Biography
This page uses content from the Torin Thatcher biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.
Torin Thatcher was an actor born 15 January 1905 in India to British parents. He was an imposing, powerfully built figure noted for his flashy portrayals of screen villains in films such as Sabotage, The Crimson Pirate and Great Expectations.
He was educated in England at the Bedford School and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He worked as a schoolteacher before first appearing on the London stage in 1927 and then entering British films in 1934. During World War II he served with the Royal Artillery and achieved the rank of major.
He appeared in classic British films of the late 1930s and 1940s including Sabotage, Major Barbara, The Captive Heart, The Fallen Idol and Great Expectations, in which he played Bentley ("The Spider") Drummle. He moved to Hollywood in the 1950s where he was constantly in demand, invariably lending his looming figure and baleful countenance to sinister roles in popular costume thrillers such as The Crimson Pirate, Blackbeard, The Robe, The Black Shield of Falworth, Helen of Troy and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad. He also appeared in the Marlon Brando, Trevor Howard remake of Mutiny on the Bounty.
He returned to the stage quite frequently, notably on Broadway, in such esteemed productions as 'Edward, My Son' 1948, 'That Lady' 1949 and 'Billy Budd' 1951. In 1959 he portrayed Captain Keller in the award-winning play 'The Miracle Worker' with Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke. Also a steady fixture on TV, he appeared in such made-for-TV films as the Jack Palance version of 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' and 'Brenda Starr'. He died of cancer on March 4, 1981, in the Los Angeles area.
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