Tom Bell; Telegraph obit
Hyfler/Rosner
(Filed: 07/10/2006) Telegraph
Tom Bell, who died on Wednesday aged 73, was a
brooding character actor whose pinched, unsmiling looks
brought him much work in films, television and the theatre;
he was perhaps best known later in his career as the sexist
detective DS Bill Otley, tormentor of DCI Jane Tennison
(Helen Mirren) in ITV's Prime Suspect (1991).
A quiet, diffident man, Bell first came to prominence
with roles in two early "kitchen-sink" films, The Concrete
Jungle and The Kitchen (both 1960). But his breakthrough
came two years later with a starring role in another "new
wave" film, The L-Shaped Room, in which his hammer-faced
character Toby shared digs with a gay, black jazz musician
(Brock Peters) and an unmarried but pregnant Leslie Caron.
Bell was tipped for the front rank of film stardom
alongside Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay; but he never
quite made it, partly because he failed to try his luck in
Hollywood, and partly because of his unpredictable private
life - he had a reputation for being difficult, and, as a
young man, he was a heavy drinker.
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In 1963, some months after delighting audiences and
critics in The L-Shaped Room, he was present, with Caron and
the film's producer Richard Attenborough, at the British
Film Academy awards at the London Hilton. The well-refreshed
Bell heckled Prince Philip as he reached the end of his
presidential speech, twice shouting: "Tell us a funny
story." The Prince ignored the first intervention, but after
the second turned to Bell and said: "If you want a funny
story, I suggest you engage a professional comic."
The British film establishment was mortified. It fell
to Miss Caron to apologise on Bell's behalf and explain that
"Tom was a little merry".
The incident caused a tabloid flurry at the time and
undoubtedly caused Bell's career to stall. It also sealed
his reputation as a hellraiser.
Despite (or perhaps because of) this, the Sixties
proved to be fruitful years for Bell; he made some 15 films
during the decade and at one point shared a London flat with
his fellow actor Tony Booth, father of Cherie Blair, with
whom he had worked on The L-Shaped Room.
Thomas George Bell was born in Liverpool on August 2
1933, the son of poor parents who later emigrated to
Rhodesia. When the Second World War broke out he was
evacuated to Morecambe, Lancashire, and lived with three
different families in the area; at 15, in 1948, he made his
stage debut in the school play at Morecambe Secondary Modern
School.
Having determined to become an actor, Bell trained at
the Bradford Civic Theatre alongside Robert Stephens and
Billie Whitelaw, and worked in repertory in Liverpool and
later with the Shannon Players in Dublin, where he arrived
with one penny in his pocket.
Bell kick-started his theatrical career in 1961 when
he auditioned for - and landed - the starring role in Alun
Owen's Progress to the Park; Alan Brien in The Sunday
Telegraph hailed Bell as "a cocky, tough, tart young actor,
who has muscles in his voice as well as on his bones".
Another critic referred to "his Cherokee profile and face
which is expressive even when it's frozen".
But it was Bell's television work that kept him in the
public eye. In 1960 The Daily Telegraph praised his "painful
realism" as the mother's boy in Harold Pinter's A Night Out
on ITV; in the same year he also appeared in television
versions of Love On The Dole (BBC) and Sebastian Shaw's
tense thriller Cul de Sac (ITV).
In March the following year Tom Bell was due to star
opposite his wife, the actress Lois Daine, in a BBC
television play, Cottage For Sale. But two weeks before the
(live) transmission, she gave birth prematurely to the
couple's son, Aran, who weighed just 3lb 13oz, and another
actress took over the part.
Other television roles followed over the years. In
1981 he was Walter Morel in the BBC's seven-part adaptation
of Sons and Lovers, a part that led, the following year, to
a starring appearance as the Victorian paterfamilias and
whisky tycoon Fergus King in the 10-part family saga King's
Royal.
It was shortly after this that Bell was in trouble
over non-payment of income tax: in April 1982 he appeared in
a bankruptcy court, saying he had no assets to meet debts of
Ł21,574, mainly owing to the tax man. Before being declared
bankrupt, Bell was asked by the deputy official receiver:
"Were you being quite truthful when you swore on oath that,
apart from a few pounds in your pocket, you had nothing in
the world?"
"Yes," Bell replied. He was subsequently discharged
from bankruptcy.
He made nearly 50 films in all, ranging from
Restoration comedy, as in Lock Up Your Daughters! (1969), to
the roistering Royal Flash (1975). His most memorable screen
portrayals included Uncle Philip in The Magic Toyshop and
Wish You Were Here (both 1987); the latter was based on the
early life of the Streatham madam Cynthia Payne, with Bell
playing her older, odious seaside lover. He also appeared
with Billie Whitelaw in The Krays (1990) as the seedy,
criminal loser Jack "The Hat" McVitie.
In 1991 the television critics unanimously applauded
Bell's powerful characterisation in Prime Suspect, which was
shot to look like an edgy documentary and dealt with
entrenched male prejudice in the police; cast opposite Helen
Mirren, Bell turned in a corrosive performance as her
arch-enemy Otley, prompting The Daily Telegraph's Richard
Last to exclaim: "I didn't know he could be so evil."
Bell worked until the end of his life, having recorded
the last-ever Prime Suspect, due to be screened next week on
ITV, and appearing as Nasica in Ancient Rome, currently on
BBC1. He also stars in a new feature film, Friends and
Enemies, set for release next year.
Perhaps the oddest appearance of Bell's career was in
court, in July 1962, after he had been arrested at 2.45am on
a Sunday morning picking flowers from someone's garden in
Hampstead. "I am feeling romantic tonight," Bell told
police, "and I am helping myself." He was given an absolute
discharge.
Bell had long since put his drinking years behind him,
and for the last 10 years or so had lived quietly in
Brighton with his partner, Frances Tempest, a television
costume designer.
Tom Bell's marriage to Lois Daine, with whom he had a
son, was dissolved in 1976. With Frances Tempest, he had a
daughter.