Torin Thatcher
Thatcher in The Robe (1953)
Born
Torin Herbert Erskine Thatcher

(1905-01-15)15 January 1905
Bombay, British India
Died4 March 1981(1981-03-04) (aged 76)
Thousand Oaks, California, U.S.
Years active1927–1976
Spouses
Marguerite Mildred Daniel
​
​
(m. 1940; died 1951)​
    Anna Le Borgne
    ​
    (m. 1952)​
    Children1

    Torin Herbert Erskine Thatcher (15 January 1905 – 4 March 1981) was a British actor who was noted for his flashy portrayals of screen villains.

    Personal life

    Thatcher was born 15 January 1905 in Bombay, British India,[1] to British parents, Torin James Blair Thatcher, a police officer, and his wife Edith Rachel, a voice and piano teacher, younger daughter of the Hon. Justice Sir Herbert Batty, a puisne judge of the High Court of Bombay.[2][3][4][5] 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.

    Career

    In 1935 he appeared in the historical play Mary Tudor. He appeared in the 1937 Old Vic 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 demobilised 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 Marcellus), The Black Shield of Falworth (1954), Helen of Troy (1956), Darby's Rangers (1958) and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958). He was a formidable prosecutor in Witness for the Prosecution (1957) and also appeared in the Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard 1962 remake of Mutiny on the Bounty.

    Thatcher in The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952)

    He returned to the stage 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 film 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), and Brenda Starr (1976).

    He played the title role in a Philco Television Playhouse version of Othello and acted in a CBS production of Beyond This Place (1957). He appeared in programmes such as The Real McCoys, Thriller, Gunsmoke (“Fandango” - S12E21), Perry Mason, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Daniel Boone, Wagon Train (S2E32) and Mission: Impossible. He was cast as the sly space trader in an episode of Lost in Space. Thatcher, if not for his distinguished career, has been recognized by several generations of fans of Star Trek: The Original Series from his performance as Marplon, a member of the secret resistance in "The Return of the Archons".

    Death

    Thatcher died of cancer on 4 March 1981 in Thousand Oaks, California.[1]

    Select filmography

    References

    1. 1 2 "Torin Thatcher, 76, actor". Newsday. 5 March 1981. p. 31.
    2. ↑ Who was who in the theatre, 1912-1976 Volume 4, Gale Research Group, 1978, pg 2347
    3. ↑ Annual Obituary 1981, Thomson Gale, 1982, pg 153
    4. ↑ The Law Times: The Journal and Record of the Law and the Lawyers, Volume 114, pg 394
    5. ↑ Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage, 1931, pg 908
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