Patrick Holt

Patrick Holt (31 January 1912 – 12 October 1993) was an English film and television actor.
Biography
Born Patrick Parsons in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Holt spent some of his childhood in India with his uncle, after which he was sent to Christ's Hospital, a famous charity school in Britain. Here he formed a close friendship with a boy in the same boarding house, the future film star Michael Wilding.
He started his acting career in repertory theatres, and in 1939, landed a leading part on the London stage, as well as minor roles in films such as The Return of the Frog (1938) but his career was interrupted when the Second World War broke out and he joined the army. His army service saw him in Burma, Singapore and India, often on secret missions behind enemy lines, and he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Career
After the war he joined the J. Arthur Rank charm school and after supporting roles in films such as Hungry Hill, Frieda and The October Man (all 1947), steadily established himself as a lead actor in films of the late 1940s, including The Mark of Cain (1947), My Sister and I (1948), Marry Me and A Boy, a Girl and a Bike (both 1949).
His leading man status in prestige films was brief and he found himself as the star of 'B' movies during the fifties and early sixties, with the film writer David Quinlan calling him "the Dennis Price of the B film", although something of a misnomer as the actors were not alike, Holt playing a wider variety of character types. These second features included Guilt Is My Shadow (1950), Stolen Assignment (1955), Miss Tulip Stays the Night (1955) and Suspended Alibi (1957), with his final lead roles coming in the 1962 films Serena, Flight from Singapore and Night of the Prowler. During this period he also took on supporting roles in bigger budget movies such as Ivanhoe (1952) and I Was Monty's Double (1958). He also appeared on stage during the decade and in 1953 co-starred with Anna Neagle in the musical The Glorious Days in the West End.
He was one of many leading men and women of the 1950s who struggled to maintain their status as leads beyond the early 1960s. However, by evolving into a character actor, he sustained his career into old age, working on stage and television as well as in the cinema, and he was still listed in the Spotlight casting directory at the time of his death. Later film appearances include Guns at Batasi (1964), Thunderball (1965), Young Winston (1972) and The Wild Geese (1978), while television included The Avengers, The Saint, Dixon of Dock Green, Armchair Theatre, Crown Court, Shabby Tiger, Survivors, Poldark and Emmerdale.
Personal life
His first wife was the actress Sonia Holm. In 1954, he married Sandra Dorne, with whom he had occasionally co-starred.
Selected filmography
The Challenge (1938) - Minor Role (uncredited)
The Return of the Frog (1938) - Cadet with Question (uncredited)
Sword of Honour (1939) - Lord Talmadge
Convoy (1940) - Holt (uncredited)
Hungry Hill (1947) - Ward
Frieda (1947) - Alan
The October Man (1947) - Harry Carden
Master of Bankdam (1947) - Lemuel Pickersgill
When the Bough Breaks (1947) - Robert Norman
The Mark of Cain (1947) - John Howard
My Sister and I (1948) - Roger Crisp
Portrait from Life (1948) - Ferguson
A Boy, a Girl and a Bike (1949) - Sam Walters
Marry Me! (1949) - Martin Roberts
Boys in Brown (1949) - Tigson
Guilt Is My Shadow (1950) - Kit
The Magic Box (1951) - Sitter in Bath Studio
13 East Street (1952) - Inspector Gerald Blake
Come Back Peter (1952) - John Neilson
Ivanhoe (1952) - Philip DeMalvoisin
Circumstantial Evidence (1952) - Michael Carteret
John Wesley (1954) - Thomas Maxfield
A Stranger Came Home (1954) - Job Crandall
The Golden Link (1954) - Terry Maguire
The Men of Sherwood Forest (1954) - King Richard
The Dark Avenger (1955) - Sir Ellys
Miss Tulip Stays the Night (1955) - Andrew Dax
Stolen Assignment (1955) - Henry Crossley
Alias John Preston (1955) - Sylvia's Husband in Dream
The Gelignite Gang (1956) - John Rutherford
The Girl in the Picture (1957) - Inspector Bliss
Operation Murder (1957) - Dr. Bowen
Suspended Alibi (1957) - Paul Pearson
There's Always a Thursday (1957) - Middleton
Fortune Is a Woman (1957) - Fred Connor
I Was Monty's Double (1958) - Col. Dawson
Further Up the Creek (1958) - First Lieutenant (uncredited)
Too Hot to Handle (1960) - Inspector West
The Challenge (1960) - Max
Dentist on the Job (1961) - Newsreader
The Frightened City (1961) - Supt. Dave Carter
Serena (1962) - Inspector Gregory
Flight from Singapore (1962) - Squadron Leader Hill
Night of the Prowler (1962) - Robert Langton
Girl in the Headlines (1963) - Walbrook
Guns at Batasi (1964) - Captain
Genghis Khan (1965) - Kuchluk
Thunderball (1965) - Group Captain Dawson (uncredited)
The Fighting Prince of Donegal (1966)
The Vulture (1967) - Jarvis, the butler
Hammerhead (1968) - Huntzinger
The Desperados (1969) - Haller
The Magic Christian (1969) - Duke in Sotheby's
Cromwell (1970) - Captain Lundsford
No Blade of Grass (1970) - David Custance
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970) - Ammon
Young Winston (1972) - Colonel Martin
Psychomania (1973) - Sergeant
Diamonds on Wheels (1974) - Steward
The Amorous Milkman (1975) - Tom
Legend of the Werewolf (1975) - Dignitary
Let's Get Laid (1978) - The Commissioner
The Wild Geese (1978) - Skyjacker
The Sea Wolves (1980) - Barker
Priest of Love (1981) - Arthur Lawrence
The Whistle Blower (1987) - Irate Driver
Playing Away (1987) - The Colonel
Strike It Rich (1990) - Lecherous Man with Wink (final film role)
References
External links
1912 births
1993 deaths
English male film actors
English male television actors
Actors from Cheltenham
Male actors from Gloucestershire
20th-century English male actors
People educated at Christ's Hospital
British people in colonial India
British Army personnel of World War II
British Army officers