| William Arthur Squire | |
| Birth Date: | 29 April 1917 |
| Birth Place: | Neath, Glamorgan, Wales |
| Death Place: | London, England |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Years Active: | 1951–1988 |
| Spouse: |
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William Arthur Squire (29 April 1917 – 3 May 1989) was a Welsh actor of stage, film and television.
As a stage actor, Squire performed at Stratford-upon-Avon and at the Old Vic, and notably replaced his fellow-countryman Richard Burton as King Arthur in Camelot at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway. One of his first film appearances was in the 1956 film Alexander the Great, which starred Burton in the title role.[1]
Squire had many roles in television and movies over his career, including Thomas More in the 1969 film version of Maxwell Anderson's play Anne of the Thousand Days; Sir Daniel Brackley in the 1972 television adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Black Arrow; the voice of Gandalf in the 1978 animated version of The Lord of the Rings; and the Shadow in the 1979 Doctor Who serial The Armageddon Factor.[2] [3] According to the website Television Heaven, Squire's best-known role was Hunter in the British spy series Callan. Squire was the fourth actor to play the character in the main series, taking over the role from Derek Bond.[4]
In a set of Encyclopædia Britannica-produced educational films about William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Squire played the role of Macbeth.[5] This was in keeping with his long career as a Shakespearean actor, which included roles in the classic 1960s TV series, An Age of Kings.[6]
On 15 June 1967, the St. John's College choir at University of Cambridge recorded A Meditation on Christ's Nativity. Squires read several poems, including The Annunciation by John Donne and A Dialogue by George Herbert, and 1 John 1:1-10 from the New English Bible for the album.[7] [8]
In the late 1960s Squire narrated a series of radio advertisements for Findus Foods under the pseudonym Frobisher Collingwood. The advertisements were played on Radio Caroline. According to Squire's son Nick, the idea to use a pseudonym was a joke between Squire and his friend Hugh Bredin, who wrote the advertisements, with the name itself being a combination of two telephone exchanges in London at the time.[9]
Squire was born on 29 April 1917 in Neath, Glamorgan, to William Squire and his wife Martha (née Bridgeman).[10]
He was first married to the actress Betty Dixon. He later married the actress Juliet Harmer in 1967.[2] [9]
There is a park bench on Hampstead Heath dedicated to him.[2]
Squire died on 3 May 1989 in London, England.[11]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | The Long Dark Hall | Sgt. Cochran | ||
| 1956 | The Man Who Never Was | Lt. Jewell | ||
| 1956 | Alexander the Great | Aeschenes | ||
| 1956 | The Battle of the River Plate | Ray Martin | ||
| 1958 | Dunkirk | Captain | Uncredited | |
| 1958 | Innocent Sinners | Father Lambert | Uncredited | |
| 1967 | A Challenge for Robin Hood | Sir John | ||
| 1968 | Where Eagles Dare | Capt. Lee Thomas | ||
| 1969 | Anne of the Thousand Days | Thomas More | ||
| 1978 | The Lord of the Rings | Gandalf | Voice | |
| 1978 | The Thirty Nine Steps | Harkness | ||
| 1978 | Off to Philadelphia in the Morning | Daniel Parry | ||
| 1979 | Blake's 7 | Kommissar | ||
| 1979 | Doctor Who | The Shadow | Episode "The Armageddon Factor" | |
| 1982 | The Hound of the Baskervilles | Mr. Frankland | TV Mini-Series, "Episode #1.3" | |
| 1982 | Marco Polo | Inn-Keeper | TV Mini-Series, "Episode #1.3" | |
| 1988 | Testimony | Khatchaturyan |