The highly-prolific Donald Pleasence with Françoise Dorléac in Roman Polanski’s Cul-de-sac (1966).

Donald Pleasence, (October 5, 1919 – February 2, 1995) was an English actor. His high work rate in international cinema earned him the distinction of being the most prolific film actor at the time of his death with over 500 screen credits. Although a great many of his characters were villains and psychos, he is perhaps most known for portraying Dr Sam Loomis in the Halloween saga.

Pleasence’s acting career began in a 1939 production of Wuthering Heights, but was soon interrupted by his service in the Royal Air Force and a year in a German prisoner-of-war camp. He had been a conscientious objector at first, but later joined the Royal Air Force. He was shot down and taken prisoner and tortured by his captors. At another stage of his captivity he produced and acted in plays in a prisoner of war camp.

He returned to acting after the war, and critics began to call him the “Man with the Hypnotic Eye”. Perhaps because of this, and his bald head and quiet but intense voice, he specialised in insane and evil characters, including Heinrich Himmler and Bond villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld in You Only Live Twice. In his latter years he became known to a younger generation as Dr Loomis in Halloween. His trademark voice may be credited to elocution lessons he had as a child.