Ronald Lacey facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ronald Lacey
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Lacey as Arnold Toht in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
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| Born |
Ronald William Lacey
28 September 1935 |
| Died | 15 May 1991 (aged 55) London, England
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| Education | Harrow Weald Grammar School |
| Alma mater | London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1959–1991 |
| Spouse(s) |
Mela White
(m. 1962; div. 1969)Joanna Baker
(m. 1972; div. 1989) |
| Children | 3, including Rebecca |
Ronald William Lacey (born September 28, 1935 – died May 15, 1991) was an English actor. He appeared in many TV shows and movies over 30 years. He is best known for playing the villain Arnold Toht in the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). He also played Harris in the TV show Porridge (1977) and the Bishop of Bath and Wells in Blackadder II (1986).
Contents
Early Life and Education
Ronald Lacey was born and grew up in Harrow, Middlesex, England. He went to Harrow Weald Grammar School. After a short time serving in the British Armed Forces, he decided to become an actor. He studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Acting Career
Lacey started his acting journey in 1959 in a TV play called The Secret Agent. His first big stage role was in 1962 in a play called Chips with Everything.
Ronald Lacey had a very unique look. He had small eyes, an upturned nose, and a receding chin. He could also make a very high-pitched scream. These features often led him to play unusual characters, especially sneaky or creepy villains. He was also praised for his role as the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas in a BBC2 show.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Lacey appeared in many British TV shows. He played a gravedigger in a re-enactment of a scene from Hamlet for the series Civilisation. He also had a guest role in The Avengers and became well-known as Harris in the sitcom Porridge.
By the late 1970s, Lacey was thinking about changing careers. But then, director Steven Spielberg cast him as the Nazi agent Arnold Toht in Raiders of the Lost Ark. This role made him famous. After that, he played many more villains for several years. These roles included movies like Sahara with Brooke Shields, Red Sonja with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Firefox with Clint Eastwood. In Firefox, he played a Russian scientist helping the West.
Lacey was known for his special smile, which could turn into a mean-looking grin. He also had a noticeable mole on his left cheek, which he chose to keep. He used this mole as a beauty mark when he played a mysterious character who dressed in women's clothing in the 1983 movie Trenchcoat. He played another character who dressed in women's clothing in Invitation to the Wedding (1985).
Personal Life
Ronald Lacey was married two times. His first wife was actress Mela White, whom he married in 1962. They had two children, Rebecca and Jonathan, who also became actors. After they divorced, he married Joanna Baker in 1972. They had one son together.
Death
Ronald Lacey was diagnosed with liver cancer on April 25, 1991. He passed away less than a month later, on May 15, 1991, at the age of 55.
Filmography
Films
- 1962 The Boys as Billy Herne
- 1963 Doctor in Distress as Café Customer (uncredited)
- 1964 Of Human Bondage as "Matty" Mathews
- 1964 The Comedy Man as First Assistant Director (uncredited)
- 1965 Catch Us If You Can as Yeano, Beatnik
- 1967 The White Bus
- 1967 The Fearless Vampire Killers as Village Idiot
- 1967 How I Won the War as Spool
- 1969 Take a Girl Like You as Graham
- 1969 Otley as Curtis
- 1969 Tintin and the Temple of the Sun as Thompson (English version, voice, uncredited)
- 1971 Say Hello to Yesterday as Car Park Attendant (uncredited)
- 1971 Macbeth as Macbeths Man, Killed Banquo (uncredited)
- 1971 Crucible of Terror as Michael Clare
- 1972 Disciple of Death as Parson
- 1973 Gawain and the Green Knight as Oswald
- 1973 The Final Programme as "Shades"
- 1975 Mister Quilp as Harris
- 1976 The Likely Lads as Ernie
- 1977 Charleston as Frankie
- 1979 Zulu Dawn as Norris Newman
- 1980 Nijinsky as Léon Bakst
- 1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark as Major Arnold Ernst Toht
- 1982 Firefox as Dr. Maxim Ilyich Semelovsky
- 1982 Tangiers as Wedderburn
- 1983 Invitation to the Wedding as Clara / Charles Eatwell
- 1983 Trenchcoat as Princess Aida
- 1983 Yellowbeard as Man With Parrot
- 1983 Sahara as "Beg"
- 1984 Making the Grade as Nicky
- 1984 Sword of the Valiant as Oswald
- 1984 The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension as President Widmark
- 1984 The Bengal Lancers!
- 1985 Flesh + Blood as Cardinal
- 1985 Red Sonja as Ikol
- 1985 Minder on the Orient Express as Harry Ridler
- 1986 Aces Go Places 4 as Leader of the villains
- 1986 Sky Bandits as Fritz
- 1986 Lone Runner as Misha
- 1986 Into the Darkness as Stewart Andrew Golding
- 1988 Jailbird Rock as Warden Bauman
- 1988 Manifesto as The Conductor
- 1988 Dawn of an Evil Millennium
- 1989 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as Heinrich Himmler (uncredited)
- 1989 Valmont as José
- 1989 Stalingrad as Winston Churchill
- 1992 The Assassinator as Stewart
- 1992 Landslide as Fred Donner
- 1993 Angely smerti (final film role)
TV Shows
- 1960 Deadline Midnight as Jensen
- 1961 A Chance of Thunder as Johnny Travers
- 1964 The Likely Lads as Ernie
- 1965 Day Out for Lucy
- 1965 Barnaby Spoot and the Exploding Whoopee Cushion as Justin Fribble
- 1965 Fable as Len
- 1965 Gideon's Way as Jerry Blake
- 1966 Who's a Good Boy Then? as Billy Oates
- 1966 Sergeant Cork (episode "The Case of Albert Watson V.C.") as Albert Watson
- 1967 Boa Constrictor as Frankie "Three"
- 1967 Great Expectations as Orlick
- 1967 The Avengers (episode "The Joker") as Strange Young Man
- 1968 The Avengers (episode "Legacy of Death") as Humbert - a parody of Peter Lorre
- 1965-68 Theatre 625 – "Mille Miglia", "The Burning Bush", "Firebrand", "The Nutter"
- 1968 Game, Set and Match
- 1968 Civilisation (episode "Protest and Communication" as Grave Digger from Shakespeare's Hamlet
- 1969 It Wasn't Me as George
- 1969 Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
- 1969 Target Generation as Joe Manx
- 1969 These Men Are Dangerous
- 1970 The Adventures of Don Quick as Sergeant Sam Czopanser
- 1970 The Vessel of Wrath (1970) as Controleur
- 1970 Catweazle as Ted "Tearful Ted"
- 1971-1972 Jason King as Ryland
- 1972 The Protectors (episode King Con) as Cribbe
- 1973 Colditz (episode "Murder?") as Major Zibnek
- 1973 Last of the Summer Wine as Walter
- 1973 The Adventures of Don Quixote as Monk
- 1973 Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? as Ernie
- 1975 The Fight Against Slavery as Charles James Fox
- 1975 The Sweeney (episode "Thou Shalt Not Kill!") as Barry Monk
- 1976 Thriller (episode "The Next Victim") as Bartlett
- 1976 Our Mutual Friend as Mr. Venus
- 1976 The New Avengers (episode "Hong Kong Harry") as Harry
- 1976 A Story to Frighten the Children as Lang
- 1976 The Duchess of Duke Street (Episode 9) as art dealer Mr. Shephard
- 1977 Porridge as Harris
- 1978 All Creatures Great and Small (episode "The Last Furlong") as Stewie Brannon
- 1978 Dylan (TV play) as Dylan Thomas
- 1978 The Mayor of Casterbridge (mini-series) as Jopp
- 1979 Blakes 7 (episode "Killer") as Tynus
- 1979 Tropic (TV series) as Geoffrey Turvey
- 1981 Tiny Revolutions
- 1982 P.O.S.H. as Mr. Vicarage
- 1983 Scarecrow and Mrs. King as Bobby Bouchard
- 1983 Hart to Hart (episode "Hostage Harts")
- 1983 The Hound of the Baskervilles as Inspector Lestrade
- 1983 The Rothko Conspiracy
- 1984 Magnum, P.I. as Archer Hayes
- 1985 Connie as Crawder
- 1985 Minder on the Orient Express as Harry Ridler
- 1985 Blackadder II (episode "Money") as The Bishop of Bath and Wells
- 1987 The Sign of Four as Thaddeus Sholto / Bartholomew Sholto
- 1988 The Great Escape II: The Untold Story as Winston Churchill
- 1989 The Nightmare Years as Emil Luger
- 1990 Face to Face as Dr. Brinkman
- 1991 The Strauss Dynasty as Bauer
- 1990 Haggard
See also
In Spanish: Ronald Lacey para niños
