Philip Locke

Philip Locke, born Roy James Locke on 29 March 1928 in London, England, was an English actor whose career spanned stage, film, and television. He died on 19 April 2004 and was survived by his companion, Michael Ivan.

Locke received his formal training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. From the late 1950s he was a member of the ensemble at the Royal Court Theatre, where playwright John Osborne described him as "special and reliable." He also became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and appeared in Amadeus at the National Theatre.

His Broadway career ran from 1954 to 1974, and included productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream and Sherlock Holmes, in which he played Professor Moriarty during the 1974–76 run. His performance in Sherlock Holmes earned him both a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play and a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play, both in 1975.

On screen, Locke is perhaps most widely recognized for his role as Vargas, the personal assistant and chief henchman to Largo, in the James Bond film Thunderball. Television audiences also remember him for portraying Bigon in the 1982 Doctor Who serial Four to Doomsday. His additional television credits include The Avengers, The Baron, The Saint, The Champions, Department S, Z-Cars, Pennies from Heaven, The Omega Factor, Codename Icarus, The Box of Delights, Bergerac, Inspector Morse, Jeeves and Wooster, Minder, Antony and Cleopatra, She Fell Among Thieves, Oliver Twist, Ivanhoe, and Jekyll and Hyde.