Ronald William Lacey (28 September 1935 – 15 May 1991) was an English actor. He made numerous television and film appearances over a 30-year period. His roles included Harris in ''

Porridge Porridge is a food made by heating, soaking or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, fruit, or syrup to make a sweet cereal ...

'' (1977), Frankie in the Bud Spencer comedy '' Charleston'' (1978), SD agent Sturmbannführer Arnold Ernst Toht in ''

Raiders of the Lost Ark ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. Set in 1936, the film stars Harrison Ford as Indiana ...

'' (1981) and the

Bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of D ...

in '' Blackadder II'' (1986).

Early life

Lacey was born and grew up in Harrow, Middlesex. He received his formal education at Harrow Weald Grammar School. After a brief period of

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

in the British Armed Forces, he enrolled at the

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In ...

to train as an actor.

Career

Lacey began his acting career in 1959 in a television play, '' The Secret Agent''. His first significant performance was at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

in 1962's '' Chips with Everything''. Lacey had an unusual 'pug' look, with beady eyes, an upturned nose, an overbite, receding chin and no brows. He could scream at a very high pitch. This unique combination of features landed him repeatedly in bizarre roles on both stage and screen, often as seedy, creepy villains. Together with his Welsh background, it helped qualify him for the role of Dylan Thomas, which he played on BBC2 in what critic

Clive James Clive James (born Vivian Leopold James; 7 October 1939 – 24 November 2019) was an Australian critic, journalist, broadcaster, writer and lyricist who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1962 until his death in 2019. Lacey performed on British television throughout the 1960s and 1970s, with roles spanning from a part in

Kenneth Clark Kenneth Mackenzie Clark, Baron Clark (13 July 1903 – 21 May 1983) was a British art historian, museum director and broadcaster. His expertise covered a wide range of artists and periods, but he is particularly associated with Italian Renaissa ...

's ''

Civilisation A civilization (also spelled civilisation in British English) is any complex society characterized by the development of the state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond signed or spoken languag ...

'' television series, as the gravedigger, in a re-enactment of the gravedigger scene from ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'', with Ian Richardson as

and

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor. With a career spanning over seven decades of Patrick Stewart on stage and screen, stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Patrick Stewart, variou ...

as Horatio, to a guest shot as the "Strange Young Man" in '' The Avengers'' episode "The Joker", and as Harris in the sitcom ''

'', with the latter finally landing him in the role for which his unusual physical characteristics could be repeatedly used to full advantage. Disappointed with his acting career by the late 1970s, he began to consider starting a talent agency.

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 ...

then cast him as the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

agent Arnold Toht in ''

''. He followed this with villain roles for the next five to six years: ''

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

'' (1983) with

Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress. A child model starting at the age of 11 months, Shields gained widespread notoriety at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby (1978 film), Pretty Baby ...

, '' Flesh and Blood'' (1985) with

Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor, with a career that spanned over 170 roles across nearly 50 years, beginning in 1969. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. H ...

and

Jennifer Jason Leigh Jennifer Jason Leigh (born Jennifer Leigh Morrow; February 5, 1962) is an American actress. She began her career on television during the 1970s before making her film breakthrough in the teen film ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982). She re ...

, and '' Red Sonja'' (1985) with

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

and Brigitte Nielsen. In 1982's ''

Firefox Mozilla Firefox, or simply Firefox, is a free and open-source web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation. It uses the Gecko rendering engine to display web pages, which implements curr ...

'' with

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

, Lacey played a Russian scientist helping the West behind the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...

. He then made two movies for Ice International Films: ''Assassinator'' starring alongside John Ryan and George Murcell, and ''Into the Darkness'', starring with Donald Pleasence, John Ryan, and Brett Paul. He performed comic monologues on '' The Green Tie on the Little Yellow Dog'', which was recorded 1982, and broadcast by

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

in 1983. Lacey played a number of villainous roles and was known for his trademark smile, which would turn into a gleaming malicious leer. He also had a rather large mole on his left cheek, which he chose not to have removed, as well as a highly distinctive voice. In 1983's '' Trenchcoat'', he used the mole as a beauty mark in his role as Princess Aida, a mysterious

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...

on the island of

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. His other drag role was in ''Invitation to the Wedding'' from 1985, in which he played a husband/wife couple.

Personal life

Lacey married twice, first to the actress Mela White in 1962 (she married him under the name Brompton as this was her second marriage). They had two children, including Rebecca Lacey. Following their divorce, he married Joanna Baker in 1972, with whom he had a son.

Death

Lacey was diagnosed with terminal

liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

on 25 April 1991. He died less than one month later, on 15 May 1991, at the age of 55.

Filmography

Films

* 1962 '' The Boys'' as Billy Herne * 1963 '' Doctor in Distress'' as Café Customer (uncredited) * 1964 '' Of Human Bondage'' as "Matty" Mathews * 1964 '' The Comedy Man'' as First Assistant Director (uncredited) * 1965 '' Catch Us If You Can'' as Yeano, Beatnik * 1967 '' The White Bus'' * 1967 '' The Fearless Vampire Killers'' as Village Idiot * 1967 ''

How I Won the War ''How I Won the War'' is a 1967 British black comedy film directed and produced by Richard Lester and starring Michael Crawford, Jack MacGowran, Roy Kinnear, Lee Montague, and John Lennon in his only non-musical acting role. The screenplay was b ...

'' as Spool * 1969 '' Take a Girl Like You'' as Graham * 1969 ''

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 c ...

'' as Curtis * 1971 '' Say Hello to Yesterday'' as Car Park Attendant (uncredited) * 1971 ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' as Macbeth’s Man, Killed Banquo (uncredited) * 1971 '' Crucible of Terror'' as Michael Clare * 1972 '' Disciple of Death'' as Parson * 1973 '' Gawain and the Green Knight'' as Oswald * 1973 '' The Final Programme'' as "Shades" * 1975 '' Mister Quilp'' as Harris * 1976 '' The Likely Lads'' as Ernie * 1977 '' Charleston'' as Frankie * 1979 '' Zulu Dawn'' as Norris Newman * 1980 '' Nijinsky'' as Léon Bakst * 1981 ''

'' as Major Arnold Ernst Toht * 1982 ''

'' as Dr. Maxim Ilyich Semelovsky * 1982 '' Tangiers'' as Wedderburn * 1983 ''Invitation to the Wedding'' as Clara / Charles Eatwell * 1983 '' Trenchcoat'' as Princess Aida * 1983 ''

Yellowbeard ''Yellowbeard'' is a 1983 comedy film directed by Mel Damski and written by Graham Chapman, Peter Cook, Bernard McKenna (writer), Bernard McKenna, and David Sherlock, with an ensemble cast featuring Chapman, Cook, Peter Boyle, Cheech & Chong, M ...

'' as Man With Parrot * 1983 ''

'' as "Beg" * 1984 '' Making the Grade'' as Nicky * 1984 '' Sword of the Valiant'' as Oswald * 1984 '' The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension'' as President Widmark * 1984 ''The Bengal Lancers!'' * 1985 '' Flesh + Blood'' as Cardinal * 1985 '' Red Sonja'' as Ikol * 1985 '' Minder on the Orient Express'' as Harry Ridler * 1986 '' Aces Go Places 4'' as Leader of the villains * 1986 '' Sky Bandits'' as Fritz * 1986 ''Lone Runner'' as Misha * 1986 ''Into the Darkness'' as Stewart Andrew Golding * 1988 ''Jailbird Rock'' as Warden Bauman * 1988 ''

Manifesto A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...

'' as The Conductor * 1988 ''Dawn of an Evil Millennium'' * 1989 ''

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' is a 1989 American action adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Jeffrey Boam, based on a story by George Lucas and Menno Meyjes. It is the third installment in the Indiana Jone ...

'' as

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...

(uncredited) * 1989 '' Valmont'' as José * 1989 ''

Stalingrad Volgograd,. geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area o ...

'' as

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

* 1992 ''The Assassinator'' as Stewart * 1992 ''Landslide'' as Fred Donner * 1993 ''Angely smerti'' (final film role)

TV

* 1960 '' Deadline Midnight'' as Jensen * 1961 '' A Chance of Thunder'' as Johnny Travers * 1964 '' The Likely Lads'' as Ernie * 1965 ''Day Out for Lucy'' * 1965 ''Barnaby Spoot and the Exploding Whoopee Cushion'' as Justin Fribble * 1965 ''Fable'' as Len * 1965 '' Gideon's Way'' as Jerry Blake * 1966 ''Who's a Good Boy Then?'' as Billy Oates * 1966 '' Sergeant Cork'' (episode "The Case of Albert Watson V.C.") as Albert Watson * 1967 ''Boa Constrictor'' as Frankie "Three" * 1967 ''

Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by English author Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. The novel is a bildungsroman and depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip. It is Dickens' second novel, after ''Dav ...

'' as Orlick * 1967 '' The Avengers'' (episode "The Joker") as Strange Young Man * 1968 ''The Avengers'' (episode "Legacy of Death") as Humbert - a parody of Peter Lorre * 1965-68 '' Theatre 625'' – "Mille Miglia", "The Burning Bush", "Firebrand", "The Nutter" * 1968 ''Game, Set and Match'' * 1968 ''

'' (episode "Protest and Communication" as Grave Digger from Shakespeare's ''

'' * 1969 ''It Wasn't Me'' as George * 1969 ''

Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) ''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' is a British private detective television series, starring Mike Pratt (actor), Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope respectively as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk. The series was created by Denn ...

'' * 1969 ''Target Generation'' as Joe Manx * 1969 ''These Men Are Dangerous'' * 1970 '' The Adventures of Don Quick'' as Sergeant Sam Czopanser * 1970 '' The Vessel of Wrath'' (1970) as Controleur * 1970 '' Catweazle'' as Ted "Tearful Ted" *1970 '' Department S'' (ep The Soup of the Day) as Jeremy Standish * 1971-1972 '' Jason King'' as Ryland * 1972 '' The Protectors'' (episode ''King Con'') as Cribbe * 1973 '' Colditz'' (episode "Murder?") as Major Zibnek * 1973 ''

Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom set in Yorkshire created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of ''Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first seri ...

'' as Walter (episode "The New Mobile Trio") * 1973 ''The Adventures of

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

'' as Monk * 1973 ''

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? ''Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?'' is a British sitcom which was broadcast on BBC1 between 9 January 1973 and 9 April 1974. It was the colour sequel to the mid-1960s hit ''The Likely Lads''. It was created and written, as was its predec ...

'' as Ernie * 1975 ''The Fight Against Slavery'' as

Charles James Fox Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled ''The Honourable'' from 1762, was a British British Whig Party, Whig politician and statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centurie ...

* 1975 '' The Sweeney'' (episode "Thou Shalt Not Kill!") as Barry Monk * 1976 '' Thriller'' (episode "The Next Victim") as Bartlett * 1976 '' Our Mutual Friend'' as Mr. Venus * 1976 '' The New Avengers'' (episode "The Midas Touch") as Hong Kong Harry * 1976 ''A Story to Frighten the Children'' as Lang * 1976 '' The Duchess of Duke Street'' (Episode 9) as art dealer Mr. Shephard * 1977 ''

'' as Harris * 1978 '' All Creatures Great and Small'' (episode "The Last Furlong") as Stewie Brannon * 1978 ''Dylan'' (TV play) as Dylan Thomas * 1978 '' The Mayor of Casterbridge'' (mini-series) as Jopp * 1979 '' Blakes 7'' (episode "Killer") as Tynus * 1979 ''Tropic'' (TV series) as Geoffrey Turvey * 1981 ''Tiny Revolutions'' * 1982 ''P.O.S.H.'' as Mr. Vicarage * 1983 '' Scarecrow and Mrs. King'' as Bobby Bouchard * 1983 '' Hart to Hart'' (episode "Hostage Harts") * 1983 ''

The Hound of the Baskervilles ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four Detective fiction, crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serial (literature), serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from ...

'' as Inspector Lestrade * 1983 ''The Rothko Conspiracy'' * 1984 '' Magnum, P.I.'' as Archer Hayes * 1985 '' Connie'' as Crawder * 1985 '' Minder on the Orient Express'' as Harry Ridler * 1985 '' Blackadder II'' (episode "Money") as The

* 1987 '' The Sign of Four'' as Thaddeus Sholto / Bartholomew Sholto * 1988 '' The Great Escape II: The Untold Story'' as

* 1989 '' The Nightmare Years'' as Emil Luger * 1990 ''Face to Face'' as Dr. Brinkman * 1991 '' The Strauss Dynasty'' as Bauer * 1990 '' Haggard''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lacey, Ronald 1935 births 1991 deaths 20th-century English male actors Actors from the London Borough of Harrow Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Deaths from liver cancer in England English male film actors English male television actors English people of Welsh descent People from Harrow, London