Anthony Steel (actor)
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| Anthony Steel | |
|---|---|
| Born | Anthony Maitland Steel 21 May 1920 London, England |
| Died | 21 March 2001 (aged 80) Northwood, Middlesex, England |
| Occupation | Actor, singer |
| Years active | 1948–1998 |
| Spouse | Johanna Melcher (1964-2001) Anita Ekberg (1956-1959) Juanita Forbes (1949-1954) |
Anthony Maitland Steel (21 May 1920 – 21 March 2001)[1] was an English actor and singer.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Anthony Steel was born in Chelsea the son of an Indian army officer and educated at Alexander House Prep School, Broadstairs, Kent. After serving as an officer in the Grenadier Guards during the Second World War, he decided to become an actor and got some parts on stage. He was dating a niece of J. Arthur Rank who introduced Steel to her uncle at a party. Rank subsequently signed the actor to a long-term contract with his company.[2] Steel was trained at Rank's "charm school" and given a slow build up with small parts in several films, starting with Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948).
[edit] Stardom
Steel became a star playing a prisoner of war in The Wooden Horse (1950), which was a large hit. He followed this with the even more successful Where No Vultures Fly (1951), which was the most popular British film of its year, was selected as the Royal Command Performance Film, and led to a sequel, West of Zanzibar (1954).[3]
Although Steel occasionally appeared in comedies and dramas he was best known for war films, such as The Planter's Wife (1952), The Malta Story (1953) and Storm Over the Nile (1956). He rarely carried a movie alone, usually supporting a better known star, such as Claudette Colbert, Errol Flynn, Alec Guiness, Peter Finch or Bette Davis. Nonetheless in 1954 he was voted the second most popular British star after Jack Hawkins and he and Dirk Bogarde were the highest paid actors with the Rank Organisation.[2]
In 1956 he married Swedish actress Anita Ekberg and together they moved to Hollywood, with mixed results. He broke his contract with the Rank Organisation, received bad publicity for fighting with Ekberg and attacking paparazzi, and was arrested twice for drink driving.[3] During his time in Hollywood he appeared in one film, the little-seen Valerie (1957).
[edit] Career Decline
Steel returned to England but was unable to regain his earlier popularity. His most prestigious role was in a film directed by Michael Powell, Honeymoon (1959), but it was one of Powell's least known works. John Davis, head of Rank Organisation was known to be furious for Steel having left the company earlier after the support they had given him, and this was thought to have harmed his chances at reviving his career.[2]
In 1960 Steel moved to Rome and based himself for the next decade. His roles grew smaller and less prestigious, such as appearing as Sir Stephen in the Just Jaeckin film adaptation of Story of O (1975).
By the 1970s he had returned to England where he appeared in number of TV shows such as Bergerac and Robin of Sherwood. After doing stage tours in the 1980s he rarely worked, and wound up living for a number of years in a tiny flat in Northolt, west London. His agent had him moved to Denville Hall, a London retirement home for theatre people, and got him a guest role on the TV series The Brokers Man.[3]
[edit] Singer
In 1954, Steel teamed up with the British vocal ensemble, the Radio Revellers, to record "West of Zanzibar". Released on the Polygon Records label, it peaked at No.11 in the UK Singles Chart.[1]
[edit] Personal life
Steel was married three times:
- 1) Juanita Forbes (1949–1954)
- 2) Anita Ekberg (1956–1959)
- 3) Johanna Melcher (1964)
He had an affair with actress Patricia Roc in 1952 while they were co-starring in Something Money Can't Buy, resulting in a son, Michael. At the time Roc was married to André Thomas but they were unable to have children, so Thomas agreed to bring up Michael as his own.[4]
[edit] Death
Anthony Steel died from lung cancer in Northolt, Middlesex in 2001, aged 80.
[edit] Selected filmography
- Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948)
- A Piece of Cake (1948)
- Portrait from Life (1948)
- Once Upon a Dream (1949)
- Marry Me (1949)
- Poet's Pub (1949)
- Trottie True (1949)
- Don't Ever Leave Me (1949)
- Helter Skelter (1949)
- The Chiltern Hundreds (1949)
- The Blue Lamp (1950)
- The Wooden Horse (1950)
- The Mudlark (1950)
- Laughter in Paradise (1951)
- Another Man's Poison (1951)
- Where No Vultures Fly (1951)
- Emergency Call (1952)
- Something Money Can't Buy (1952)
- The Planter's Wife (1952)
- Malta Story (1953)
- The Master of Ballantrae (1953)
- Albert R.N. (1953)
- West of Zanzibar (1954)
- The Sea Shall Not Have Them (1954)
- Out of the Clouds (1955)
- Passage Home (1955)
- Storm Over the Nile (1955)
- The Black Tent (1956)
- Checkpoint (1956)
- Harry Black (1958)
- Luna de Miel (1959)
- Revenge of the Barbarians (1960)
- The Switch (1963)
- A Matter of Choice (1963)
- Anzio (1968)
- Story of O (1975)
- Hardcore (1977)
- Let's Get Laid (1978)
- The Monster Club (1980)
[edit] References
- ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 527. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ a b c Tom Vallance, 'Anthony Steel Obituary', The Independent, March 29, 2001
- ^ a b c "Anthony Steel Obituary". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2001/mar/24/guardianobituaries.filmnews. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
- ^ Patricia Roc on IMDB
