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 Balding, quietly-spoken, of slight build and possessed of piercing blue eyes -- often peering out from behind round, steel-rimmed glasses -- Donald Pleasence had the necessary physical attributes which make a great screen villain. In the course of his lengthy career, he relished playing the obsessed, the paranoid and the purely evil. Even the Van Helsing-like psychiatrist Sam Loomis in the Halloween (1978) franchise seems only marginally more balanced than his prey. An actor of great intensity, Pleasence excelled on stage as Shakespearean villains. He was an unrelenting prosecutor in Jean Anouilh's "Poor Bitos" and made his theatrical reputation in the title role of the seedy, scheming tramp in Harold Pinter's "The Caretaker" (1960). On screen, he gave a perfectly plausible interpretation of the head of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, in The Eagle Has Landed (1976). He was a convincingly devious Thomas Cromwell in Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972), disturbing in his portrayal of the crazed, bloodthirsty preacher Quint in Will Penny (1967); and as sexually depraved, alcohol-sodden 'Doc' Tydon in the brilliant Aussie outback drama Wake in Fright (1971). And, of course, he was Ernst Stavro Blofeld in You Only Live Twice (1967). These are some of the films, for which we may remember Pleasence, but there was a great deal more to this fabulous, multi-faceted actor.Donald Henry Pleasence was born on October 5, 1919 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, to Alice (Armitage) and Thomas Stanley Pleasence. His family worked on the railway; his grandfather had been a signal man and both his brother and father were station masters. When Donald failed to get a scholarship at RADA, he joined the family occupation working as a clerk at his father's station before becoming station master at Swinton, Yorkshire. While there he wrote letters to theatre companies eventually being accepted by one on the island of Jersey in Spring 1939 as an assistant stage manager. On the eve of World War II, he made his theatrical debut in "Wuthering Heights". In 1942, he played Curio in "Twelfth Night", but his career was then interrupted by military service in the RAF. He was shot down over France, incarcerated and tortured in a German POW camp. Once repatriated, Donald returned to the stage in Peter Brook's 1946 London production of "The Brothers Karamazov" with Alec Guinness although he missed the opening due to measles, followed by a stint on Broadway with Laurence Olivier's touring company in "Caesar and Cleopatra" and "Anthony and Cleopatra". Upon his return to England, he won critical plaudits for his performance in "Hobson's Choice". In 1952, Donald began his screen career, rather unobtrusively, in small parts. He was only really noticed once having found his m��tier as dastardly, sneaky Prince John in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955). It took several more years, until international recognition came his way: first, through the filmed adaptation of The Guest (1963); and, secondly, with his blind forger in The Great Escape (1963), a role imbued with added conviction due to his own wartime experience.Some of his best acting Donald reserved for the small screen. In 1962, the producer of The Twilight Zone (1959), Buck Houghton, brought Donald to the United States ('damn the expense'!) to guest star in the third season episode "The Changing of the Guard". He was given a mere five days to immerse himself in the part of a gentle school teacher, Professor Ellis Fowler, who, on the eve of Christmas is forcibly retired after fifty-one years of teaching. Devastated, and believing himself a failure who has made no mark on the world, he is about to commit suicide when the school's bell summons him to his classroom. There, he is confronted by the spirits of deceased students who exhort him to consider that his lessons have had fundamental effects on their lives, even leading to acts of great heroism. Upon hearing this, Fowler is now content to graciously accept his retirement. Managing to avoid maudlin sentimentality, Donald's performance was intuitive and, arguably, one of the most poignant ever accomplished in a thirty-minute television episode. Once again, against type, he was equally delightful as the mild-mannered Reverend Septimus Harding in Anthony Trollope's The Barchester Chronicles (1982). Whether eccentric, sinister or given to pathos, Donald Pleasence was always great value-for-money and his performances have rarely failed to engage.
Bio:
Balding, quietly-spoken, of slight build and possessed of piercing blue eyes -- often peering out from behind round, steel-rimmed glasses -- Donald Pleasence had the necessary physical attributes which make a great screen villain. In the course of his lengthy career, he relished playing the obsessed, the paranoid and the purely evil. Even the Van Helsing-like psychiatrist Sam Loomis in the Halloween (1978) franchise seems only marginally more balanced than his prey. An actor of great intensity, Pleasence excelled on stage as Shakespearean villains. He was an unrelenting prosecutor in Jean Anouilh's "Poor Bitos" and made his theatrical reputation in the title role of the seedy, scheming tramp in Harold Pinter's "The Caretaker" (1960). On screen, he gave a perfectly plausible interpretation of the head of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, in The Eagle Has Landed (1976). He was a convincingly devious Thomas Cromwell in Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972), disturbing in his portrayal of the crazed, bloodthirsty preacher Quint in Will Penny (1967); and as sexually depraved, alcohol-sodden 'Doc' Tydon in the brilliant Aussie outback drama Wake in Fright (1971). And, of course, he was Ernst Stavro Blofeld in You Only Live Twice (1967). These are some of the films, for which we may remember Pleasence, but there was a great deal more to this fabulous, multi-faceted actor.Donald Henry Pleasence was born on October 5, 1919 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, to Alice (Armitage) and Thomas Stanley Pleasence. His family worked on the railway; his grandfather had been a signal man and both his brother and father were station masters. When Donald failed to get a scholarship at RADA, he joined the family occupation working as a clerk at his father's station before becoming station master at Swinton, Yorkshire. While there he wrote letters to theatre companies eventually being accepted by one on the island of Jersey in Spring 1939 as an assistant stage manager. On the eve of World War II, he made his theatrical debut in "Wuthering Heights". In 1942, he played Curio in "Twelfth Night", but his career was then interrupted by military service in the RAF. He was shot down over France, incarcerated and tortured in a German POW camp. Once repatriated, Donald returned to the stage in Peter Brook's 1946 London production of "The Brothers Karamazov" with Alec Guinness although he missed the opening due to measles, followed by a stint on Broadway with Laurence Olivier's touring company in "Caesar and Cleopatra" and "Anthony and Cleopatra". Upon his return to England, he won critical plaudits for his performance in "Hobson's Choice". In 1952, Donald began his screen career, rather unobtrusively, in small parts. He was only really noticed once having found his m��tier as dastardly, sneaky Prince John in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955). It took several more years, until international recognition came his way: first, through the filmed adaptation of The Guest (1963); and, secondly, with his blind forger in The Great Escape (1963), a role imbued with added conviction due to his own wartime experience.Some of his best acting Donald reserved for the small screen. In 1962, the producer of The Twilight Zone (1959), Buck Houghton, brought Donald to the United States ('damn the expense'!) to guest star in the third season episode "The Changing of the Guard". He was given a mere five days to immerse himself in the part of a gentle school teacher, Professor Ellis Fowler, who, on the eve of Christmas is forcibly retired after fifty-one years of teaching. Devastated, and believing himself a failure who has made no mark on the world, he is about to commit suicide when the school's bell summons him to his classroom. There, he is confronted by the spirits of deceased students who exhort him to consider that his lessons have had fundamental effects on their lives, even leading to acts of great heroism. Upon hearing this, Fowler is now content to graciously accept his retirement. Managing to avoid maudlin sentimentality, Donald's performance was intuitive and, arguably, one of the most poignant ever accomplished in a thirty-minute television episode. Once again, against type, he was equally delightful as the mild-mannered Reverend Septimus Harding in Anthony Trollope's The Barchester Chronicles (1982). Whether eccentric, sinister or given to pathos, Donald Pleasence was always great value-for-money and his performances have rarely failed to engage.
Tivia:
One of the stars of The Great Escape (1963) to have actually been a World War II prisoner of war (Hannes Messemer, who played Colonel Lugo the camp commander, was a German soldier in World War II and was captured by American troops and held in a POW camp until the end of the war). He was also a POW in Russia. When he kindly offered advice to director John Sturges, he was politely asked to keep his "opinions" to himself. Later, when another star from the film informed Sturges that Pleasence had actually been an RAF officer in a World War II German POW camp, Sturges requested Pleasance's technical advice and input on historical accuracy from that point forward.When Moustapha Akkad asked Donald Pleasence how many more Halloween (1978) films he was planning to make, Donald replied "I stop at twenty-two!"Shortly before his death in 1995, he was scheduled to star in a production of "King Lear" that would have featured daughters Angela Pleasence, Polly Jo Pleasence and Miranda Pleasence.Was originally chosen to play Blair in The Thing (1982), but a scheduling conflict prevented him from doing so. Therefore, the role went to Wilford Brimley.He was flying in a Lancaster NE112 "AS-M" when it was shot down on September 9, 1944.He was initially a conscientous objector during World War II, but later changed his mind and joined the British Royal Air Force. His plane was shot down and was taken prisoner of war by the Nazis until his release in 1945.Was held at Stalag Luft I, near the Baltic Sea. While a POW during World War II, he organized a theatre company in order to pass the time. His productions included "The Petrified Forest", in which he played the Leslie Howard role opposite a 6' 1" Canadian who played the Bette Davis part.Often joked to friends and family that, before Halloween (1978) came out, he was typecast as villains and psychopaths, never having been given the chance to play a good guy or hero. However, after his portrayal of the heroic, Van Helsing-like Dr. Sam Loomis in Halloween, he had the exact opposite problem in that no one wanted to see him play bad guys anymore, that the only parts offered to him were avengers and heroes.Played Loomis in Innocent Bystanders (1972), Dr. Sam Loomis in most of the first six Halloween (1978) movies (Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) was not a "Michael Myers" movie) and Father Loomis in Prince of Darkness (1987).He and his The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) co-stars Telly Savalas and Max von Sydow all later played the Bond villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld: Pleasence in You Only Live Twice (1967), Savalas in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) and von Sydow in Never Say Never Again (1983).His portrayal of Ernst Stavro Blofeld in You Only Live Twice (1967) will always be an influence of the Dr. Evil character in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999). Both Dr. Evil (Mike Myers) and Pleasence's Blofeld have a large facial scar.He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1994 Queen's New Year Honours List for his services to drama.When once asked why he kept making horror movies, the actor replied: "Because I have six daughters to support.".The only actor to have appeared in both The Great Escape (1963) and its television sequel The Great Escape II: The Untold Story (1988). Ironically, he played one of the would-be great escapees in the first film and one of the German executioners in the second. Strangely he even played the role of the SS and Gestapo chief, Reichsf��hrer-SS Heinrich Himmler, in the film The Eagle Has Landed (1976). Heinrich Himmler was the one who ordered the secret murder of "the 50" POWs. Thus, Pleasence is likely to be one of only a few actors to have ever portrayed all three roles of murder conspirator, executioner, and victim (although technically he was not among the 50. His character died earlier.).Was known for his eye for details and authenticity, including in regards to his costumes. He arrived in Sydney for the filming of Wake in Fright (1971) with a beard suggestive of the kind favored by bushrangers and immediately rejected the costume that was assigned to him, opting to purchase his own clothes from a Vinnies thrift shop.He was a wireless operator in Lancaster bombers in 166 Squadron, Royal Air Force.According to one of his daughters, the actor had a battle with alcohol for many years. Then from the early 1980s on-wards, he gave it up for good.Married four times and had five daughters. Angela Pleasence and Jean Pleasence were born from his marriage to actress Miriam Raymond; Lucy Pleasence and Polly Jo Pleasence were the products of his union with actress/singer Josephine Crombie and Miranda Pleasence was conceived during his marriage to singer Meira Shore.Was nominated for four Tony Awards as Best Actor (Dramatic): in 1962 for "The Caretaker", a part he recreated in the film version also titled The Guest (1963); in 1965 for "Poor Bitos"; in 1969 for "The Man in the Glass Booth" and, in 1972 for "Wise Child" - but he never won.Felt he was becoming typecast in horror films but preferred to remain a working actor.Daughter, Jean, is an occupational therapist at a psychiatric hospital.His father was a stationmaster.Interview footage of the actor is almost non-existent, except for a brief excerpt of one given whilst filming "Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers.".He has appeared in one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Halloween (1978).He had elocution lessons as a child.He wanted to be an actor from an early age but was turned down by nearly 40 repertory companies before being accepted by a company in Jersey.A long slow climb with other companies followed before being accepted by Bristol Old Vic.One of his closest friends in the acting industry was Peter Vaughan.Was cast in the lead in the original theatre production of Robert Shaw's play, "The Man in the Glass Booth" in 1967.Before his death in 1995, Pleasence had agreed to play the role of Toulon the Puppet Master in three Puppet Master sequels which would have been filmed back to back in Romania over the course of about ten weeks. He was also going to play King Lear on stage in a production to be directed by Harold Pinter with his three actress daughters Angela, Polly and Miranda playing Lear's daughters.He was good in school plays and won prizes.He was considered for many guest roles in Doctor Who (1963) - General Grugger in "Meglos", Richard Mace in "The Visitation", Griffiths in "Attack of the Cybermen", Shockeye in "The Two Doctors" and De Flores in "Silver Nemesis". He was also considered for Borusa in Doctor Who: The Movie (1996) before the character was dropped from the script.One of his biggest triumphs on stage was in Harold Pinter's play 'The Caretaker'in the West End then on Broadway, where he was nominated for a New York Critics Award, followed by the film version in 1963. In 1991, he appeared in another staged production of the play.Won London Critics Award for The Caretaker' and the British Variety Award for Best Stage Actor for his performance in 'The Man in the Glass Booth.Appeared in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) and Jesus of Nazareth (1977). They were both star-studded biblical epics that depicted the life of Jesus Christ.Apart from America and Britain, Donald Pleasence made films in various other countries. These included Italy, the Middle East, France, Australia etc.Children: Angela born 1941, Jean born 1951, Lucy born 1960, Polly born 1962 and Miranda born 1970.Among the possible actors for the roles of Dr. Hans Fallada and Sir Percy Heseltine in Lifeforce (1985). Frank Finlay and Aubrey Morris won the respective roles.Is Carrie Anderson's great-uncle.His final stage performance was as Captain Shotover in George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House at His Majesty's Theatre, Perth, Australia in July 1994 opposite his actress daughter Polly Pleasence. |
| Name: |
Donald Pleasence |
Type: |
Actor,Writer,Director (IMDB) |
| Area: |
All World |
Platform: |
IMDB |
| Category: |
|
Business scope: |
Actor,Writer,Director |
| Products for sale: |
Actor,Writer,Director |
| Last update: |
2024-07-01 05:27:51 |
| Height: |
5' 7' (1.70 m) |
| Biography: |
Balding, quietly-spoken, of slight build and possessed of piercing blue eyes -- often peering out from behind round, steel-rimmed glasses -- Donald Pleasence had the necessary physical attributes which make a great screen villain. In the course of hi |
| Trivia: |
One of the stars of The Great Escape (1963) to have actually been a World War II prisoner of war (Hannes Messemer, who played Colonel Lugo the camp commander, was a German soldier in World War II and was captured by American troops and held in a POW camp until the end of the war). He was also a POW in Russia. When he kindly offered advice to director John Sturges, he was politely asked to keep his "opinions" to himself. Later, when another star from the film informed Sturges that Pleasence had actually been an RAF officer in a World War II German POW camp, Sturges requested Pleasance's technical advice and input on historical accuracy from that point forward.When Moustapha Akkad asked Donald Pleasence how many more Halloween (1978) films he was planning to make, Donald replied "I stop at twenty-two!"Shortly before his death in 1995, he was scheduled to star in a production of "King Lear" that would have featured daughters Angela Pleasence, Polly Jo Pleasence and Miranda Pleasence.Was originally chosen to play Blair in The Thing (1982), but a scheduling conflict prevented him from doing so. Therefore, the role went to Wilford Brimley.He was flying in a Lancaster NE112 "AS-M" when it was shot down on September 9, 1944.He was initially a conscientous objector during World War II, but later changed his mind and joined the British Royal Air Force. His plane was shot down and was taken prisoner of war by the Nazis until his release in 1945.Was held at Stalag Luft I, near the Baltic Sea. While a POW during World War II, he organized a theatre company in order to pass the time. His productions included "The Petrified Forest", in which he played the Leslie Howard role opposite a 6' 1" Canadian who played the Bette Davis part.Often joked to friends and family that, before Halloween (1978) came out, he was typecast as villains and psychopaths, never having been given the chance to play a good guy or hero. However, after his portrayal of the heroic, Van Helsing-like Dr. Sam Loomis in Halloween, he had the exact opposite problem in that no one wanted to see him play bad guys anymore, that the only parts offered to him were avengers and heroes.Played Loomis in Innocent Bystanders (1972), Dr. Sam Loomis in most of the first six Halloween (1978) movies (Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) was not a "Michael Myers" movie) and Father Loomis in Prince of Darkness (1987).He and his The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) co-stars Telly Savalas and Max von Sydow all later played the Bond villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld: Pleasence in You Only Live Twice (1967), Savalas in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) and von Sydow in Never Say Never Again (1983).His portrayal of Ernst Stavro Blofeld in You Only Live Twice (1967) will always be an influence of the Dr. Evil character in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999). Both Dr. Evil (Mike Myers) and Pleasence's Blofeld have a large facial scar.He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1994 Queen's New Year Honours List for his services to drama.When once asked why he kept making horror movies, the actor replied: "Because I have six daughters to support.".The only actor to have appeared in both The Great Escape (1963) and its television sequel The Great Escape II: The Untold Story (1988). Ironically, he played one of the would-be great escapees in the first film and one of the German executioners in the second. Strangely he even played the role of the SS and Gestapo chief, Reichsf��hrer-SS Heinrich Himmler, in the film The Eagle Has Landed (1976). Heinrich Himmler was the one who ordered the secret murder of "the 50" POWs. Thus, Pleasence is likely to be one of only a few actors to have ever portrayed all three roles of murder conspirator, executioner, and victim (although technically he was not among the 50. His character died earlier.).Was known for his eye for details and authenticity, including in regards to his costumes. He arrived in Sydney for the filming of Wake in Fright (1971) with a beard suggestive of the kind favored by bushrangers and immediately rejected the costume that was assigned to him, opting to purchase his own clothes from a Vinnies thrift shop.He was a wireless operator in Lancaster bombers in 166 Squadron, Royal Air Force.According to one of his daughters, the actor had a battle with alcohol for many years. Then from the early 1980s on-wards, he gave it up for good.Married four times and had five daughters. Angela Pleasence and Jean Pleasence were born from his marriage to actress Miriam Raymond; Lucy Pleasence and Polly Jo Pleasence were the products of his union with actress/singer Josephine Crombie and Miranda Pleasence was conceived during his marriage to singer Meira Shore.Was nominated for four Tony Awards as Best Actor (Dramatic): in 1962 for "The Caretaker", a part he recreated in the film version also titled The Guest (1963); in 1965 for "Poor Bitos"; in 1969 for "The Man in the Glass Booth" and, in 1972 for "Wise Child" - but he never won.Felt he was becoming typecast in horror films but preferred to remain a working actor.Daughter, Jean, is an occupational therapist at a psychiatric hospital.His father was a stationmaster.Interview footage of the actor is almost non-existent, except for a brief excerpt of one given whilst filming "Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers.".He has appeared in one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Halloween (1978).He had elocution lessons as a child.He wanted to be an actor from an early age but was turned down by nearly 40 repertory companies before being accepted by a company in Jersey.A long slow climb with other companies followed before being accepted by Bristol Old Vic.One of his closest friends in the acting industry was Peter Vaughan.Was cast in the lead in the original theatre production of Robert Shaw's play, "The Man in the Glass Booth" in 1967.Before his death in 1995, Pleasence had agreed to play the role of Toulon the Puppet Master in three Puppet Master sequels which would have been filmed back to back in Romania over the course of about ten weeks. He was also going to play King Lear on stage in a production to be directed by Harold Pinter with his three actress daughters Angela, Polly and Miranda playing Lear's daughters.He was good in school plays and won prizes.He was considered for many guest roles in Doctor Who (1963) - General Grugger in "Meglos", Richard Mace in "The Visitation", Griffiths in "Attack of the Cybermen", Shockeye in "The Two Doctors" and De Flores in "Silver Nemesis". He was also considered for Borusa in Doctor Who: The Movie (1996) before the character was dropped from the script.One of his biggest triumphs on stage was in Harold Pinter's play 'The Caretaker'in the West End then on Broadway, where he was nominated for a New York Critics Award, followed by the film version in 1963. In 1991, he appeared in another staged production of the play.Won London Critics Award for The Caretaker' and the British Variety Award for Best Stage Actor for his performance in 'The Man in the Glass Booth.Appeared in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) and Jesus of Nazareth (1977). They were both star-studded biblical epics that depicted the life of Jesus Christ.Apart from America and Britain, Donald Pleasence made films in various other countries. These included Italy, the Middle East, France, Australia etc.Children: Angela born 1941, Jean born 1951, Lucy born 1960, Polly born 1962 and Miranda born 1970.Among the possible actors for the roles of Dr. Hans Fallada and Sir Percy Heseltine in Lifeforce (1985). Frank Finlay and Aubrey Morris won the respective roles.Is Carrie Anderson's great-uncle.His final stage performance was as Captain Shotover in George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House at His Majesty's Theatre, Perth, Australia in July 1994 opposite his actress daughter Polly Pleasence. |
| Trademarks: |
Bald head and piercing blue eyes
Dr. Sam Loomis from the Halloween films
Intense performances
Rich smooth and haunting voice |
| Quotes: |
I'm a professional actor. I get the part. I read the script. If I decide to do it, I learn the lines. I have no theory about acting. For me, there is no Method. I just do it.
<br />
<hr>
I treat all film roles one way - very seriously.
<br />
<hr>
There was a sort of horror picture that I did called The Mutations (1974). I think I did that solely for the money. I have six daughters, and they can be quite expensive, so one has to keep working and be able to pay the bills. I did get to work with Tom Baker. He's a very charming, bright man and I liked him very much. I remember that movie as a very happy time; the whole gang of us were very friendly, and that means so much when you're working together. But I surely wouldn't list that film among my proudest moments.
<br />
<hr>
[on Halloween (1978)] There are parts of the script which I couldn't accept. I believe people are behaving in a way in which they couldn't possibly in real life behave. And that's always difficult because if you're one of the people, then you are the one who's going to look like an idiot.
<br />
<hr>
[on THX 1138 (1971)] It was an enjoyable film to make. Even at that point, I had a feeling George Lucas would go on to do some wonderful things. Technically he knew everything about the business at a very young age. |
| Salaries: |
Halloween (1978) - $20,000 |
| Job title: |
Actor,Writer,Director |
| Others works: |
Authored the children's book "Scouse the Mouse", London: New English Library, 1977. SBN: 450 03216 7.
Narrated a LP record version of his children's book "Scouse the Mouse", released in 1977 by Polydor Records (2480 429).
V |
| Spouse: |
Linda Kentwood (January 3, 1989 - February 2, 1995) (his death)Meira Shore (October 10, 1970 - February 1, 1988) (divorced, 1 child)Josephine Crombie (1959 - 1970) (divorced, 2 children)Miriam Raymond ( |
| Children: |
Angela PleasenceLucy PleasenceMiranda PleasencePolly Jo PleasenceJean Pleasence |
| Parents: |
Thomas Stanley Pleasence
Alice Armitage |
|
