Thomas George Bell (2 August 1933 – 4 October 2006) was an English actor on stage, film and television. He often played menacing or seedy roles, perhaps most memorably playing sexist Detective Sergeant Bill Otley, antagonist to Helen Mirren's DCI Jane Tennison in Prime Suspect.
Early life Bell was born on 2 August 1933, in Liverpool, Lancashire. His family was large, and he had little contact with his father, a merchant seaman. Evacuated as a child during the Second World War, he lived with three different families in Morecambe, Lancashire. In 1948, at age 15, Bell first acted in school plays. His younger brother Keith also became an actor.
On leaving school he trained under Esme Church at the Bradford Civic Theatre; fellow pupils included Billie Whitelaw and Robert Stephens. He later worked in repertory in Liverpool and Dublin.
Career Michael Coveney described Bell as a "naturally gifted and unusually reserved leading actor", with a "quiet, mesmeric brand of acting". On television he had the role of Albert Stokes in Harold Pinter's first success in the medium, A Night Out (1960), while in the same year his first film appearance came in Joseph Losey's The Criminal. He continued to appear in the British New Wave films of the early 60s including The Kitchen (1961), and alongside Leslie Caron in The L-Shaped Room (1962). At an awards ceremony for the latter, he drunkenly interrupted a speech by Prince Philip, yelling "Tell us a funny story", to the obvious embarrassment of table companions Richard Attenborough and Bryan Forbes. While the Duke of Edinburgh apparently took the heckle in good humour, retorting "If you want a funny story, I suggest you engage a professional comic", the incident added to Bell's reputation as a hellraiser, and "did little to further [his] career". His other notable films of the decade included H.M.S. Defiant (1962), A Prize of Arms (1962), Ballad in Blue (1965), He Who Rides a Tiger (1965), and The Long Day's Dying (1968), followed by All the Right Noises in 1971.
In 1978, Bell received a BAFTA nomination for his portrayal of convicted armed robber Frank Ross in the crime-drama Out. Produced by Thames TV, this critically-acclaimed six-part 'mini-series' drew an audience of 10 million viewers per episode. That same year he portrayed Adolf Eichmann in the Emmy-winning tv-series Holocaust.
Declared bankrupt in 1982 for Inland Revenue debts of over £20,000, Bell bounced back with a later career renaissance, appearing in several British films including Wish You Were Here, Peter Greenaway's Prospero's Books, Swing and the 1990 film The Krays, where he played the part of Jack "The Hat" McVitie, one of the Kray twins' murder victims. In 1991, he played the dour owner of a run-down seaside waxworks museum in the Thames TV sitcom Hope It Rains, written by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey and directed by John Howard Davies. It ran for two series comprising thirteen episodes.
Although he tended to eschew live performance, Bell's few stage appearances included a role in the 1979 UK première of Bent, Martin Sherman's play about homosexuality, staged at the Royal Court Theatre. He played the character Horst, opposite Ian McKellen's Max. The play's examination of homosexual love, set in a Nazi death camp, was shocking for many theatregoers at the time and uncovered a previously little-examined area of Nazi brutality.
In the ITV series Prime Suspect, Bell played Detective Sergeant Bill Otley opposite Helen Mirren in the first (1991), third (1993) and final series (2006), the latter being one of his last on-screen appearances. His gripping portrayal of the toxic character secured Bell's second BAFTA nomination, in 1993.
Personal life Bell was married to the actress Lois Daine from 1960 to 1976. They had one son.
His partner from 1976 until his death was the costume designer Frances Tempest.
Death Bell had enjoyed working with TV director Danny Hiller, and agreed to appear in his first feature film Love Me Still at the suggestion of their mutual friend, showbiz accountant Jose Goumal. While clearly ill, Bell soldiered on and completed filming only a few days before the end of his life. He died in hospital in Brighton on 4 October 2006, aged 73, following a short illness. A few days later, "the poignantly timed broadcast of Prime Suspect - The Final Act" aired, "in which a visibly frail Otley died on screen".
Filmography
Film +YearTitleRoleNotes1960The Criminal Flynn1961Payroll BlackieThe Kitchen PaulEcho of Barbara Ben1962H.M.S. DefiantEvansA Prize of Arms FennerThe L-Shaped RoomToby Coleman Cohen1964Sands of BeershebaDan1965Ballad in Blue Steve CollinsHe Who Rides a TigerPeter Rayston1968The Violent Enemy Sean RoganThe Long Day's DyingTom CooperIn Enemy Country Ian1969Lock Up Your Daughters! Shaftoe1971Quest for Love Colin Trafford1972The Spy's WifeTom TylerShortStraight on Till MorningJimmy Lindsay1975Royal Flash De Gautet1978The Sailor's ReturnWilliam Targett1983Summer LightningMr. Clark1985The Innocent Frank Dobson1987Wish You Were HereEric1989Resurrected Mr. DeakinRed King, White Knight Tulayev1990The KraysJack 'The Hat' McVitie1991Prospero's Books AntonioLet Him Have It Fairfax1995Feast of July Ben Wainwright1997Preaching to the Perverted Henry Harding MPSwept from the SeaIsaac FosterThe BoxerJoe MaGuire's father Uncredited1999Swing Sid LuxfordTube Tales Old GentSegment: "Horny"2001The Last MinuteGrimshanksLava LavaMy Kingdom Quick2002Long Time Dead Becker2003Devil's Gate Jake2006Dead Man's CardsBilly the Cowboy
Television (selected) +YearTitleRoleNotes1959ITV Television PlayhouseAndrew TurtleEpisode: "Promenade"1959–1972Armchair TheatreVarious4 episodes1960Armchair Mystery TheatreRod CopleyEpisode: "Cul de sac"1960–1963BBC Sunday-Night PlayVarious3 episodes1961–1962Drama 61-67Tom Knowles2 episodes1965Theatre 625Billy MackEpisode: "No Trams to Lime Street"1967 The Virginian Cpl. Johnny MoonEpisode: "Johnny Moon"1970–1984 Play for TodayVarious4 episodes1971The Ten Commandments Mike LeeEpisode: "Be Lucky"1972Play of the MonthEilert LovborgEpisode: Hedda GablerITV Saturday Night TheatreVic CrawleyEpisode: "The Samaritan"1974The ProtectorsShadboltEpisode: "Shadbolt"Armchair CinemaRay CarterEpisode: "Sea Song"1977ITV PlayhouseLarry Episode: "The Proofing Session"Horizon Carl JungEpisode: "The Healing Nightmare"1978Holocaust Adolf Eichmann3 episodesOut FrankMiniseries1981Sons and Lovers Walter Morel1983Reilly, Ace of SpiesFelix Dzerzhinsky6 episodes1986–1989Screen Two2 episodes1988The RainbowOld Tom BrangwenMiniseries1990ChancerMr. Love3 episodes1991, 1993, 2006Prime Suspect D.S. Bill OtleySeasons 1, 3 and 71991–1992Hope It RainsHarry Nash2 seasons1993The Young Indiana Jones ChroniclesPaul Emil von Lettow-VorbeckEpisode: "Young Indiana Jones and the Phantom Train of Doom" SpenderTommy Thornton2 episodes1996DangerfieldJohn RustEpisode: "Eden"1999Dalziel and PascoeOliver FisherEpisode: "Recalled to Life"2001Taggart Jack HooperEpisode: "Falling in Love"Dr. Terrible's House of HorribleChief Inspector EllisEpisode: "Voodoo Feet of Death"2003Waking the Dead Cullen2 episodes2006Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an EmpirePublius Cornelius Scipio Nasica SerapioEpisode: "Revolution"Blue Murder Vinny McAteer Episode: "The Spartacus Thing"
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