Donald Eccles

Donald Yarrow Eccles (26 April 1908 – 2 February 1986) was a British character actor born in Nafferton, Yorkshire, the son of Charles Henry and Constance Eccles. His father was a doctor. Eccles received his education at Highgate School and subsequently worked in an insurance office before pursuing a career in performance.

Eccles made his stage debut in New York City in 1930, launching a Broadway career that spanned through 1946. His Broadway credits included appearances in The Duchess of Malfi and The Enemy. His London stage debut followed in 1934, when he appeared in Counsellor at Law at the Piccadilly Theatre. He later became associated with the Royal Shakespeare Company. During the Second World War, Eccles served six years in the Royal Navy.

His screen career began with the 1960 film A Taste of Money and expanded to include a substantial number of film appearances over the following decades. These included A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968), The Wicker Man (1973), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1982), Coming Out of the Ice (1982), The Dresser (1983), The Master of Ballantrae (1984), A Private Function (1984), and Young Sherlock Holmes (1985). On television, Eccles took on roles including Pollio in I, Claudius and Mr Justice Vosper in the second series of Rumpole of the Bailey. He died on 2 February 1986 in a road accident in Brighton.