Donald Eccles (26 April 1908 – 2 February 1986) was a British character actor. Donald Yarrow Eccles was born in Nafferton, Yorkshire on 26 April 1908 the son of Charles Henry and Constance Eccles; his father was a doctor. Eccles was educated at Highgate School and then worked in an insurance office. He made his stage debut in New York City in 1930, and later became known as a member of the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

. His debut in London was in ''Counsellor at Law'' in 1934 at the Piccadilly. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he spent six years in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. In 1960 he acted in the film ''

A Taste of Money ''A Taste of Money'' is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Max Varnel and starring Jean Cadell, Dick Emery and Pete Murray. It was produced by the Danzigers. Premise An elderly spinster who works as a cashier for an insurance company plot ...

'' and later appeared in many other films including ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'' (1968), ''

The Wicker Man ''The Wicker Man'' is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, and Christopher Lee. The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer, inspired by David Pinner's 1967 ...

'' (1973), ''

The Hunchback of Notre Dame ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (french: Notre-Dame de Paris, translation=''Our Lady of Paris'', originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. It focuses on the unfortunate story o ...

'' (1982), ''

Coming Out of the Ice ''Coming Out of the Ice'' is a 1982 American made-for-television biographical film of Victor Herman.THE LIFE OF AN AMERICAN IN SIBERIA Boston Globe 23 May 1982: 1. It is based upon Herman's 1979 autobiography of the same name. Cast *John Savage ...

'' (1982), ''

The Dresser ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1983), ''

The Master of Ballantrae ''The Master of Ballantrae: A Winter's Tale'' is an 1889 novel by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, focusing upon the conflict between two brothers, Scottish noblemen whose family is torn apart by the Jacobite rising of 1745. He w ...

'' (1984), ''

A Private Function ''A Private Function'' is a 1984 British comedy film starring Michael Palin and Maggie Smith. The film was predominantly filmed in Ilkley, and Ben Rhydding in West Yorkshire. The film was also screened in the section of Un Certain Regard at the ...

'' (1984) and ''

Young Sherlock Holmes ''Young Sherlock Holmes'' (also known with the title card name of "''Young Sherlock Holmes and the Pyramid of Fear''") is a 1985 American mystery adventure film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Chris Columbus, based on the characters ...

'' (1985). He also appeared in many television roles, such as Pollio in ''

I, Claudius ''I, Claudius'' is a historical novel by English writer Robert Graves, published in 1934. Written in the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius, it tells the history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the early years of the Roma ...

'' and Mr Justice Vosper in the second series of ''

Rumpole of the Bailey ''Rumpole of the Bailey'' is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. It starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, a middle-aged London barrister who defended a broad variety of clients, o ...

'', until his death in a road accident in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

Filmography

References

External links

* * 1908 births 1986 deaths 20th-century English male actors English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors People educated at Highgate School Road incident deaths in England {{england-actor-stub