William Squire

Biography

William Squire (29 April 1917 – 3 May 1989) was a Welsh actor of stage, film and television. Squire was born in Neath, South Wales, the son of William Squire and his wife Martha (née Bridgeman). 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. His varied screen roles included 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 Whoserial The Armageddon Factor. Perhaps his best-known role was as Hunter, the superior of secret agent David Callan in the spy series Callan in the early 1970s; Squire took over the role from Derek Bond. In a set of Encyclopædia Britannica-produced educational films about William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Squire played the role of Macbeth. 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.

Known For

Doctor Who

Great Performances

Play for Today

Rumpole of the Bailey

All Creatures Great and Small

The Champions

Blake's 7

The Adventures of Robin Hood

All Movies (25)

• Callan: This Man Alone2016 · as Himself (archive)
• Testimony1988 · as Khatchaturyan
• In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton1988 · as Self
• Puccini1984 · as Giacchi, the Doctor
• The Ghost Downstairs1982 · as Narrator
• The Life and Times of David Lloyd George1981 · as Dr Clifford
• Doctor Who: The Armageddon Factor1979 · as The Shadow
• Les Misérables1978 · as Magistrate
• The Lord of the Rings1978 · as Gandalf (voice)
• The Thirty Nine Steps1978 · as Harkness
• The Portable Phonograph1977 · as The Actor
• Buffet1976 · as Arnold
• Snooker1975 · as Humphrey
• Anne of the Thousand Days1969 · as Thomas More
• Where Eagles Dare1968 · as Thomas
• Which of These Two Ladies Is He Married To?1967 · as Alex
• A Challenge for Robin Hood1967 · as Sir John
• The Wars of the Roses1965 · as Duke of Suffolk
• Innocent Sinners1958 · as Father Lambert
• Dunkirk1958 · as Captain (uncredited)
• The Film That Never Was1957
• The Battle of the River Plate1956 · as Ray Martin
• The Man Who Never Was1956 · as Lt. Jewell
• Alexander the Great1956 · as Aeschenes
• The Long Dark Hall1951 · as Sergeant Cochcran

All TV Shows (33)

• Marco Polo1982 · as Locandiere
• The Hound of the Baskervilles1982 · as Frankland
• All Creatures Great and Small1978 · as Roderick Perowne
• Blake's 71978 · as Kommissar
• The XYY Man1976 · as Laidlaw
• Rumpole of the Bailey1975 · as Sir Daniel Derwent
• Prometheus: The Life of Balzac1975
• The Venturers1975 · as Sir George Fielding
• Centre Play1973 · as Humphrey
• The Black Arrow1972 · as Sir Daniel Brackley
• The Black Arrow1972 · as The Stranger
• Jason King1971
• Great Performances1971 · as Self
• Play for Today1970 · as Arnold
• Canterbury Tales1969 · as Chaucer
• W. Somerset Maugham1969 · as Owen Griffiths
• The Champions1968 · as Duncan
• The Jazz Age1968 · as Mr. Urquhart
• ITV Playhouse1967 · as Max
• Callan1967
• Callan1967 · as Hunter
• Half Hour Story1967 · as Alex
• The Wars of the Roses1965 · as Suffolk / Buckingham
• Doctor Who1963 · as The Shadow
• Festival1963 · as The Rev Melvyn Thomas
• An Age of Kings1960 · as Shallow / Epilogue
• An Age of Kings1960 · as Owen Glendower
• An Age of Kings1960 · as Chorus
• The Verdict Is Yours1958 · as Counsel for Defence
• Pride and Prejudice1958 · as Mr Bingley
• Armchair Theatre1956 · as Paolo Bracchiana
• The Adventures of Robin Hood1955 · as Vef
• Sunday Night Theatre1950 · as Hector