Roy Dotrice, a British stage, film and television actor who began performing as a prisoner of war in Germany and worked in Britain and America for six decades, notably in one-man shows portraying Abe Lincoln, the diarist John Aubrey and other historical figures, died on Monday at his home in London. He was 94. His family confirmed the death, The Associated Press reported.
Mr. Dotrice appeared in more than 50 plays in London, New York and other cities, not counting some 300 more as a young British repertory stalwart. He performed for nine years with the troupe that became the Royal Shakespeare Company, took scores of roles in television and Hollywood films, and became familiar to millions on television series and mini-series broadcast on both sides of the Atlantic.
With a nimble voice that evoked creatures from realms of fantasy, Mr. Dotrice was a popular storyteller on albums and audiobooks. He narrated the epic tales of "The Lion King," the adventures of Richard Adams's rabbits in "Watership Down" and the myriad characters of "A Song of Ice and Fire," the fantasy books by George R. R. Martin that were adapted for the hit HBO series "Game of Thrones." He also had a small role in "Game of Thrones," as Hallyne the Pyromancer, the head alchemist in the city of King's Landing...
On television, he played Charles Dickens in Masterpiece Theater's 13-part "Dickens of London" (1976); a British monarch in the mini-series "Shaka Zulu" (1986); the father of the beast on the CBS crime series "Beauty and the Beast" (1987-90); and a priest on the CBS dramatic series "Picket Fences" (1993-96). In recent years he recorded many audiobooks, creating voices for hundreds of characters in the saga adapted for "Game of Thrones."
Looking back on his career in an interview in 1980, Mr. Dotrice recalled one of his more unusual achievements: introducing baseball - learned from Canadian P.O.W.s during the war - to cricket-playing members of his Shakespeare troupe in 1959. He put together an "all-star" team to challenge Americans at a nearby air base.
"Paul Robeson played first base, Sam Wanamaker second and Laurence Olivier third," he said. "Peter O'Toole was shortstop, Albert Finney was catcher, I pitched and Charles Laughton was umpire. We wore black tights and white Hamlet blouses. The women said, 'Never mind the game, look at their legs.'"
Credits: New York Times
