Walter Peter Swanwick (29 September 1922 – 14 November 1968) was a British actor best remembered as the "Supervisor" (sometimes called the Controller) in the 1967 TV series, ''

The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a 1967 British television series about an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village, where his captors designate him as Number Six and try to find out why he abruptl ...

''. Swanwick's film career began with bit parts in films such as '' The African Queen'' (1951), and he became a recognisable face on British TV during the mid-1960s when he featured in a number of series, including '' The Avengers'' and ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...

'' where he first worked with later ''Prisoner'' star and co-creator, Patrick McGoohan. According to several biographies Swanwick endured major health problems in the 1960s that resulted in his undergoing undisclosed operations that left him with a short time to live. Swanwick played the non-singing part of Herr Zeller in the original London stage production of ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...

''.

Selected filmography

* ''

Lilli Marlene ''Lilli Marlene'' is a 1950 British war film aimed for the US market and directed by Arthur Crabtree. It stars Lisa Daniely, Hugh McDermott, and Richard Murdoch. Stanley Baker is seen in one of his early support roles. Plot A French girl name ...

'' (1950) - Chief Interrogator * '' Madame Louise'' (1951) - Bradford businessman (uncredited) * '' The African Queen'' (1951) - First Officer of Fort Shona * ''

Old Mother Riley's Jungle Treasure ''Old Mother Riley's Jungle Treasure'' is a low budget 1951 British comedy film, the penultimate in the long running Old Mother Riley series starring Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane. It features an early appearance by future ''Carry On'' regular ...

'' (1951) - Mr. Benson * ''

Salute the Toff ''Salute the Toff'' is a 1952 British crime film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring John Bentley and Carol Marsh. The film was based on the 1941 novel of the same name by John Creasey, the sixth in the series featuring upper-class sleut ...

'' (1952) - Night Porter (uncredited) * ''Private Information'' (1952) - Minor Role (uncredited) * ''

Emergency Call Most public switched telephone networks have a single emergency telephone number (sometimes known as the universal emergency telephone number or the emergency services number) that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assista ...

'' (1952) - Police Sergeant * ''

Time Gentlemen, Please! ''Time Gentlemen, Please!'' is a 1952 British comedy film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Eddie Byrne, Jane Barrett and Raymond Lovell. It was produced by Group 3 Films with funding from the NFFC and distributed by ABPC. It was shot at ...

'' (1952) - Jeremiah Higgins * ''No Haunt for a Gentleman'' (1952) - Brother Ravioli * '' Circumstantial Evidence'' (1952) - Charley Pott * ''

Lady in the Fog ''Lady in the Fog'' is a 1952 British mystery film directed by Sam Newfield and starring Cesar Romero, Lois Maxwell and Bernadette O'Farrell. It is based on a BBC serial by Lester Powell as scripted by Orville H. Hampton, . It was made by Lipper ...

'' (1952) - Smithers * ''

Cosh Boy ''Cosh Boy'' (released in the United States as ''The Slasher'') is a 1953 British film noir directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring James Kenney and Joan Collins. It was made at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith. Plot Based on an original play ...

'' (1953) - Mr. Wimbush (uncredited) * '' Street Corner'' (1953) - Mr. Propert (uncredited) * ''

The Red Beret ''The Red Beret'' (aka ''The Red Devils'', ''The Big Jump'' and retitled ''Paratrooper'' for the US release) is a 1953 British-American war film directed by Terence Young and starring Alan Ladd, Leo Genn and Susan Stephen. ''The Red Beret'' is ...

'' (1953) - Minor Role (uncredited) * '' Albert R.N.'' (1953) - Obergefreiter * '' Stryker of the Yard'' (1953) * ''

Devil on Horseback ''Devil on Horseback'' is a 1954 British sports drama film directed by Cyril Frankel and starring Googie Withers, John McCallum and Jeremy Spenser. Its plot involves a boy who pursues his ambition to be a jockey. The screenplay was by Scottis ...

'' (1954) - Mr. Parfitt * ''

Conflict of Wings ''Conflict of Wings'' is a 1954 British comedy drama film directed by John Eldridge and starring John Gregson, Muriel Pavlow and Kieron Moore. The film is based on a novel of the same title by Don Sharp who later became a noted director. It w ...

'' (1954) - Sergeant, Working Party * '' Betrayed'' (1954) - Fat Major (uncredited) * ''

The Black Rider ''The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets'' is a self-billed "musical fable" in the avant-garde tradition created through the collaboration of theatre director Robert Wilson, musician Tom Waits, and writer William S. Burroughs. Wi ...

'' (1954) - Holiday-maker * ''

Delavine Affair ''The Delavine Affair'' is a 1955 British second feature crime film directed by Douglas Peirce and starring Peter Reynolds, Honor Blackman and Gordon Jackson. It was based on the 1952 novel ''Winter Wears a Shroud'' by Robert Chapman. Plot ...

'' (1955) - Meyerling * ''

The Colditz Story ''The Colditz Story'' is a 1955 British prisoner of war film starring John Mills and Eric Portman and directed by Guy Hamilton. It is based on the 1952 memoir written by Pat Reid, a British army officer who was imprisoned in Oflag IV-C, Colditz ...

'' (1955) - Lutyens * ''

The Love Match ''The Love Match'' is a 1955 British black and white comedy film directed by David Paltenghi and starring Arthur Askey, Glenn Melvyn, Thora Hird and Shirley Eaton. A football-mad railway engine driver and his fireman are desperate to get back ...

'' (1955) - Mr. Hall * '' Windfall'' (1955) - (uncredited) * '' Passport to Treason'' (1955) - Cafe Proprietor * '' The March Hare'' (1956) - Nils Svenson * ''

Bond of Fear ''Bond of Fear'' is a 1956 British crime drama film directed by Henry Cass and starring Dermot Walsh, Jane Barrett, and John Colicos. Premise John Sewell and his family are taken hostage by a desperate fugitive called Dewar who is a stowaway i ...

'' (1956) - Travelling Salesman * ''

Assignment Redhead ''Assignment Redhead'' (released in the US as ''Million Dollar Manhunt'') is a 1956 British crime thriller film written and directed by Maclean Rogers. It is based on the novel ''Requiem for a Redhead'' by Lindsay Hardy. The UK title of this fil ...

'' (1956) - Mons. Paul Bonnet * ''

Ill Met by Moonlight ''Ill Met by Moonlight: The Abduction of General Kreipe'' is a non-fiction partly-autobiographical book written by W. Stanley Moss, a British soldier, writer and traveller. It describes an operation in Crete during the Second World War to captu ...

'' (1957) - German Officer with Gen. Brauer (uncredited) * ''

You Pay Your Money ''You Pay Your Money'' is a 1957 British crime drama film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Hugh McDermott, Jane Hylton and Honor Blackman. The thriller was one of the Butcher's Film Service's 1950s B film genre.Chibnall and McFarlane 20 ...

'' (1957) - Hall Porter * ''Murder Reported'' (1957) - Hatter * ''

Kill Me Tomorrow ''Kill Me Tomorrow'' is a 1957 British crime film directed by Terence Fisher. It stars Pat O'Brien and Lois Maxwell. It was made by Tempean Films at Southall Studios in West London. The film features a cameo by Tommy Steele.Tom Weaver, ''The H ...

'' (1957) - Harrison * '' The Big Chance'' (1957) - Passport Official * ''

Death Over My Shoulder ''Death Over My Shoulder '' is a 1958 British crime film directed by Arthur Crabtree based on a story by American journalist Alyce Canfield. The film stars Keefe Brasselle and his wife Arlene DeMarco one of The DeMarco Sisters. Plot When Jack ...

'' (1958) - Nick Dayton * ''

The Two-Headed Spy ''The Two-Headed Spy'' is a 1958 British spy thriller film directed by Andre DeToth and starring Jack Hawkins, Gia Scala, Erik Schumann and Alexander Knox. The film, which has elements of film noir and is set in the Second World War, was based ...

'' (1958) - Gen. Toppe * ''

Operation Amsterdam ''Operation Amsterdam'' is a 1959 black and white British action film, directed by Michael McCarthy, and featuring Peter Finch, Eva Bartok and Tony Britton. It is based on a true story as described in the book ''Adventure in Diamonds'', by Da ...

'' (1959) - Peter * ''Life in Danger'' (1959) - Dr. Nichols * ''

The Desperate Man ''The Desperate Man'' is a 1959 British B movie crime film directed by Peter Maxwell and starring Conrad Phillips, Jill Ireland, William Hartnell, Charles Gray and Peter Swanwick. The plot involves a writer who investigates a murder in the ...

'' (1959) - Hoad * ''

Circus of Horrors ''Circus of Horrors'' is a 1960 British horror film directed by Sidney Hayers, and starring Anton Diffring, Yvonne Monlaur, Erika Remberg, Kenneth Griffith, Jane Hylton, Conrad Phillips, Yvonne Romain, and Donald Pleasence. Set in 1947, it fo ...

'' (1960) - German Police Inspector Knopf * ''

The Trunk ''The Trunk'' is a low budget, black and white 1961 British mystery film directed by Donovan Winter and starring Phil Carey, Julia Arnall and Dermot Walsh. Plot Trouble ensues when Lisa marries Henry, a British lawyer. Lisa's jealous ex-boy ...

'' (1961) - Nicholas Steiner * ''

Double Bunk ''Double Bunk'' is a British black-and-white comedy film set on a houseboat. It was released in 1961, and stars Ian Carmichael and Sid James. The musical score was composed by Stanley Black, and the title song, sung by Sid James and Liz Frase ...

'' (1961) - Freighter Pilot * ''

The Devil's Daffodil ''The Devil's Daffodil'' (also known as ''Daffodil Killer'' or german: Das Geheimnis der gelben Narzissen/ ''Secret of the Yellow Daffodils'') is a 1961 British-West German black-and-white crime film directed by Ákos Ráthonyi. The film was pro ...

'' (1961) - Polizist (uncredited) * ''

Invasion Quartet ''Invasion Quartet'' is a 1961 British World War II comedy-drama film that was publicised as a parody of '' The Guns of Navarone''.Weiler, A. H. ''New York Times'' film review 11 December 1961 It was directed by Jay Lewis and starred Bill Traver ...

'' (1961) - Gun Commander * ''

Fate Takes a Hand ''Fate Takes a Hand'' is a 1961 British anthology drama film. Plot The recovery of a mail bag stolen in a robbery 15 years before has varying consequences on the lives of five of the recipients of the letters, when the post office decide that ...

'' (1961) - Preeny * '' Mystery Submarine'' (1963) - Lt. Lyncker * ''

The Gentle Terror ''The Gentle Terror'' is a 1961 British thriller film directed by Frank Marshall. Plot A mild mannered bookkeeping clerk (Terence Alexander) is accused of embezzlement. To clear his name he must catch the true culprit. Cast * Terence Alexander ...

'' (1963) - 1st Auditor * ''

Secrets of a Windmill Girl ''Secrets of a Windmill Girl'' is a 1966 British exploitation film directed by Arnold L. Miller. It recounts the road to ruin of a young woman (Pauline Collins) who becomes involved with the striptease scene after becoming a dancer at the Windmill ...

'' (1966) - Len Mason * '' The Devil Rides Out'' (1968) - Satanist (uncredited) * ''

The Looking Glass War ''The Looking Glass War'' is a 1965 spy novel by John le Carré. Written in response to the positive public reaction to his previous novel, ''The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'', the book explores the unglamorous nature of espionage and the da ...

'' (1970) - Finnish Policeman (final film role)

References

External links

* 1922 births 1968 deaths 20th-century English male actors English male stage actors English male film actors English male television actors Male actors from Nottinghamshire People from Nottingham {{england-actor-stub