Born: May 26, 1923 in Guernsey, Channel Islands, England
Occupation: Actor
Active: '70s-2000s
Major Genres: Drama, Fantasy
Career Highlights: Amadeus, The Cutting Edge, Cheech & Chong's The Corsican Brothers
First Major Screen Credit: War of the Roses (1964)
Biography
Halliwell's Filmgoers Companion states that British character actor Roy Dotrice had "a strong line in senile characterizations". Maybe so, but he certainly seemed chillingly cogent in his portrayal of Mozart's father in the Oscar-winning Amadeus. In films since 1965's The Heroes of Telemark, Dotrice has been equally busy on television: he was a regular on such series as Space: 1999 (1975-76), Going to Extremes (1986), Wizards (1986) and Beauty and the Beast (1987-1990, as "The Beast's" Father). Roy Dotrice is the father of actresses Karen and Michele Dotrice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Dotrice was born in Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands, the son of Neva (née Wilton) and Louis Dotrice.[2] He served with the RAF from 1940 to 1945 during World War II, and was imprisoned in a German POW camp from 1942 to 1945.
He was married to Kay Newman from 1947 until her death in 2007, and they had three children together: Michele, Yvette and Karen, all of whom are actresses. He is also the father-in-law to Edward Woodward, a contemporary of his and husband to his daughter Michele.
Dotrice is arguably best known to North American audiences for playing the role of "Father" in the 1980s hit TV series, Beauty and the Beast, though his acting career dates back to 1945, in a revue called Back Home, performed by ex-prisoners of war, in aid of the Red Cross, after which he played in a number of repertory theatres. He appeared on BBC television in 1971 as Albert Haddock, in the televised version of A.P. Herbert's "Misleading Cases", a satire on the British legal system, also starring Alastair Sim as the Judge. He is also known to fans of the Buffyverse as the portrayer of Roger Wyndam-Pryce, the infamous father of Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. Another Sci-Fi role was Commissioner Simmons in two episodes of season 1 of Space 1999. He played Father Gary Barrett in the TV series Picket Fences from 1993-1996. In 1998, Dotrice appeared in three episodes of the cult television show Hercules: The Legendary Journeys as Zeus, King of the Greek gods and father of Hercules, played by Kevin Sorbo.