Donald Henry Pleasence OBE, (5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995) was an
English actor, having accumulated over 200 screen credits throughout his long career. Although he often found himself
typecast as
villainous and/or
psychopathic characters, Pleasence was perhaps best known for his work on two of cinema's most enduring franchises; the
James Bond and
Halloween series.
Biography
Early life
Pleasence was born in
Worksop,
Nottinghamshire,
England, the son of Alice (
née Armitage) and Thomas Stanley Pleasence, a stationmaster.
He was brought up in the small village of
Grimoldby,
Lincolnshire, and attended
Ecclesfield Grammar School, in
Sheffield,
Yorkshire. After leaving school, Pleasence became a railway clerk, whilst looking for a job as an actor.