Harold Goldblatt (born Israel Goldblatt, 5 July 1899 – 22 March 1982) was an actor, theatre director and theatre producer from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. He was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England, to Russian Jewish parents, and subsequently moved with his family to Northern Ireland, where he grew up in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

. He married Leah (Lillie) Rosenzweig. They had two living children a daughter Joan and a son Ivan. He founded the Jewish Institute Dramatic Society, and remained a prominent member after their merger with the Northern Ireland Players and the Ulster Theatre in 1940 to form the Group Theatre. He left the Group Theatre in 1959, and in 1963 he formed the Ulster Theatre Company, which included a number of former Group members. In the 1950s, he was frequently heard on

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

as well as appearing in films and television. In film, he played

Benjamin Guggenheim Benjamin Guggenheim (October 26, 1865 – April 15, 1912) was an American businessman. He died aboard when the ship sank in the North Atlantic Ocean. His body was never recovered. Early life Guggenheim was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, t ...

in '' A Night to Remember'' (1958), about the sinking of the ''Titanic'', and on television, he played

Concepta Riley Concepta Riley (also Hewitt and Regan) is a fictional character from the British television soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Doreen Keogh. Concepta was created by Tony Warren as one of ''Coronation Street's'' original characters. She ...

's father

Sean Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; anglici ...

in four episodes of ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

'', Dr. O'Connell in ''

Pathfinders in Space ''Target Luna'' was a British television serial broadcast by ABC Weekend TV in April 1960. It was written by Malcolm Hulke and Eric Paice, directed by Adrian Brown and produced by Sydney Newman who later co-created '' Doctor Who'' for the BBC. Th ...

'' in 1961, and Professor Dale in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' serial ''

Frontier in Space ''Frontier in Space'' is the third serial of the tenth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. The serial was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 24 February to 31 March 1973. It was the last serial to ...

'' in 1973; the latter two were both written by

Malcolm Hulke Malcolm Ainsworth Hulke (21 November 1924 – 6 July 1979) was a British television writer and author of the industry "bible" ''Writing for Television in the 70s''. He is remembered chiefly for his work on the science fiction series ''Doctor Wh ...

In 1966, Goldblatt received an honorary degree from

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

. He died in London, where he was working on the film '' Yentl'', on 22 March 1982, aged 82. His documents and theatrical materials are archived at the

Linen Hall Library The Linen Hall Library is located at 17 Donegall Square North, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the oldest library in Belfast and the last subscribing library in Northern Ireland. The Library is physically in the centre of Belfast, and more g ...

, Belfast.

Filmography

* ''

Jacqueline Jacqueline may refer to: People * Jacqueline (given name), including a list of people with the name * Jacqueline Moore (born 1964), ring name "Jacqueline", American professional wrestler Arts and entertainment * ''Jacqueline'' (1923 film), ...

'' (1956) – Schoolmaster * '' The Rising of the Moon'' (1957) – Barney Donigan – farmer * ''

Rooney Rooney may refer to: People *Wayne Rooney, English football manager and former player *Rooney family, of the Pittsburgh Steelers American football franchise *Rooney (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Rooney (given nam ...

'' (1958) – Police Inspector * '' A Night to Remember'' (1958) –

* ''

The Siege of Sidney Street ''The Siege of Sidney Street'' is a 1960 British historical drama film co-directed by Robert S. Baker and Monty Berman. It stars Donald Sinden, Nicole Berger and Kieron Moore. The film dramatises the 1909 Tottenham Outrage - a bungled wag ...

'' (1960) – Hersh * ''

'' (1960) – Dr. O'Connell * ''

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...

'' (1961) – Bernard * '' The Big Gamble'' (1961) – The Priest * ''

'' (1961) – Sean Riley * ''

The Inspector ''The Inspector'' is a series of 34 theatrical cartoon shorts produced between 1965 and 1969 by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises and released through United Artists. The cartoons are dedicated to an animated version of Inspector Clouseau comical ...

'' (1962) – Dr. Mitropoulos * ''

The Reluctant Saint ''The Reluctant Saint'' is a 1962 American-Italian historical comedy drama film which tells the story of Joseph of Cupertino, a 17th-century Italian Conventual Franciscan friar and mystic honored as a saint by the Catholic Church. It stars M ...

'' (1962) – Father Giovanni * ''

Nine Hours to Rama ''Nine Hours to Rama'' is 1963 British-American neo noir crime film directed by Mark Robson, that follows a fictionalised Nathuram Godse in the hours before he assassinated the Indian independence leader, Gandhi, and police attempts to prevent ...

'' (1963) – Selvrag Prahlad * '' The Mind Benders'' (1963) – Professor Sharpey * '' The Running Man'' (1963) – Tom Webster * ''

The Scarlet Blade ''The Scarlet Blade'' (released in the United States as ''The Crimson Blade'') is a 1963 British adventure film directed by John Gilling and starring Lionel Jeffries, Oliver Reed, Jack Hedley and June Thorburn. It is a period drama set during ...

'' (1963) – Jacob * ''

Children of the Damned ''Children of the Damned'' is a 1964 British black-and-white science fiction horror film, a thematic sequel to 1960s '' Village of the Damned'', which concerns a group of children with similar psi-powers to those in the earlier film. The film ...

'' (1964) – Harib * ''

Young Cassidy ''Young Cassidy'' is a 1965 British biography drama film directed by Jack Cardiff and starring Rod Taylor, Julie Christie, and Maggie Smith. It is a biographical drama based upon the life of the playwright Seán O'Casey. Plot Set in 1911 and th ...

'' (1965) –

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...

Manager * ''

The Reptile ''The Reptile'' is a 1966 horror film made by Hammer Film Productions. It was directed by John Gilling, and starred Noel Willman, Jacqueline Pearce, Ray Barrett, Jennifer Daniel, and Michael Ripper. Plot summary In the 20th century in the fict ...

'' (1966) – The Solicitor * ''

The 25th Hour ''The 25th Hour'' is the 2001 debut novel by David Benioff. A film adaptation, for which Benioff wrote the screenplay, was directed by Spike Lee and released in 2002. Background The idea for the book came when Benioff returned home to New York ...

'' (1967) – Isaac Nagy * ''

Sunday Bloody Sunday "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the opening track from their 1983 album ''War'' and was released as the album's third single on 21 March 1983 in the Netherlands and West Germany. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is noted f ...

'' (1971) – Daniel's Father * ''

The Persuaders! ''The Persuaders!'' is an action-comedy series starring Tony Curtis and Roger Moore, produced by ITC Entertainment, and initially broadcast on ITV and ABC in 1971. The show has been called 'the last major entry in the cycle of adventure serie ...

'' (1971) – Maurice Devigne * ''

Something to Hide ''Something to Hide'' (in the U.S. also reissued as ''Shattered''), is a 1972 British thriller film, written and directed by Alastair Reid, based on a 1963 novel by Nicholas Monsarrat. The film stars Peter Finch, Shelley Winters, Colin Blakel ...

'' (1972) – Dibbick * ''

(In the serial "

")'' (1973) – Professor Dale * ''

The Abdication ''The Abdication'' is a 1974 British historical drama film directed by Anthony Harvey and starring Peter Finch and Liv Ullmann. The film's score was composed by Nino Rota. It tells a fictionalized version of the rumored love affair between Chr ...

'' (1974) – Pinamonti

References

External links

* 1899 births 1982 deaths 20th-century male actors from Northern Ireland British theatre directors British theatre managers and producers Jewish British male actors Jewish theatre directors Jews from Northern Ireland Male film actors from Northern Ireland Male radio actors from Northern Ireland Male stage actors from Northern Ireland Male television actors from Northern Ireland Male actors from Belfast Male actors from Manchester People from Northern Ireland of Russian-Jewish descent {{UK-actor-stub, date=June 2016