Thorley Walters

Thorley Walters

1913-05-12 – 1991-07-06 (age 78) Teigngrace, Devon, England, UK
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Biography

Thorley Swinstead Walters (12 May 1913 – 6 July 1991) was an English character actor.

He is probably best remembered for his comedy film roles such as in Two-Way Stretch and Carlton-Browne of the FO. He also appeared in the acclaimed TV drama Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

Walters played Sherlock Holmes sidekick Doctor Watson in four unrelated films: Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace (1962), The Best House in London (1969), The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975), and Silver Blaze (1977).

He featured in three of the St Trinian's movies, starting as an army major in Blue Murder at St Trinian's. He later appeared as Butters, assistant to Education Ministry senior civil servant Culpepper-Brown (Eric Barker) in The Pure Hell of St Trinian's and played the part of Culpepper-Brown in The Wildcats of St Trinian's.

In the 1960s he also appeared in several Hammer horror films, including The Phantom of the Opera (1962), Dracula, Prince of Darkness (1966), Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) and Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969).

In the DVD commentary to The Man Who Haunted Himself, Roger Moore mentioned that co-star Walters lived in Dolphin Square, the prestigious apartment block in Pimlico, London in which some scenes of the film were shot.

Thorley and Richard Hope-Hawkins visited the ailing Terry-Thomas in Barnes, London in 1989. Walters had starred with Terry in the Boulting Brother's film Carlton-Browne of the F.O., and was shocked at his appearance (he was ill with Parkinson's Disease). That visit resulted in the "Terry-Thomas Gala" held in the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in the same year which raised funds to help Terry live the rest of his life in comfort. Hope-Hawkins was with Walters and actress Siobhan Redmond, when he died in a London nursing home. Actor Ian Bannen gave the main address at his funeral held at Golders Green.

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Known For

Murder She Said
Murder She Said

1961

as Cedric Ackenthorpe

Dracula: Prince of Darkness
The Wrong Box
The Wrong Box

1966

as Patience

The People That Time Forgot
Twisted Nerve
Twisted Nerve

1968

as Sir John Forrester

Young Winston
Young Winston

1972

as Major Finn

The Phantom of the Opera
Oh! What a Lovely War
Oh! What a Lovely War

1969

as Staff Officer

Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed

1969

as Insp. Fritsch

The Little Drummer Girl
The Little Drummer Girl

1984

as Ned Quilley

Vampire Circus
Vampire Circus

1972

as Burgermeister

Trog
Trog

1970

as Magistrate

Frankenstein Created Woman
Onassis: The Richest Man in the World
Onassis: The Richest Man in the World

1988

as Winston Churchill

Two-Way Stretch
Two-Way Stretch

1960

as Colonel Parkright

The Man Who Haunted Himself
The Man Who Haunted Himself

1970

as Frank Bellamy

Spider's Web
Spider's Web

1982

as Hugo Birch

Henry V
Henry V

1979

as Charles the Sixth, King of France

The Sign of Four
The Sign of Four

1983

as Major John Sholto