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Alister Williamson | |
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 Alister Williamson in The Saint 1962 | |
| Born | Duncan Mcfarlane Williamson (1918-06-17)17 June 1918 Sydney,New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 19 May 1999(1999-05-19) (aged 80) |
Alister Williamson (17 June 1918 – 19 May 1999) was anAustralian-borncharacter actor, who appeared in many British films and television series of the 1960s and 1970s. A big, craggy-faced man, he would usually be found playing gruff police inspectors or henchmen in adventure series and police dramas of the period. He was also notable as a supporting player in a number of classic Britishhorror films.
He would typically be found in television series such asAdam Adamant Lives!,The Avengers,Paul Temple,Police Surgeon,Public Eye,The Saint,Softly, Softly,Special Branch,The Third Man andZ-Cars. He also made appearances in many popularsitcoms of the period, such asPlease Sir!,Dad's Army,TheGalton and Simpson Playhouse,George and Mildred,The Likely Lads,Man About the House andThat's My Boy.
In films he often appeared in thehorror genre, either as policemen or landlords for companies such asHammer Studios,Amicus andAIP throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. His credits includeThe Curse of the Werewolf (1961),The Evil of Frankenstein (1963),The Gorgon (1964) andThe Deadly Bees (1966). In 1969 he appeared inGordon Hessler'sThe Oblong Box, in which he would have his only leading role opposite starsVincent Price andChristopher Lee. In a part originally earmarked for Price, he played the disfigured Sir Edward Markham, acting underneath a red velvet hood until the film's climatic unmasking. Unfortunately his voice was deemed unsuitable and he was redubbed for the film's release, after which it was back to a supporting role in his next horror film,The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971).