Thomas Heathcote (9 September 1917 – 5 January 1986) was a British

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

, a former protégé of

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

. He was educated at

Bradfield College Bradfield College, formally St Andrew's College, Bradfield, is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils aged 11–18, located in the small village of Bradfield in the English county of Berkshire. It is note ...

in Bradfield, near

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, England. His films included '' A Night to Remember'' (1958), '' Village of the Damned'' (1960), ''

Billy Budd ''Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative)'' is a novella by American writer Herman Melville, left unfinished at his death in 1891. Acclaimed by critics as a masterpiece when a hastily transcribed version was finally published in 1924, it quick ...

'' (1962), '' A Man for All Seasons'' (1966), ''

Night of the Big Heat ''Night of the Big Heat'' is a science fiction novel written in 1959 by John Lymington. It tells the story of an unnamed British island that is experiencing a bizarre and stifling heatwave. Plot summary The main characters are a former noveli ...

'' (1967) and ''

Quatermass and the Pit ''Quatermass and the Pit'' is a British television science-fiction serial transmitted live by BBC Television in December 1958 and January 1959. It was the third and last of the BBC's ''Quatermass'' serials, although the chief character, Profe ...

'' (1967). On

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

he had notable guest roles in ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' was a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 19 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debuted ...

'', ''

The Onedin Line ''The Onedin Line'' is a BBC television drama series that ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham. The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and covers the rise of a fictional shipping company, the Onedin Line, nam ...

'' and ''

Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...

''. Heathcote was also a regular actor in

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 ...

drama, notably in several series of

Paul Temple Paul Temple is a fictional character created by English writer Francis Durbridge. Temple is a professional author of crime fiction and an amateur private detective. With his wife Louise, affectionately known as 'Steve' in reference to her jo ...

Selected filmography

* ''

Dance Hall Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for Dance, dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub. The majority of towns and citi ...

'' (1950) - Fred * ''

Cloudburst A cloudburst is an extreme amount of precipitation in a short period of time, sometimes accompanied by hail and thunder, which is capable of creating flood conditions. Cloudbursts can quickly dump large amounts of water, e.g. 25 mm of prec ...

'' (1951) - Jackie * ''

Malta Story ''Malta Story'' is a 1953 British war film, directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, which is set during the air defence of Malta during the Siege of Malta in the Second World War. The film uses real and unique footage of the locations at which the ba ...

'' (1953) - Soldier (uncredited) * ''

The Sword and the Rose ''The Sword and the Rose'' is a family/adventure film produced by Perce Pearce and Walt Disney and directed by Ken Annakin. The film features the story of Mary Tudor, a younger sister of Henry VIII of England. Based on the 1898 novel '' When Kn ...

'' (1953) - Wrestling Second * ''

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) - Alf * ''

Blood Orange The blood orange is a variety of orange ( ''Citrus'' × ''sinensis'') (also referred to as raspberry orange) with crimson, almost blood-colored flesh. The distinctive dark flesh color is due to the presence of anthocyanins, a family of polyp ...

'' (1953) - Detective Sgt. Jessup * ''

The Large Rope ''The Large Rope'' (also known as ''The Long Rope'') is a 1953 British crime film directed by Wolf Rilla and starring Donald Houston, Susan Shaw and Robert Brown. Plot After his release from prison a man returns to his village, where he is acc ...

'' (1953) - James Gore * ''

The Seekers The Seekers were an Australian folk-influenced pop quartet, originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States. They were ...

'' (1954) - Sgt. Paul * '' Betrayed'' (1954) - Paratropper Corporal (uncredited) * ''

Above Us the Waves ''Above Us the Waves'' is a 1955 British war film about human torpedo and midget submarine attacks in Norwegian fjords against the German battleship ''Tirpitz''. Directed by Ralph Thomas, it is based on two true-life attacks by British command ...

'' (1955) - Hutchins * '' Doctor at Sea'' (1955) - Wilson * ''

The Last Man to Hang ''The Last Man to Hang?'' is a 1956 crime film directed by Terence Fisher. It stars Tom Conway and Elizabeth Sellars. The film was produced by John Gossage for Association of Cinematograph Television and Allied Technicians#Act Films Ltd, Act Film ...

'' (1956) - Bracket * '' Eyewitness'' (1956) - Tom - Barman (uncredited) * ''

Tiger in the Smoke ''Tiger in the Smoke'' is a 1956 British crime film directed by Roy Ward Baker (billed as Roy Baker) and starring Donald Sinden, Muriel Pavlow, Tony Wright, Bernard Miles and Christopher Rhodes. It is based on the 1952 novel '' The Tiger in the ...

'' (1956) - Rolly Gripper * '' Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst'' (1957) - Mr. Monaghan RN * '' A Night to Remember'' (1958) - Steward * ''

Tread Softly Stranger ''Tread Softly Stranger'' is a 1958 British crime drama directed by Gordon Parry and starring Diana Dors, George Baker and Terence Morgan. The film was shot in black-and-white in film noir style, and its setting in an industrial town in norther ...

'' (1958) - Sergeant Lamb * ''

Dial 999 (TV series) ''Dial 999'' is a British television series that ran for one series of 38 episodes from 1958 to 1959. The series was a co-production between ITV (TV channel), ITV contractor ABC Weekend TV, and American television producer Ziv Television Programs ...

'' ('Commando Crook', episode) (1958)- Sgt. Quigley * '' Village of the Damned'' (1960) - James Pawle * ''

On the Fiddle ''On the Fiddle'' (released as ''Operation Snafu'' and ''Operation War Head'' in the United States) is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Cyril Frankel and starring Sean Connery, Alfred Lynch, Cecil Parker, Stanley Holloway, Eric Barker, Mi ...

'' (1961) - Sergeant * ''

'' (1962) - Alan Payne - Maintopman * '' A Man for All Seasons'' (1966) - Boatman * ''

'' (1967) - Bob Hayward * ''

'' (1967) - Vicar * '' The Fixer'' (1968) - Proshko * ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

'' (1970) - Flavius * ''

The Abominable Dr. Phibes ''The Abominable Dr. Phibes'' is a 1971 British dark comedy horror film, produced by Ronald S. Dunas and Louis M. Heyward, directed by Robert Fuest, written by William Goldstein and James Whiton, and starring Vincent Price and Joseph Cotten. It ...

'' (1971) .- 2nd Policeman * '' Burke & Hare'' (1972) - Paterson * ''

Demons of the Mind ''Demons of the Mind'' is a 1972 British horror film, directed by Peter Sykes and produced by Anglo-EMI, Frank Godwin Productions and Hammer Film Productions. It was written by Christopher Wicking, based on a story by Frank Godwin and was rele ...

'' (1972) - Coachman * ''

Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...

'' (1974) - Lucas * ''

Trial by Combat Trial by combat (also wager of battle, trial by battle or judicial duel) was a method of Germanic law to settle accusations in the absence of witnesses or a confession in which two parties in dispute fought in single combat; the winner of the ...

'' (1976) - Tramp * ''

The Jigsaw Man "The Jigsaw Man" is a science fiction short story by American writer Larry Niven, set in the ''Known Space'' universe. The story was first published in Harlan Ellison's anthology '' Dangerous Visions'', and is included in Niven's collections ''A ...

'' (1983) - Gamekeeper * ''

Sword of the Valiant ''Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' (often shortened to ''Sword of the Valiant'') is a 1984 dramatic fantasy film directed by Stephen Weeks and starring Miles O'Keeffe, Trevor Howard, Lila Kedrova, Cyrielle ...

'' (1984) - Armourer * ''

The Shooting Party ''The Shooting Party'' is a 1984 British drama film directed by Alan Bridges and based on the book of the same name by Isabel Colegate. The film is set in 1913, less than a year before the beginning of the First World War, and shows the soon-t ...

'' (1985) - Ogden

References

External links

* 1917 births 1986 deaths English male stage actors English male film actors English male television actors 20th-century English male actors {{UK-film-actor-stub