Donald Pleasence | |
|---|---|
 Pleasence in 1973 by Allan Warren | |
| Born | Donald Henry Pleasence 5 October 1919 Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England |
| Died | 2 February 1995 (aged 75) |
| Education | Ecclesfield School |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1939–1995 |
| Spouses | Miriam Raymond
(m. 1941; div. 1958)Josephine Crombie
(m. 1959; div. 1970)Meira Shore
(m. 1970; div. 1988)Linda J. Kentwood (m. 1988) |
| Children | 5, including Angela |
Donald Henry Pleasence OBE (/ˈplɛzəns/;[2] 5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995)[3] was an English actor. He began his career on stage in the West End before having a screen career, which included starring in a 1954 BBC adaptation of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, before playing numerous supporting and character roles in films including RAF Flight Lieutenant Colin Blythe in The Great Escape (1963), the villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice (1967), SEN 5241 in THX 1138 (1971), and the deranged Clarence "Doc" Tydon in Wake in Fright (1971).
Pleasence starred as psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Loomis in Halloween (1978) and four of its sequels, a role for which he was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actor. The series' popularity and critical success led to a resurgent career for Pleasence, who appeared in numerous American and European-produced horror and thriller films. He collaborated with Halloween director John Carpenter twice more, as the President of the United States in Escape from New York (1981) and as the Priest in Prince of Darkness (1987).
- ^ Terry Sherwood (27 June 2020). "Donald Pleasence: to Halloween and Back". The Spooky Isles. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- ^ "Pleasence" Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Collins English Dictionary
- ^ "England and Wales Births 1837–1983". Freebmd.org.uk. 10 September 2010. Archived from the original on 1 November 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2010.