Denis Quilley

Denis Quilley

Denis Clifford Quilley OBE (26 December 1927 - 5 October 2003) was an English theatre, television and film actor who was long associated with the Royal National Theatre.

Quilley was born in Islington, North London. He attended Bancroft's School in Woodford Green. One of his best-known roles was as Commander Traynor in the children's science fiction TV series Timeslip. He was also heard in many television voiceovers.

Quilley played in the first London production of the musical The Boys from Syracuse (Antipholus of Ephesus) in 1963 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, alongside Bob Monkhouse and Ronnie Corbett.

He had long runs on London's West End during the 1950s in Wild Thyme and Grab Me a Gondola. In the 1970s he appeared with the Royal National Theatre in Macbeth, Hamlet, The Tempest and Long Day's Journey into Night, alongside Laurence Olivier in the last. He starred as Charles Condomine in the hit show High Spirits, a successful musical version of Noël Coward's Blithe Spirit.

In 1980, he played the title role in Stephen Sondheim's Grand Guignol musical Sweeney Todd and in 1982 he played Terri Dennis in Peter Nichols' play, Privates on Parade (he appeared in the film version of Privates on Parade as well). This camp performance was repeated in 1985 in La Cage Aux Folles in which he starred with George Hearn.

He appeared in two film versions of Agatha Christie's classic mystery novels: as Captain Kenneth Marshall in Evil Under the Sun and as Antonio Foscarelli in Murder on the Orient Express. He returned to the works of Noël Coward in the BBC version of Tonight at 8:30 appearing as Jasper in the Family Album playlet.

His screen appearances grew increasingly rare in later life, one of his few starring appearances being as Saint Peter in the international drama mini-series, A.D..

He did the voice of Molokov, a second to a Russian chess champion on the concept album of the musical Chess in 1984.

In 1993, he played Judge Turpin in the 1993 revival of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at the Royal National Theatre.

One of his last stage performances was as Elisha Whitney in Cole Porter's Anything Goes at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, but was too unwell to make the transfer from the National Theatre to the West End.

Denis Quilley was appointed an Officer (OBE) of the Order of the British Empire in the 2002 New Year Honours.

He was working on his autobiography (ISBN 1-84002-268-X) in the months before he died at his home in London, aged 75, from liver cancer.