Thomas Heathcote
Encyclopedia
Thomas Heathcote was a British character actor
.
He was educated at Bradfield College, near Reading in Berkshire, England. His films included A Night to Remember (1958), Village of the Damned
(1960), Billy Budd
(1962), A Man for All Seasons
(1966), Night of the Big Heat
(1967) and Quatermass and the Pit
(1967). On television
, he had notable guest roles in Dixon of Dock Green
, The Prisoner
, Z-Cars
and The Onedin Line
. Heathcote was also a regular actor in BBC radio drama, notably in several series of Paul Temple
.
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
.
He was educated at Bradfield College, near Reading in Berkshire, England. His films included A Night to Remember (1958), Village of the Damned
Village of the Damned (1960 film)
Village of the Damned is a 1960 British science fiction film by German director Wolf Rilla. The film is a fairly faithful adaptation of the novel The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham. The lead role of Professor Gordon Zellaby was played by George Sanders. This film was #92 on Bravo's 100 Scariest...
(1960), Billy Budd
Billy Budd (film)
Billy Budd is a 1962 film produced, directed, and co-written by Peter Ustinov. Adapted from the stage play version of Herman Melville's short novel Billy Budd, it starred Terence Stamp as Billy Budd, Robert Ryan as John Claggart, and Ustinov as Captain Vere...
(1962), A Man for All Seasons
A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)
A Man for All Seasons is a 1966 film based on Robert Bolt's play A Man for All Seasons about Sir Thomas More. It was released on December 12, 1966. Paul Scofield, who had played More in the West End stage premiere, also took the role in the film. It was directed by Fred Zinnemann, who had...
(1966), Night of the Big Heat
Night of the Big Heat (1967 film)
Night of the Big Heat is a 1967 British sci-fi horror film released by Planet Film Productions, based on a 1959 novel of the same name by John Lymington. It was released in the United States in 1971 under the title Island of the Burning Damned and was double-billed with All Monsters Attack...
(1967) and Quatermass and the Pit
Quatermass and the Pit (film)
Quatermass and the Pit is a 1967 British science fiction horror film. Made by Hammer Film Productions it is a sequel to the earlier Hammer films The Quatermass Xperiment and Quatermass 2. Like its predecessors it is based on a BBC Television serial – Quatermass and the Pit – written by Nigel Kneale...
(1967). On television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, he had notable guest roles in Dixon of Dock Green
Dixon of Dock Green
Dixon of Dock Green was a popular BBC television series that ran from 1955 to 1976, and later a radio series. Despite being a drama series, it was initially produced by the BBC's light entertainment department.-Overview:...
, The Prisoner
The Prisoner
The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
, Z-Cars
Z-Cars
Z-Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby in the outskirts of Liverpool in Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.-Origins:The series was developed by...
and The Onedin Line
The Onedin Line
The Onedin Line is a BBC television drama series which ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham.The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and deals with the rise of a shipping line, the Onedin Line, named after its owner James Onedin...
. Heathcote was also a regular actor in BBC radio drama, notably in several series of Paul Temple
Paul Temple
Paul Temple is a fictional character created by British writer Francis Durbridge for the BBC radio serial Send for Paul Temple in 1938. Temple is an amateur private detective and author of crime fiction...
.
Selected filmography
- The Red BeretThe Red BeretThe Red Beret is a 1953 British made Technicolor war film starring Alan Ladd, Leo Genn and Susan Stephen. It deals with the Parachute Regiment during the Second World War. It is notable as the first film made by Warwick Films with many of the crew working on various Warwick Films and Albert R....
(1953) - Blood OrangeBlood Orange (film)Blood Orange is a 1953 British crime film directed by Terence Fisher. It stars Tom Conway and Mila Parély.-Cast:* Tom Conway as Tom Conway* Mila Parély as Helen Pascall* Naomi Chance as Gina* Eric Pohlmann as Mr. Mercedes...
(1953) - Above Us the WavesAbove Us the Waves (film)Above Us the Waves is a 1955 war film directed by Ralph Thomas. It tells the story of human torpedo and midget submarine attacks on the German battleship Tirpitz. It is based on true-life attacks on the Tirpitz, first using manned torpedoes , and then the Royal Navy's midget X-Craft submarines in...
(1955) - Doctor at SeaDoctor at Sea (film)Doctor at Sea is a 1955 British comedy film, directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty Box. The screenplay, by Nicholas Phipps, Richard Gordon and Jack Davies was the sequel to their film from the previous year Doctor in the House, and also starring Dirk Bogarde, playing the character of the...
(1955) - The Last Man to Hang?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.-Cast:*Tom Conway as Sir Rodrick Strood*Elizabeth Sellars as Daphne Strood*Eunice Gayson as Elizabeth*Freda Jackson as Mrs. Tucker...
(1956) - Tiger in the SmokeTiger in the SmokeTiger in the Smoke is a 1956 British crime film directed by Roy Ward 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 Smoke by Margery Allingham, although the film omits the principal character of...
(1956) - Yangtse IncidentYangtse Incident (1957 film)Yangtse Incident: The Story of HMS Amethyst is a 1957 British war film that tells the story of the British frigate HMS Amethyst caught up in the Chinese Civil War....
(1957) - A Night to Remember (1958)
- Tread Softly StrangerTread Softly StrangerTread 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 a gritty working industrial town in northern England mirrors the kitchen sink realism...
(1958) - Village of the DamnedVillage of the Damned (1960 film)Village of the Damned is a 1960 British science fiction film by German director Wolf Rilla. The film is a fairly faithful adaptation of the novel The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham. The lead role of Professor Gordon Zellaby was played by George Sanders. This film was #92 on Bravo's 100 Scariest...
(1960) - On the FiddleOn the FiddleOn the Fiddle is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Cyril Frankel and starring Sean Connery, Alfred Lynch, Cecil Parker, Stanley Holloway, Eric Barker, Mike Sarne, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Kathleen Harrison, Victor Maddern and John Le Mesurier....
(1961) - Billy BuddBilly Budd (film)Billy Budd is a 1962 film produced, directed, and co-written by Peter Ustinov. Adapted from the stage play version of Herman Melville's short novel Billy Budd, it starred Terence Stamp as Billy Budd, Robert Ryan as John Claggart, and Ustinov as Captain Vere...
(1962) - A Man for All SeasonsA Man for All Seasons (1966 film)A Man for All Seasons is a 1966 film based on Robert Bolt's play A Man for All Seasons about Sir Thomas More. It was released on December 12, 1966. Paul Scofield, who had played More in the West End stage premiere, also took the role in the film. It was directed by Fred Zinnemann, who had...
(1966) - Night of the Big HeatNight of the Big Heat (1967 film)Night of the Big Heat is a 1967 British sci-fi horror film released by Planet Film Productions, based on a 1959 novel of the same name by John Lymington. It was released in the United States in 1971 under the title Island of the Burning Damned and was double-billed with All Monsters Attack...
(1967) - Quatermass and the PitQuatermass and the Pit (film)Quatermass and the Pit is a 1967 British science fiction horror film. Made by Hammer Film Productions it is a sequel to the earlier Hammer films The Quatermass Xperiment and Quatermass 2. Like its predecessors it is based on a BBC Television serial – Quatermass and the Pit – written by Nigel Kneale...
(1967) - The FixerThe Fixer (film)The Fixer is a 1968 British drama film based on the 1966 semi-biographical novel of the same name, written by Bernard Malamud.-Plot:Like the book, the film's main character Yakov Bok, a Jew living in the Russian Empire, who was unjustly imprisoned based on prejudice and the charge of having...
(1968) - Julius CaesarJulius Caesar (1970 film)Julius Caesar is a 1970 independent film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play, directed by Stuart Burge from a screenplay by Robert Furnival. The film stars Charlton Heston , Jason Robards and John Gielgud . It is the first film version of the play made in color...
(1970) - The Abominable Dr. PhibesThe Abominable Dr. PhibesThe Abominable Dr. Phibes is a 1971 horror film starring Vincent Price. Its art deco sets, dark humor and performance by Price has made the film and its sequel Dr. Phibes Rises Again classics.-Plot:...
(1971) - Burke & HareBurke & Hare (film)Burk & Hare, sometimes called Burke and Hare or The Horrors of Burke and Hare, is a 1971 horror film, directed by Vernon Sewell, and starring Derren Nesbitt, Harry Andrews, and Glynn Edwards. It is based on the Burke and Hare murders, and was the last film to be directed by Vernon Sewell...
(1971) - Demons of the MindDemons of the MindDemons of the Mind is a British period horror film, produced by the Hammer studio. It was directed by Peter Sykes and its cinematographer was Arthur Grant. The cast includes Gillian Hills , Robert Hardy, Patrick Magee, Michael Hordern, and Shane Briant...
(1972) - LutherLuther (1973 film)Luther is the 1973 film of John Osborne's biographical play, presenting the life of Martin Luther. It was one of eight in the first season of the American Film Theater's series of plays made into films. It was produced by Ely Landau, directed by British director Guy Green, and filmed at Shepperton...
(1973) - Trial by CombatTrial by Combat (film)Trial by Combat is a 1976 film directed by Kevin Connor. It stars John Mills and Donald Pleasence.-Cast:* John Mills as Colonel Bertie Cook* Donald Pleasence as Sir Giles Marley* Barbara Hershey as Marion Evans* David Birney as Sir John Gifford...
(1976)