Douglas Seale

Douglas Seale (28 October 1913 – 13 June 1999) was an English stage and film actor born in London. He received his early education at Rutlish School in Wimbledon and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before making his professional stage debut in 1934.

Seale worked in theatre until 1940, when he entered military service with the Royal Corps of Signals during World War II. Following his demobilization in 1946, he joined the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre company in Stratford-upon-Avon for two seasons. He subsequently shifted his focus to producing and directing stage productions in both the United Kingdom and the United States before eventually returning to performing.

His Broadway career spanned from 1973 to 1985 and included appearances in Emperor Henry IV, Frankenstein, The Dresser, and Noises Off. The greatest stage success of his later career came with the 1983 Broadway production of Noises Off, in which he played Selsdon Mowbray. The role earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play, and he received a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble Work in 1984.

Seale also built a substantial screen career. He appeared in Miloš Forman's Amadeus in 1984 and played Santa Claus in Ernest Saves Christmas in 1988. He portrayed Vernon in the 1986 television film A Smoky Mountain Christmas and had a starring role as Santa in Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories. His television work included a guest appearance in the Cheers episode "A House Is Not a Home" in 1987, a role in the Family Ties episode "Get Me to the Living Room on Time" in 1989, and a recurring part as butler John Clapper in the series Rags to Riches from 1987 to 1988. In 1995, he appeared as the character Malcolm in the video game Phantasmagoria.

In animation, Seale provided the voice of Krebbs the koala in The Rescuers Down Under in 1990 and voiced the Sultan in Disney's Aladdin in 1992, a role later recast with Val Bettin for subsequent productions.

His third wife, following two divorces, was American actress Louise Troy. They married in 1992, and Troy died on 5 May 1994 from breast cancer at the age of 60. Seale died in New York City on 13 June 1999 at the age of 85, survived by his two sons from his second marriage, Jonathan and Timothy, and two grandchildren.