Timothy Bateson

Timothy Dingwall Bateson (3 April 1926 – 15 September 2009) was an English actor born in London. His father, Dingwall Latham Bateson, worked as a solicitor, and he was the great-nephew of rugby player Harold Dingwall Bateson. Bateson received his education at Lockers Park School in Hertfordshire, Uppingham School in Rutland, and Wadham College, Oxford, where he studied history. During his time at Oxford, he coxed for the Wadham College Boat Club during Eights Week and took part in productions with the Oxford University Dramatic Society.

Bateson appeared on Broadway in 1951 in two productions: Antony and Cleopatra and Caesar and Cleopatra. His stage work continued to develop in subsequent years, and in 1955 he took part in the first British production of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, staged at the Arts Theatre in London under the direction of Peter Hall. In 1957, he starred in the BBC adventure serial The Adventures of Peter Simple.

His screen and radio work spanned several decades and included television appearances in The Avengers, The Cadfael Chronicles, and the Doctor Who serial "The Ribos Operation," as well as a role in the film Labyrinth. He contributed voices to the 1989 children's television series Tugs, most notably providing the voice of O.J., the oldest member of the Star Fleet. Beginning in 1994, he voiced the character Measley in the audiotape version of The Animals of Farthing Wood.

Bateson appeared in multiple productions for Focus on the Family Radio Theater. He served as both narrator and the Ghost of Christmas Present in A Christmas Carol in 1996, portrayed Dr. Karl Bonhoeffer in Dietrich Bonhoeffer: The Cost Of Freedom in 1997, played Balthasar in Ben-Hur in 2001, portrayed Mr. Lehman in Father Gilbert Mysteries: The Silver Cord in 2004, and played Mr. Macey in Silas Marner in 2007. His final professional work was voicing the house-elf Kreacher in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

In 1953, Bateson married actress Sheila Shand Gibbs, and the couple had three children: Elizabeth, Andrew, and Caroline. He and his wife were committed Christians. Bateson died in London on 15 September 2009 at the age of 83.