Anthony Dawson

Anthony Dawson
Anthony Douglas Gillon Dawson (18 October 1916 – 8 January 1992) was a Scottish actor, best known for his supporting roles as villains in films such as Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder (1954) and Midnight Lace (1960), and playing Professor Dent in the James Bond film Dr. No (1962). He also appeared as Ernst Stavro Blofeld in From Russia with Love (1963) and Thunderball (1965).
Life
Dawson was born in Edinburgh, the son of Ida Violet (Kittel) and Eric Francis Dawson.
Career
Following Royal Academy of Dramatic Art training and World War II service, he made his film debut in 1943's They Met in the Dark. He went on to appear in such classic British films as The Way to the Stars (1945), The Queen of Spades (1948) and The Wooden Horse (1950), before moving to America in the early 1950s.
It was while there that he appeared on Broadway in the play, and then the subsequent Alfred Hitchcock film of Dial M for Murder (1954), playing C. A. Swann/Captain Lesgate. In the film, he is blackmailed by Tony Wendice (Ray Milland) into murdering his wife Margot (Grace Kelly). In his unpublished memoirs, Rambling Recollections, Dawson reminisced about getting the part:
He had two other memorable roles on his return to Britain, including the evil Marques Siniestro in Hammer's The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) and henchman Professor Dent in the first James Bond film, Dr. No (1962).
Throughout his career he could often be found in the films of director Terence Young, including the aforementioned Dr. No, They Were Not Divided (1950), Valley of Eagles (1951), The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders (1965), Triple Cross (1966), Red Sun (1971), Inchon (1982) and The Jigsaw Man (1983). Young also cast him as the physical presence of Ernst Stavro Blofeld in his Bond films From Russia with Love (1963) and Thunderball (1965), stroking the ubiquitous white cat. His face was never seen, however, and Blofeld's voice was provided by Eric Pohlmann. Dawson appeared alongside fellow Bond veterans Adolfo Celi, Lois Maxwell and Bernard Lee in the Italian Bond knockoff O.K. Connery.
After the early 1960s, his roles got progressively smaller, but he continued to act until his death.
Death
He died in East Sussex of cancer at the age of 75 in January 1992.
Selected filmography
Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt (1940) – Student (uncredited)
They Met in the Dark (1943) – 2nd Code Expert
The Way to the Stars (1945) – Bertie Steen
Beware of Pity (1946) – Lt. Blannik
School for Secrets (1946) – Flt. Lt. Norton
The Queen of Spades (1949) – Fyodor
They Were Not Divided (1950) – Michael
The Wooden Horse (1950) – Pomfret
The Woman in Question (1950) – Inspector Wilson (uncredited)
I'll Get You for This (1951) – Secret Agent (uncredited)
The Long Dark Hall (1951) – The Man
Valley of Eagles (1951) – Sven Nystrom
Dial M for Murder (1954) – C. J. Swann / Captain Lesgate
That Lady (1955) – Don Inigo
The Buccaneers (1956) - Captain Flask (1 episode)
Hour of Decision (1957) – Gary Bax
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1957) (Season 2 Episodes 25, 26, 27: "I Killed the Count Part 1", "I Killed the Count Part 2", "I Killed the Count Part 3") - Count Victor Mattoni
Action of the Tiger (1957) – Security Officer
The Haunted Strangler (1958) – Supt. Burk
Tiger Bay (1959) – Barclay
Libel (1959) – Gerald Loddon
Midnight Lace (1960) – Roy Ash
Offbeat (1961) – James Dawson
The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) – The Marques Siniestro
Dr. No (1962) – Professor R.J. Dent
Seven Seas to Calais (1962) – Lord Burleigh
From Russia with Love (1963) – Ernst Stavro Blofeld (body only, credited as ?)
The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964) – Mickey (uncredited)
Change Partners (1965) – Ben Arkwright
The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders (1965) – Officer of Dragoons
Thunderball (1965) – Ernst Stavro Blofeld (body only, uncredited)
Death Rides a Horse (1966) – Burt Cavanaugh
Triple Cross (1966) – Major Stillman
Your Turn to Die (1967) – Dr. Evans
Dirty Heroes (1967) – American Colonel
Operation Kid Brother (1967) – Alpha
The Rover (1967) – Captain Vincent
Hell Is Empty (1967) – Paul Grant
A Sky Full of Stars for a Roof (1968) – Samuel Pratt
Battle of Neretva (1969) – Gen. Morelli
Rosolino Paternò, soldato... (1970) – Italian General
Deadlock (1970) – Anthony Sunshine
Red Sun (1971) – Hyatt
The Valachi Papers (1972) – Federal Investigator
The Big Game (1973) – Burton (uncredited)
Massacre in Rome (1973) – Wilhelm Harster
Inchon (1981) – Gen. Collins
The Jigsaw Man (1983) – Vicar
Pirates (1986) – Spanish Officer
Ghoulies II (1988) – Priest
Run for Your Life (1988) – Colonel Moorcroft
(1990) – Roy
References
External links
1916 births
1992 deaths
Deaths from cancer in England
Scottish male stage actors
Scottish male film actors
Scottish male television actors
Male actors from Edinburgh
Alumni of RADA
20th-century Scottish male actors
British military personnel of World War II