Tom Bell (actor)

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For other persons named Tom Bell, see Tom Bell (disambiguation).

Tom Bell (August 2, 1933 – October 4, 2006) was an English actor on stage, film and television. He was dark-haired, lean, and in his later years often played characters having a sinister side to their nature.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Tom (Thomas George) Bell was born on August 2nd 1933 in Liverpool, England. Evacuated as a child during the Second World War, he subsequently lived with three different families in the Morecambe area of Lancashire. In 1948, at age 15, Bell began to act in his first school plays and though he never dominated the performances he nonetheless demonstrated an obvious acting ability.

On leaving school he trained under the renowned Esme Church at the Civic Theatre in Bradford; fellow pupils included Billie Whitelaw and Robert Stephens. He later worked in Repertory in Liverpool and Dublin.

Bell made his first movie appearances in the 1960s in so-called "kitchen sink dramas", including The Kitchen and The L-Shaped Room (opposite Leslie Caron).

As a young actor, he had a rebellious streak and gained somewhat of a reputation for being a hellraiser who liked a drink (or two). At an important awards ceremony, and well-lubricated, he interrupted a long speech by the guest of honour, Prince Philip, by yelling "Tell us a funny story" – to the obvious embarrassment of table companions, Richard Attenborough and Bryan Forbes. Although (it is said) the Prince took the heckle in good humour with his retort "If you want a funny story, I suggest you engage a professional comic", the incident didn't do Bell's career any favours at the time.

In 1978 he came to worldwide attention portraying Adolf Eichmann in the Emmy-winning tv-series "Holocaust", and he received a BAFTA nomination for the series Out, in which he played convicted armed robber, Frank Ross.

In the 1980s and 1990s he appeared in several British movies including Wish You Were Here, Peter Greenaway's Prospero's Books, Swing and the 1990 film The Krays, were he played the part of Jack "The Hat" McVitie, one of the Kray Twins' murder victims.

He even tried his hand at TV sitcom, playing the dour owner of a run-down seaside waxworks museum in the Thames-tv series Hope It Rains, written by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey and directed by John Howard Davies. There were two series (thirteen episodes in all) aired in 1991-92.

Although he tended to eschew live performance, his few stage appearances included a rôle in the 1979 UK première of Bent, Martin Sherman's play about homosexuality, staged at the Royal Court Theatre. He played the character Horst opposite Ian McKellen's Max. The play's setting of homosexuals and love in a Nazi death camp was shocking for many theatregoers at the time and uncovered a previously little-examined area of Nazi brutality.

Bell played sexist police officer, Detective Sergeant Bill Otley opposite Dame Helen Mirren in the first and third series of the critically-acclaimed ITV series Prime Suspect. In 1993, in the third season, he received his second BAFTA nomination. His final screen appearance was a supporting role in 2006 in the seventh: Prime Suspect: The Final Act, where he looked frail.

Tom Bell died in hospital in Brighton on October 4th 2006, aged 73, following a short illness. He is survived by his partner, Frances Tempest and a son and two daughters.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Film

  • Friends and Enemies (2006)
  • Dead Man's Cards (2005) - Billy The Cowboy
  • Devil's Gate (2003) - Jake
  • Oh Marbella! (2003) - Ronnie, Ackerman
  • Try Seventeen (2002) - Bartender
  • Lava (2002) - Eric
  • Long Time Dead (2002) - Becker
  • My Kingdom (2001) - Quick
  • The Last Minute (2001) - Grimshanks
  • Swing (1999) - Sid Luxford
  • The Boxer (1997) - cameo
  • Swept from the Sea (1997) - Isaac Foster
  • Preaching to the Perverted (1997) - Henry Harding MP
  • Feast of July (1995) - Ben Wainwright
  • Seconds Out (1993) - Jack
  • Angels (1992) - Michael
  • Prospero's Books (1991) - Antonio
  • Let Him Have It (1991) - Fairfax
  • The Krays (1990) - Jack 'The Hat' McVitie
  • Resurrected (1989) - Mr. Deakin
  • Wish You Were Here (1987) - Eric
  • The Magic Toyshop (1987) - Uncle Philip
  • The Innocent (1985) - Frank Dobson
  • Summer Lightning (1984) - Mr Clark
  • The Sailor's Return (1978) - William Targett
  • Royal Flash (1975) - De Gautet
  • Straight on Till Morning (1972) - Jimmy Lindsay
  • Quest for Love (1971) - Colin Trafford
  • Lock Up Your Daughters! (1969) - Shaftoe
  • All the Right Noises (1969) - Len Lewin
  • In Enemy Country (1968) - Ian
  • The Long Day's Dying (1968) - Tom Cooper
  • The Violent Enemy (1968) - Sean Rogan
  • Sands of Beersheba (1966) - Dan
  • He Who Rides a Tiger (1965) - Peter Rayston
  • Blues for Lovers (1964) - Steve Collins
  • The L-Shaped Room (1962) - Toby
  • A Prize of Arms (1962) - Fenner
  • Damn the Defiant! (1962) aka HMS Defiant - Evans
  • Echo of Barbara (1961) - Ben
  • I Promised to Pay (1961) - Blackie
  • The Kitchen (1960) - Paul
  • The Criminal (1960) - Flynn

[edit] Television (selected)

[edit] References

  • 1991: Quinlans Illustrated Directory of Film Stars by David Quinlan, B.T. Batsford Limited - London, England. ISBN 0-7134-6324-4
  • 2004: Halliwell's Who's Who In The Movies (edited by John Walker), HarperCollins - London, England.

[edit] External links

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