Donald Eccles (26 April 1908 – 2 February 1986)[1] was a British character actor.[2]

Donald Eccles
1939 Spotlight photo
Born
Donald Yarrow Eccles

(1908-04-26)26 April 1908
Nafferton, Yorkshire, England
Died2 February 1986(1986-02-02) (aged 77)
Haywards Heath, Sussex, England
CitizenshipBritish
OccupationActor

Donald Yarrow Eccles was born in Nafferton, Yorkshire on 26 April 1908 the son of Charles Henry and Constance Eccles; his father was a doctor. Eccles was educated at Highgate School and then worked in an insurance office.[3]

He made his stage debut in New York City in 1930, and later became known as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.[2] His debut in London was in Counsellor at Law in 1934 at the Piccadilly.[3] During the Second World War he spent six years in the Royal Navy.[3]

In 1960 he acted in the film A Taste of Money and later appeared in many other films including A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968), The Wicker Man (1973), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1982), Coming Out of the Ice (1982), The Dresser (1983), The Master of Ballantrae (1984), A Private Function (1984) and Young Sherlock Holmes (1985). He also appeared in many television roles, such as Pollio in I, Claudius and Mr Justice Vosper in the second series of Rumpole of the Bailey, until his death in a road accident in Brighton.[4]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1961 A Taste of Money Joe Feature film
1962 Backfire! Hargreaves
1968 A Midsummer Night's Dream Starveling Feature film
1972 Doctor Who Krasis TV series (serial: The Time Monster)
1973 The Wicker Man T.H. Lennox Feature film
1982 The Hunchback of Notre Dame Judge TV movie
1982 Coming Out of the Ice Nesterov TV movie
1983 The Dresser Mr. Godstone Feature film
1984 The Master of Ballantrae John Paul TV movie
1984 A Private Function Father Feature film
1985 Young Sherlock Holmes The Reverend Duncan Nesbitt Feature film

Television

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Title Role Notes
1964 The Human Jungle 2nd lawyer (uncredited) TV series
1972 Emma Mr Woodhouse TV adaptation
1975 I, Claudius Polio TV adaptation
1979 Rumpole of the Bailey Mr Justice Vosper TV series, season 2

References

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  1. ^ The London Gazette. Issue 50449
  2. ^ a b "Donald Eccles – Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos – AllMovie". AllMovie.
  3. ^ a b c "Mr Donald Eccles." Times [London, England] 5 February 1986: 14. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 30 March 2012.
  4. ^ "Donald Eccles". Archived from the original on 9 October 2018.
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