original film but featured in the NBC television broadcast. |
| 1981 | Halloween II | Dr. Loomis | |
| 1981 | Race for the Yankee Zephyr | Gilbert "Gibbie" Carson | |
| 1981 | Escape from New York | Mr. President | |
| 1981 | Saturday Night Live | Himself-Guest host | 10/31/81 Halloween show with musical guest punk rock band Fear. John Belushi makes a guest appearance in the opening sketch. This would be Belushi's last SNL appearance. |
| 1982 | Alone in the Dark | Dr. Leo Bain | |
| 1982 | The Barchester Chronicles | Reverend Septimus Harding | TV series |
| 1983 | Warrior of the Lost World | Prossor | |
| 1983 | The Devonsville Terror | Dr. Warley | |
| 1983 | Where Is Parsifal? | Mackintosh | |
| 1984 | A Breed Apart | J.P. Whittier | |
| 1984 | The Ambassador | Eretz | |
| 1984 | Frankenstein's Great Aunt Tillie | Baron Victor Frankenstein | |
| 1985 | Black Arrow | Oliver Oates | TV film |
| 1985 | Arch of Triumph | Haake | |
| 1985 | Treasure of the Amazon | Klaus von Blantz | |
| 1985 | Phenomena | John McGregor | |
| 1985 | Nothing Underneath | Inspector Danesi | |
| 1986 | Operation Nam | Father Lenoir | Alternate title: Cobra Mission |
| 1987 | Django 2 | Gunn | |
| 1987 | Specters | Professor Lasky | |
| 1987 | Prince of Darkness | Priest | |
| 1987 | Ground Zero | Prosper Gaffney | |
| 1988 | The Great Escape II: The Untold Story | Dr. Absalon | TV film |
| 1988 | Hanna's War | Captain Thomas Rosza | |
| 1988 | Phantom of Death | Inspector Datti | |
| 1988 | Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers | Dr. Loomis | |
| 1988 | Vampire in Venice | Don Alvise | |
| 1988 | Der Commander | Henry Carlson | |
| 1988 | Last Platoon | Colonel B. Abrams | |
| 1989 | Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers | Dr. Loomis | |
| 1989 | Ten Little Indians | Judge Lawrence Wargrave | |
| 1989 | River of Death | Heinrich Spaatz | |
| 1989 | Casablanca Express | Colonel Bats | |
| 1990 | Buried Alive | Dr. Schaeffer | |
| 1991 | Shadows and Fog | Doctor | |
| 1992 | Dien Bien Phu | Howard Simpson | |
| 1993 | The Thief and the Cobbler | Phido the Vulture (voice) | |
| 1993 | The Big Freeze | Soup slurper | |
| 1993 | The Hour of the Pig | Pincheon | |
| 1995 | Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers | Dr. Loomis |
The film was dedicated to his memory. |
| 1996 | Fatal Frames | Prof. Robertson |
References
- ↑ "Pleasence", Collins English Dictionary
- ↑ "England and Wales Births 1837–1983". Freebmd.org.uk. 2010-09-10. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
- ↑ Ross, Helen; Ross, Lillian (1962). The Player: A Profile of an Art. Simon and Schuster. p. 256. ISBN.
- 1 2 "Full text of "The Player A Profile Of An Art"". Archive.org. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
- ↑ Record for Lancaster NE112 on lostaircraft.com
- ↑ Chorley, W.R. (1997), Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War, Volume 5: 1944; p 407. Midland Counties Publications, UK. ISBN 0-904597-91-1.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Obituaries: Donald Pleasence". The Independent. 3 February 1995. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
- ↑ "Circus of Horrors". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- ↑ "Donald Pleasence'S Biography". Pleasence.com. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
- ↑ Mel Gussow (February 3, 1995). "Donald Pleasence, Virtuoso Actor, Dies at 75". New York Times. Retrieved 2015-03-06.
Donald Pleasence, the intense, virtuosic actor who was acclaimed in London and on Broadway for his performance in the title role of Harold Pinter's play "The Caretaker," died yesterday at his home in St. Paul de Vence in the south of France. He was 75 and also had a home in London. ...
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Donald Pleasence. |
- Donald Pleasence at the Internet Movie Database
- Donald Pleasence at the Internet Broadway Database
- Donald Pleasence at TV Tropes
- Donald Pleasence at screenonline
- Donald Pleasence-bio at (re)Search my Trash
- The Man with the Hypnotic Eye A Tribute to Donald Pleasence
- Photograph of a theatrical production in prisoner of war camp featuring Donald Pleasence
- Lonely Water Public Information Film on YouTube
|