Robert Beatty

Robert Rutherford Beatty (19 October 1909 – 3 March 1992) was a Canadian actor who worked in film, television and radio for most of his career and was especially known in the UK.

Early life Beatty was born in Hamilton, Ontario, the son of Charles Thompson Beatty and Blanch Sarah Rutherford. He attended Delta Collegiate School and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto. He began his acting career in Britain in 1939.

Career Stage Beatty joined the Players' Guild of Hamilton after graduation from the University of Toronto. He went to London, England, in 1936 and joined the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. It was with the RADA that he made his English stage debut.

Television In the 1950s, he was host of the BBC programme Saturday Night Out, a live outside-broadcast magazine programme, in which he was known as "The Man with the Mike". He played Bulldog Drummond in 1957 in the episode "The Ludlow Affair" of Douglas Fairbanks Presents. In 1958–59, he played Detective Inspector Mike Maguire in the police series Dial 999 (a co-production between Britain's ABC and the US company Ziv). He also appeared in Doctor Who ("The Tenth Planet" as General Cutler), Blake's 7 ("The Way Back" as Bran Foster), The Gathering Storm, Thriller (1976), The New Avengers, and Minder. He was in Franco Zeffirelli's TV mini-series Jesus of Nazareth and the American series of Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles.

Radio Beatty reported descriptions of the Blitz from London to North America via the BBC during World War II. The series was made available to overseas broadcasters by the BBC Transcription Services. His other radio credits included Shadow of Sumuru on the BBC Home Programme in 1945–46, Shadow Man on Radio Luxembourg in 1955, Destination – Fire! Stories of a Fire Investigator on the BBC Light Programme (1962–1966), General Sternwood in a BBC version of Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep (1977), Pay Any Price (BBC 1982), The Mystery of the Blue Train (BBC 1985/1986), and as Henry Hickslaughter in Elizabeth Troop's Sony Award winning adaptation of Graham Greene's short story Cheap in August (1993).

Death Beatty died 3 March 1992, in London, aged 82, and was cremated at Putney Vale Crematorium.

Filmography

Black Limelight (1939) as Extra (uncredited) Murder in Soho (1939) as Jack (uncredited) Dangerous Moonlight (1941) as Reporter with Carol (uncredited) 49th Parallel (1941) as RCMP Mountie in Alberta (voice, uncredited) One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942) as Sgt. Hopkins Suspected Person (1942) as Franklin Flying Fortress (1942) as Connor (uncredited) The First of the Few (1942) as American Airman (uncredited) San Demetrio London (1943) as 'Yank' Preston It Happened One Sunday (1944) as Tom Stevens A Matter of Life and Death (1946) as US Crewman (uncredited) Appointment with Crime (1946) as Det. Insp. Rogers Odd Man Out (1947) as Dennis Green Fingers (1947) as Thomas Stone Against the Wind (1948) as Father Philip Counterblast (1948) as Dr. Paul Rankin Another Shore (1948) as Gulliver Portrait from Life (1948) as Campbell Reid The Twenty Questions Murder Mystery (1950) as Bob Beacham Her Favourite Husband (1950) as Antonio Pellegrini Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. (1951) as Lt. William Bush Calling Bulldog Drummond (1951) as Arthur Gunns The Magic Box (1951) as Lord Beaverbrook Wings of Danger (1952) as Nick Talbot The Gentle Gunman (1952) as Shinto The Broken Horseshoe (1953) as Dr. Mark Fenton The Net (1953) as Maj. Sam Seagram Man on a Tightrope (1953) as Barovic The Oracle (1953) as Bob Jefferson The Square Ring (1953) as Kid Curtis Albert R.N. (1953) as Jim Loves of Three Queens (1954) as Menelao (segment: The Face That Launched a Thousand Ships) Out of the Clouds (1955) as Nick Millbourne Portrait of Alison (1955) as Tim Forrester Tarzan and the Lost Safari (1957) as Tusker Hawkins Something of Value (1957) as Elizabeth's Husband – Jeff Newton Time Lock (1957) as Pete Dawson The Shakedown (1960) as Chief Insp. Bob Jarvis Invitation to Murder (1962) The Amorous Prawn (1962) as Larry Hoffman The Secret of Dr. Mabuse (1964) as Col. Matson Doctor Who (1966) The Tenth Planet as General Cutler The 25th Hour (1967) as Col. Greenfield Bikini Paradise (1967) as Commissioner 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) as Dr. Ralph Halvorsen Where Eagles Dare (1968) as General George Carnaby / Corporal Cartwright Jones Sitting Target (1972) as Gun Dealer Pope Joan (1972) as Dr. Corwin The Spikes Gang (1974) as Sheriff (credit only) The Gathering Storm (1974) as Lord Beaverbrook The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976) as U.S. Admiral Jesus of Nazareth (1977, TV Mini-Series) as Proculus Golden Rendezvous (1977) as Dr. Taubman The Spaceman and King Arthur (1979) as Senator Milburn The Amateur (1981) as Ambassador Neville Superman III (1983) as Tanker Captain Labyrinth (1986) as Left Door Knocker (voice) Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) as U.S. President