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 Rutlish School is a state comprehensive school for boys, formerly a grammar school with the same name originally located on Rutlish Road, Merton Park, and relocated in 1957 on nearby Watery Lane, Merton Park, in southwest London. History The s ...

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

and trained for the stage at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

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) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After being demobbed in 1946, Seale joined the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre company in

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...

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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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

Noises Off ''Noises Off'' is a 1982 farce 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 funni ...

'', 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 theatre, Broa ...

. In film, Seale provided the voice of Krebbs the

koala The koala (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), sometimes inaccurately called the koala bear, is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only Extant taxon, extant representative of the Family (biology), family ''Phascolar ...

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. It is the sequel to ''The Rescuers'' (1977). In ''The Rescuers Down Under'', Bernard and Bianc ...

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

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) 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 came to be use ...

in ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

'' (1992) (with Val Bettin 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 Americans, Czech-American film film director, director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the Uni ...

's '' Amadeus'' (1984), and '' Ernest Saves Christmas'' (1988), in which he played

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

. 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 filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

'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 appearance ...

''. In 1987, he appeared in the ''

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American television sitcom, created by Glen and Les Charles, Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows, that aired on NBC for eleven seasons from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/C ...

'' episode "A House Is Not a Home", and in 1989, in the '' Family Ties'' 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 (), alternatively fantasmagorie and/or 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 – typicall ...

''.

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 (musical), Tovarich'' (1963) and ''Walking Happy'' (1966), for both of which roles she was nominated ...

. They were married from 1992 until her death from

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

, 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 English expatriate male actors 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