Although it's difficult to think of Donald Moffat as a British actor,
he was a native of Great Britain and trained as a British stage actor. Tall
and lanky with sandy hair, a classic face, bushy blonde eyebrows and a smooth,
resonant voice, he just looked like an actor! He was born in Plymouth, England
on December 26, 1930 and grew up there. He studied acting at the Royal Academy
of Dramatic Arts and made his stage debut at age 24 in "Macbeth."
He became a fixture on the British stage and flourished there. He arrived
in the U.S. and made his Broadway debut in the 1950s. His TV debut came
in 1953 and soon after, his film debut in "The Pursuit of the Graf
Spee" (1956) as Swanston. His versatility was evident in the roles
he played and I'd always thought he was an American actor. Among his other
film credits were: "Rachel, Rachel" (1968) as Hector; "R.P.M."
(1970) as Perry Howard; "The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid"
(1972) as Manning; "Showdown" (1973) as Art Williams; "Earthquake"
(1974) as Dr. Harvey Johnson; "The Terminal Man" (1974) as Dr.
Arthur McPherson; "Promises in the Dark" (1979) as Dr. Walter
McInerny; "H.E.A.L.T.H." (1979) as Col. Cody; "Popeye"
(1980) with Robin Williams, as the Taxman; "On the Nickel" (1980)
as Sam; "The White Lions" (1981) as Vreeland; "The Thing"
(1982) with Kurt Russell, as Garry, one of my favorites of his roles; "The
Right Stuff" (1983) as Lyndon Johnson; "Alamo Bay" (1985)
as Wally; "Monster in the Closet" (1986) as Gen. Turnbull; "The
Best of Times" (1986) as The Colonel; "The Unbearable Lightness
of Being" (1988) as Chief Surgeon; "Far North" (1988) as
Uncle Dane; "Music Box" (1990) with Jessica Lange, as Harry Talbot;
"The Bonfire of the Vanities" (1990) as Mr. McCoy; "Class
Action" (1991) as Quinn; "Regarding Henry" (1991) with Harrison
Ford, as Charlie, another of my favorites of his roles; "House Sitter"
(1992) as George Davis; "Trapped in Paradise" (1994) as Clifford
Anderson; "The Evening Star" (1996) with Shirley MacLaine, as
Hector Scott, yet another great role; "A Smile Like Yours" (1997)
as Dr. Felber; "The Sleep Room" (1998) as Joseph Rauh; "Cookie's
Fortune" (1999) as Jack Palmer and Billy Crystal's "61*"
(2001) as Ford Frick. On TV he has created many other memorable roles as
a regular on the series: "One Life to Live" (1968-69) a soap,
as Marcus Polk; "The New Land" (1974) as Rev. Lundstrom; "Logan's
Run" (1977-78) as Rem; "The Word" (1978) a mini-series as
Henri Aubert; "Tales of the City" (1993) as Edgar Halcyon and
"Bull" (2000) as Robert Roberts aka The Kaiser. He appeared in
some excellent TV movies including: "Eleanor and Franklin: The White
House Years" (1977); "Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy" (1981);
"Who Will Love My Children?" (1983) with Ann-Margret and "The
Bourne Identity" (1988). He also guest starred on many series including:
"The U.S. Steel Hour"; "Bonanza"; "Hawaii 5-O";
"Mission: Impossible"; "Little House on the Prairie";
"Twilight Zone"; "Murder, She Wrote" and "Dr. Quinn,
Medicine Woman." He continues to build a fine body of credits and still
finds time for performing in the theatre.
