Editing Donald Pleasence (section)

==Acting career==
Returning to acting after the war, Pleasence resumed working in repertory theatre companies in [[Birmingham]] and [[Bristol]].<ref name=indepobit>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituaries--donald-pleasence-1571295.html|title=Obituaries: Donald Pleasence|access-date=14 February 2012|newspaper=The Independent|date=3 February 1995|archive-date=19 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919034037/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituaries--donald-pleasence-1571295.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 

His first production was ''[[The Brothers Karamazov]]'', where he played the interrogator Mavriky, when one of the actors was ill at the [[Lyric Theatre (Hammersmith)]]. It was his first 'unpleasant' acting role. He joined Birmingham Rep, where stayed for two years, then the Bristol Old Vic. He toured the US in 1950.<ref>''Grimsby Evening Telegraph'' Friday 11 February 1955, page 5</ref>

In the 1950s, Pleasence's stage work included performing as Willie Mossop in a 1952 production of ''[[Hobson's Choice (play)|Hobson's Choice]]'' at the [[Arts Theatre]], London and as Dauphin in [[Jean Anouilh]]'s ''[[The Lark (play)|The Lark]]'' (1956).<ref name=indepobit/> In 1960, Pleasence gained excellent notices as the tramp in [[Harold Pinter]]'s ''[[The Caretaker (play)|The Caretaker]]'' at the Arts Theatre, a role he would again play in a 1990 revival.<ref name=indepobit/> Other stage work in the 1960s included Anouilh's ''Poor Bitos'' (1963–64) and [[Robert Shaw (actor)|Robert Shaw]]'s ''The Man in the Glass Booth'' (1967), for which he won the London Variety Award for Stage Actor of the Year in 1968.<ref name=indepobit/> Pleasence's later stage work included performing in a double bill of Pinter plays, ''[[The Basement (play)|The Basement]]'' and ''[[Tea Party (play)|Tea Party]]'', at the [[Duchess Theatre]] in 1970.<ref name=indepobit/>

===Television===
Pleasence made his television debut in ''I Want to Be a Doctor'' (1946).<ref name=indepobit/> He received positive critical attention for his role as Syme in the [[BBC]] version of ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four (UK TV programme)|Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'' (1954) from [[Nineteen Eighty-Four|the novel]] by [[George Orwell]].<ref name=indepobit/> The adaptation was by [[Nigel Kneale]] and featured [[Peter Cushing]] in the lead role of [[Winston Smith (Nineteen Eighty-Four)|Winston Smith]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Nineteen Eighty-Four (Dual Format Edition) |url=https://shop.bfi.org.uk/nineteen-eighty-four-dual-format-edition.html |access-date=7 November 2023 |agency=BFI}}</ref>

Pleasence played [[John, King of England|Prince John]] in several episodes of the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] series ''[[The Adventures of Robin Hood (TV series)|The Adventures of Robin Hood]]'' (1956–1958). He appeared twice with [[Patrick McGoohan]] in the British spy series, ''[[Danger Man]]'', in episodes "Position of Trust" (1960) and "Find and Return" (1961). Pleasence's first appearance in America was in an episode of ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'', playing an aging teacher at a boys' school in the episode "[[The Changing of the Guard (The Twilight Zone)|The Changing of the Guard]]" (1962). In 1963, he appeared in an episode of ''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]'' titled "[[The Man with the Power]]". In 1966, he also guest starred in an episode of ''[[The Fugitive (1963 TV series)|The Fugitive]]'' entitled "With Strings Attached".

In 1973, Pleasence played a sympathetic murderer in an episode of ''[[Columbo]]'' entitled "[[Columbo (season 3)|Any Old Port in a Storm]]". Also that year, he played a supporting role in [[David Winters (choreographer)|David Winters]]' musical television adaptation of ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde''.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1973-04-03|title=Musical Version of 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' Stars Kirk Douglas|work=The Mexia Daily New|volume=74}}</ref>

He also portrayed a murderer captured by ''[[Mrs. Columbo]]'' in "Murder Is a Parlor Game" (1979). In 1978, he played a scout, Sam Purchas in an [[Centennial (miniseries)|adaptation]] of James A. Michener's ''[[Centennial (novel)|Centennial]]''. Pleasence starred as the Reverend Septimus Harding in the BBC's TV series ''[[The Barchester Chronicles]]'' (1982).<ref name=autogenerated1 /> In this series, his daughter [[Angela Pleasence]] played his onscreen daughter Susan.

He hosted the 1981 Halloween episode of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' with music guest [[Fear (band)|Fear]].

In 1986, Pleasence joined [[Ronald Lacey]] and Polly Jo Pleasence for the television thriller ''Into the Darkness''.

Pleasence and [[Michael Nader]] portrayed the villains in 1988's ''[[The Great Escape II: The Untold Story]]'',<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/07/arts/review-television-derring-do-and-deceit-in-wartime.html|title=Review/Television; Derring-Do And Deceit In Wartime|first=John J.|last=O'Conner|date=November 7, 1988|work=The New York Times}}</ref> which costar [[Christopher Reeve]] explained as not being a remake of the 1963 original film and being based on [[Paul Brickhill]]'s non-fiction account ''[[The Great Escape (book)|The Great Escape]]''. Noting his involvement in the original film, Joan Hanauer wrote that Pleasence had "graduated to an S.S. villain, and he is a marvel of soft-spoken, almost finicky evil."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.deseret.com/1988/11/5/18782949/untold-story-told-the-great-escape-ii|title=UNTOLD STORY TOLD: 'THE GREAT ESCAPE II'|date=November 5, 1988|publisher=Desert News}}</ref>

===Film===
[[File:Donald Pleasence in Eye of the Devil trailer 1.jpg|thumb|Pleasence in the trailer for the film ''[[Eye of the Devil]]'' (1966).]]
Pleasence made his big-screen debut with ''[[The Beachcomber (1954 film)|The Beachcomber]]'' (1954).<ref name=autogenerated1 /> Some notable early roles include Parsons in ''[[1984 (1956 film)|1984]]'' (1956), and minor roles opposite [[Alec Guinness]] in ''[[Barnacle Bill (1957 film)|Barnacle Bill]]'' (1957) and [[Dirk Bogarde]] in ''[[The Wind Cannot Read]]'' (1958). In [[Tony Richardson]]'s film of ''[[Look Back in Anger (1959 film)|Look Back in Anger]]'' (1959), he plays a vindictive market inspector opposite [[Richard Burton]]. In the same year, Pleasence starred in the horror films ''[[Circus of Horrors]]'' directed by [[Sidney Hayers]], playing the role of Vanet, the owner of a circus, and ''[[The Flesh and the Fiends]]'' as the real-life murderer [[Burke and Hare murders|William Hare]], alongside [[Peter Cushing]], [[George Rose (actor)|George Rose]] and [[Billie Whitelaw]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/253086|title=Circus of Horrors|work=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=9 November 2015|archive-date=28 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128201026/http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/253086%7c0/Circus-of-Horrors.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Endowed with a bald head, a penetrating stare, and an intense voice, usually quiet but capable of a piercing scream, he specialised in portraying insane, fanatical, or evil characters, including the title role in ''[[Dr Crippen]]'' (1962), the frontier prophet Oracle Jones in ''[[Hallelujah Trail]]'', the double agent Dr Michaels in the science-fiction film ''[[Fantastic Voyage]]'' (1966), the white trader who sells guns to the [[Cheyenne]] Indians in the revisionist western ''[[Soldier Blue]]'' (1970), the mad German psychoanalyst with [[Bud Spencer]]–[[Terence Hill]] in ''[[Watch Out, We're Mad!]]'' (1974), Nazi leader [[Heinrich Himmler]] in ''[[The Eagle Has Landed (film)|The Eagle Has Landed]]'' (1976), and the Bond arch-villain [[Ernst Stavro Blofeld]] in ''[[You Only Live Twice (film)|You Only Live Twice]]'' (1967), the first film in which Blofeld's face is clearly seen. His interpretation of the character has become predominant in popular culture considering the popularity of the comic villain, [[Dr. Evil]] in the successful ''[[Austin Powers (film series)|Austin Powers]]'' film series, which primarily parodies it. In the crime drama ''[[Hell is a City]]'' (1960), shot in Manchester, he starred opposite [[Stanley Baker]], while he was memorably cast in the horror comedy ''[[What a Carve Up! (film)|What a Carve Up!]]'' (1961) as the "horrible-looking zombie" solicitor opposite [[Shirley Eaton]], [[Sid James]], [[Kenneth Connor]] and [[Dennis Price]].

He appeared as the mild-mannered and good-natured POW [[forger]] Colin Blythe in the film ''[[The Great Escape (film)|The Great Escape]]'' (1963), who discovers that he is slowly going blind, but nonetheless participates in the mass break-out, only to be shot down by German soldiers because he is unable to see them. ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' highlighted Pleasence and [[Richard Attenborough]] as giving some of the better performances in the film, Pleasence specifically being praised for having the most moving portrayal and depicting "the film's most touching character."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/1962/film/reviews/the-great-escape-3-1200420303/|title=Film Review: The Great Escape|date=December 31, 1962|publisher=Variety}}</ref> 

Pleasence played [[Lucifer]] in the religious epic ''[[The Greatest Story Ever Told]]'' (1965). He was one of many stars who were given [[cameo appearance|cameos]] throughout the film. He also acted in [[Roman Polanski]]'s ''[[Cul-de-sac (1966 film)|Cul-de-sac]]'' (1966), in which he portrayed the love-sodden husband of a much younger French wife ([[Françoise Dorléac]]). He ventured successfully into American cowboy territory, playing a sadistic self-styled preacher who goes after stoic [[Charlton Heston]] in the Western ''[[Will Penny]]'' (1968).

In ''[[The Night of the Generals]]'' (1967), Pleasence played, as he did in ''The Great Escape'', an uncharacteristically sympathetic role - this time, as an old-school German general involved in a [[20 July plot|plot]] to kill [[Adolf Hitler]]. 

Pleasence was the original choice of [[Michael Reeves (director)|Michael Reeves]] for the title role of the [[folk horror]] film ''[[Witchfinder General (film)|Witchfinder General]]'' (a.k.a. ''The Conqueror Worm'', 1968) but once [[American International Pictures]] became involved in the production, they insisted that their contract star, [[Vincent Price]], be given the lead, and Pleasence was dropped from the film.

In 1971, Pleasence delivered a ''tour de force'' performance in the role of an alcoholic [[Australia]]n doctor in [[Ted Kotcheff]]'s nightmarish outback drama ''[[Wake in Fright]]''. A [[lost film]] for many decades, ''Wake in Fright'' is now considered a pivotal film of both the [[Australian New Wave]]<ref>Rapold, Nicolas (4 October 2012). [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/movies/wake-in-fright-and-australian-new-wave.html?smid=tw-nytimesmovies&seid=auto&_r=2& "'Wake in Fright' and Australian New Wave"], ''[[The New York Times]]''. Retrieved 12 January 2012.</ref> and the [[Ozploitation]] cycle,<ref name=ozploitation>{{Cite web| title=The 17 greatest Ozploitation movies – sorted |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/feb/14/the-17-greatest-ozploitation-movies-sorted |work=[[The Guardian]] |last=Buckmaster|first=Luke|date= 14 February 2022|access-date=20 March 2012}}</ref> earning praise from contemporary critics for Kotcheff's direction and the cast's performances.<ref name=rt>{{Cite web| title=Wake in Fright Movie Reviews |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wake_in_fright/ |publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=23 December 2012}}</ref>

Pleasence portrayed SEN 5241 in ''[[THX 1138]]'' (1971), opposite [[Robert Duvall]] which was the directorial debut of [[George Lucas]]. The next year he appeared as an eccentric, tea-obsessed police inspector in the cult horror film ''[[Death Line]]'' alongside [[Norman Rossington]] and [[Christopher Lee]]. A few years later, he portrayed antagonist Lucas Deranian, in Walt Disney's ''[[Escape to Witch Mountain (1975 film)|Escape to Witch Mountain]]'' (1975) and, in ''[[Telefon (film)|Telefon]]'' (1977), Nicolai Dalchimsky, the Russian seeking to start a war between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Pleasence appeared as Dr. [[Samuel Loomis]] in [[John Carpenter]]'s horror film ''[[Halloween (1978 film)|Halloween]]'' (1978).<ref name="Smith 2003">Prometheus Entertainment, ''Halloween: A Cut Above the Rest'', 2003</ref> The film was a major success and was considered the highest grossing [[independent film]] of its time, earning accolades as a classic of the horror genre. He also played the teacher, Kantorek in ''[[All Quiet on the Western Front (1979 film)|All Quiet on the Western Front]]'' (1979), Dr. Kobras in ''[[The Pumaman]]'' (1980) and the held-hostage President of the United States in ''[[Escape from New York]]'' (1981). The rather sinister accent which Pleasence employed in this and other films may be credited to the [[elocution]] lessons he had as a child. He reprised his Dr. Sam Loomis role in ''[[Halloween II (1981 film)|Halloween II]]'' (1981), ''[[Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers]]'' (1988), ''[[Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers]]'' (1989) and ''[[Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers]]'' (1995).

Pleasence, [[Daria Nicolodi]], and [[Jennifer Connelly]] starred in [[Dario Argento|Dario Argento's]] ''[[Phenomena (film)|Phenomena]]'' (1985),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/phenomena/amp/|title=Review: Phenomena|first=Ed|last=Gonzales|date=December 4, 2001|publisher=Slant Magazine}}</ref> where Pleasence portrayed a wheelchair-using forensic entomologist.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blueprintreview.co.uk/2018/01/phenomena/|title=PHENOMENA|date=January 6, 2018|first=David|last=Brook|publisher=Blueprintreview}}</ref> Although Austin Trunick of ''[[Under the Radar (magazine)|Under the Radar]]'' criticized Connelly for not being an active heroine, he cited "a lot of nice interaction between Connelly and Pleasence's eccentric character" as a positive tradeoff.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/phenomena_4k_uhd|title=Phenomena [4K UHD]|first=Austin|last=Trunick|date=March 16, 2022|publisher=Under The Radar}}</ref> Later that year, Pleasence played a retiring inspector who investigates the disappearance of the sister of [[Tom Schanley|Tom Schanley's]] character in ''[[Nothing Underneath]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://insidepulse.com/2021/11/01/blu-ray-review-nothing-underneath-too-beautiful-to-die/|title=Blu-ray Review: Nothing Underneath/Too Beautiful To Die|date=November 1, 2021|publisher=Inside Pulse|first=Joe|last=Corey}}</ref>
JA Kerswell called Pleasence's role "clichéd" for the actor while also praising his presence as "a welcome bonus."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hysteria-lives.co.uk/hysterialives/Hysteria/nothing_underneath.htm|title=NOTHING UNDERNEATH|first=JA|last=Kerswell|publisher=Hysteria Lives}}</ref> The reviewer from Horror Society wrote of liking Schanley and Pleasence "but the story is the main focus here and not the cast which is a bit of a shame because both did fantastic jobs."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.horrorsociety.com/2022/04/11/blu-review-nothing-underneath-too-beautiful-to-die-vinegar-syndrome/|title=Blu Review – Nothing Underneath/Too Beautiful To Die (Vinegar Syndrome)|date=April 11, 2022|publisher=Horror Society}}</ref> ''[[Operation Nam]]'' was Pleasence's sole film appearance in 1986, playing "a minor part as a priest" who services Vietnam soldiers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bzfilm.com/reviews/action-film-reviews/review-cobra-mission-1986/|title=REVIEW: Cobra Mission (1986)|first=Tim|last=Tal|date=September 6, 2011}}</ref>

Pleasence collaborated with Carpenter again when he starred in ''[[Prince of Darkness (film)|Prince of Darkness]]'' (1987), where he played a priest who seeks the aid of a professor and a few of the latter's quantum physics students to uncover the mystery of a glowing liquid in a canister.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://statehornet.com/2020/10/prince-of-darkness-halloween-horror-review/|title=REVIEW: 'Prince of Darkness' is a masterpiece of horror|date=October 23, 2020|publisher=The State Hornet}}</ref> Though mixed about the film, ''[[Starburst (magazine)|Starburst]]'' praised Pleasence's performance, admitting that to them, "there are very few sights in genre cinema as marvelous as seeing Pleasence delivering an intense, slightly erratic monologue, and he gets plenty to sink his teeth into here."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/prince-darkness-4k-ultra-hd|title=PRINCE OF DARKNESS – 4K ULTRA HD|first=Andrew|last=Pollard|date=November 20, 2018|publisher=Starburst}}</ref> Megan Summers asserted that Pleasence brought "his standard emotional prowess and psychological stability to his role" in the film,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/why-john-carpenters-prince-darkness-underrated-vs-not/|title=John Carpenter's Prince Of Darkness: 5 Reasons It's Criminally Underrated (& 5 It's Not)|date=June 11, 2020|publisher=Screen Rant}}</ref> and Michael Wilmington declared Pleasence and [[Victor Wong (actor, born 1927)|Victor Wong]] as "both fine; these two know how to make the most of shallow excess."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-10-23-ca-10702-story.html|title=MOVIE REVIEW : A JUMBLED 'PRINCE OF DARKNESS'|first=Michael|last=Wilmington|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=23 October 1987 }}</ref>

In 1988, Pleasence played a priest in the Italian horror film ''[[Vampire in Venice]]'' (a.k.a. ''Nosferatu in Venice''), a quasi-sequel to [[Werner Herzog]]'s ''[[Nosferatu the Vampyre]]'' (1979).

Pleasence admired [[Laurence Olivier|Sir Laurence Olivier]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pleasence.com/BIO-DP.HTML |title=Donald Pleasence'S Biography |publisher=Pleasence.com |access-date=2010-10-06 |archive-date=15 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715094444/http://www.pleasence.com/BIO-DP.HTML |url-status=live }}</ref> with whom he worked on-stage in the 1950s, and later on the film version of ''[[Dracula (1979 film)|Dracula]]'' (1979). Two years earlier, Pleasence did an amusingly broad impersonation of Olivier in the guise of a horror-film actor called "Valentine De'ath" in the film ''[[The Uncanny (film)|The Uncanny]]'' (1977). According to the film critic [[Kim Newman]] on a DVD commentary for ''Halloween II'', the reason for Pleasence's lengthy filmography was that he never turned down any role that was offered.

===Spoken records and voice-overs===
During the early 1960s, Pleasence recorded several children's-story records on the Atlas Record label. These were marketed as the Talespinners series in the United Kingdom. They were also released in the United States as ''[[Tale Spinners for Children]]'' by [[United Artists Records|United Artists]]. The stories included ''[[Don Quixote]]'' and the ''[[Brave Little Tailor]]''. He also wrote, directed and narrated ''[[Scouse the Mouse]]'' in 1977.

Pleasence provided the voice-over for the British [[public information film]], ''[[Lonely Water|The Spirit of Dark and Lonely Water]]'' (1973). The film, intended to warn children of the dangers of playing near water, attained notoriety for allegedly giving children nightmares.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4690150.stm "Water horror"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003180923/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4690150.stm |date=3 October 2018 }}, BBC News Magazine, 09-02-2006. ''Retrieved 04-10-2010''</ref>

===Books===
Pleasence was the author of the children's book ''[[Scouse the Mouse]]'' (1977) (London: New English Library), which was animated by Canadian animator/film director [[Gerald Potterton]] (a friend of the actor, who directed him in the Canadian film ''The Rainbow Boys'' (1973), retitled ''The Rainbow Gang'' for VHS release in the United States) and also adapted into a children's recording ([[Polydor Records]], 1977) with [[Ringo Starr]] voicing the book's title character, Scouse the Mouse.

In his book ''British Film Character Actors'' (1982), Terence Pettigrew describes Pleasence as "a potent combination of eyes and voice. The eyes are mournful but they can also be sinister or seedy or just plain nutty. He has the kind of piercing stare which lifts enamel off saucepans."