Anthony
Eustrel played the part of the Archbishop of Canterbury
in Walt Disney’s Story of Robin Hood (1952).
Alongside
Martitia Hunt as Queen Eleanor, Anthony Eustrel’s character is involved in a
pivotal part of the story. Together the Queen and Archbishop are faced with the task of raising the huge ransom to release the imprisoned King Richard and defeating his brother, Prince John’s evil
plans. Eustrel carried off the role as the Archbishop, with extreme elegance and
aplomb, like the rest of the cast of Walt Disney’s second live action production
in England.
I have
managed to find out very little about Eustrel’s life other than the fact he was
born in London on October 12th 1902. During his early stage
career in the 1940’s he appeared at the Stratford Memorial Theatre in
productions of Richard II, Taming of the Shrew and The Merchant of Venice.
His film career
included:
§
Under the Red Robe (1937)
§
Second Bureau (1937)
§
The Wife of General Ling (1937)
§
Gasbags (1940)
§
The Silver Fleet (1943)
§
The Adventures of Tartu (1943)
§
Counterblast (1951)
§
Captain John Smith and Pocahontas (Burning Arrows) (1953)
§
King Richard
and the Crusaders (1954)
§
Lady Godiva of Coventry (1955) - Prior
§
The Ten Commandments (1956) - First High Priest
§
The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964)
§
Bednobs and
Broomsticks (1971)
Anthony
Eustrel also appeared in many TV series:
Climax (1951), BBC Sunday Night
Theatre (1951), Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (1954-1955), Burkes Law (1964-1965),
Man From Uncle (1965-1966) Batman (1966),
Get Smart (1966-1968), Hogan’s Heroes (1966-1968), My Favourite Martian (1963-1966) (in which he played King
John in one episode) and many others.
He died aged 76 on July 2nd 1979 and his ashes were interned
at Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California.
If
you have any more information on the life of this wonderful actor, please get in
touch.
ReplyDelete"Anthony Eustrel (1902-1979)"
Walt Disney's Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952)
He was in Bedknobs and Broomsticks?? I'll have to watch that again now. I liked his graceful, calm manner in Robin Hood.
ReplyDeleteThere doesn't seem to be much information available about this actor although he appeared in some very good films. He must have been in Hollywood for The Robe which was only a couple of years after The Story of Robin Hood - as we all know made in England at Denham. I wonder if he went out and stayed there
ReplyDeleteJust looked him up on imdb and it does seem that straight after Thetory of Robin Hood he went to the USA and Hollywood. Thereafter all his films and TV were in America. I wonder if he ever came back home again ? He certainly didn't do to work unless it was theatre. Quite interesting and mysterious in a way.
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ReplyDeleteI found this snippet about Anthony Eustrel after I posted yesterday:
ReplyDeleteHe usually played villains, sometimes comic, often in costume films. His credits include "Caesar and Cleopatra" (1945), "Titanic" (1953), "The Robe" (1953), "The Silver Chalice" (1954), "Lust for Life" (1956), "The Ten Commandments" (1956), "Midnight Lace" (1960), "The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze" (1963), "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" (1964), "Games" (1967), "Fitzwilly" (1967), "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" (1971), and appearances in the TV shows "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", "Perry Mason", "Maverick", "Burke's Law", "My Favorite Martian", "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.", "Hogan's Heroes", and "Get Smart".
Eustrel was born in London, and made his film debut in 1937. He divided his time between England and the United States until the late 1960s, when he settled in Hollywood. He died at the Motion Picture Country Home.