Douglas Seale (28 October 1913 – 13 June 1999) was an English film and stage actor.

Early life

Born in London, Seale was educated at Rutlish School in Wimbledon and trained for the stage at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...

Career

He made his professional debut in 1934 and performed in theatre until 1940, before serving in the

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield commun ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. After being demobbed in 1946, Seale joined the

Shakespeare Memorial Theatre The Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) (originally called the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre) is a grade II* listed 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the English playwright and poet William Shakes ...

company in

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...

for two seasons before turning to producing and directing stage plays in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. After returning to acting in later life, he enjoyed his greatest stage success playing Selsdon Mowbray in the 1983

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production of ''

Noises Off ''Noises Off'' is a 1982 play by the English playwright Michael Frayn. Frayn conceived the idea in 1970 while watching from the wings a performance of '' The Two of Us'', a farce that he had written for Lynn Redgrave. He said, "It was funnier ...

'', for which he was nominated for the

Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play The Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actors for quality supporting roles in a Broadway play. Honors ...

. In film, Seale provided the voice of Krebbs the

koala The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the ...

in ''

The Rescuers Down Under ''The Rescuers Down Under'' is a 1990 American animated adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 29th Disney animated feature film and the second movie to be produced during the Disne ...

'' (1990) and, two years later, the

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...

in ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part o ...

'' (1992) (with

Val Bettin Valentine John Bettin (July 8, 1923 – January 7, 2021) was an American actor, known for using an English accent in all of his roles. He is perhaps best known for voicing Dr. David Q. Dawson in the 1986 Disney animated film ''The Great Mouse ...

replacing him in the later productions). He also appeared in several films, including

Miloš Forman Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman (; ; 18 February 1932 – 13 April 2018) was a Czech and American film director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the United States in 1968. Forman ...

's '' Amadeus'' (1984), and ''

Ernest Saves Christmas ''Ernest Saves Christmas'' is a 1988 American Christmas comedy film directed by John Cherry and starring Jim Varney. This is the third film to feature Varney's character Ernest P. Worrell, and chronicles Ernest's attempt to help find a replacem ...

'' (1988), in which he played

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...

. He appeared in the 1986 Christmas film, '' A Smoky Mountain Christmas'', as Vernon. Seale had a small starring role as Santa in

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...

's ''

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances ...

''. In 1987, he appeared in the

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association w ...

episode "A House Is Not a Home", and in 1989, in the ''

Family Ties ''Family Ties'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC for seven seasons, premiering on September 22, 1982, and concluding on May 14, 1989. The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the move in the United States ...

'' episode "Get Me to the Living Room on Time". In television, Seale played the role of John Clapper the butler for Nick Foley in the series Rags to Riches from 1987 to 1988. He also played a character "Malcolm" in the 1995 game ''

Phantasmagoria Phantasmagoria (, also fantasmagorie, fantasmagoria) was a form of horror theatre that (among other techniques) used one or more magic lanterns to project frightening images, such as skeletons, demons, and ghosts, onto walls, smoke, or sem ...

''.

Personal life

Seale's third wife (after two divorces) was American film, television and stage actress,

Louise Troy Louise Troy (November 9, 1933 – May 5, 1994) was an American actress of stage and screen. She is best known for her performances in '' Tovarich'' (1963) and ''Walking Happy'' (1966), for both of which roles she was nominated for Tony Awards. He ...

. They were married from 1992 until her death from

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

, aged 60, on 5 May 1994.

Death

Seale died in New York City on 13 June 1999, aged 85, and was survived by his two sons from his second marriage, Jonathan and Timothy, and two grandchildren.

Filmography

References

External links

* 1913 births 1999 deaths 20th-century English male actors Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art British Army personnel of World War II British expatriate male actors in the United States English expatriates in the United States English male film actors English male stage actors English male voice actors English theatre directors Male actors from London People educated at Rutlish School Royal Corps of Signals soldiers {{England-actor-stub