Barry Foster (actor)
Barry Foster ( born August 21, 1927 in Beeston, England; † 11 February 2002 in Guildford ) was a British actor.
Life
Before he began his acting career, he worked as a laboratory assistant in the plastics industry. At the age of 20 he enrolled in acting classes at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, and was slightly older than the other students. There he met the later writer Harold Pinter know, at that time still worked as an actor - he later played in some of Pinter's plays.
His first professional theater appearance was in 1952 as Foster Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice, 1955, he made her first appearance in London. In 1956 he got his first film role. Although he continued to play theater and also in several British television series had the lead role, he is known to the German public rather from his supporting roles in many films. He has played in the Battle of Britain (1969 ), Ryan's Daughter ( 1970) and The Wild Geese (1978). In the mini- series Fall of Eagles (1974 ) Foster played the German Emperor Wilhelm II. Yet his most famous role is that of the killer Bob Rusk in Alfred Hitchcock's penultimate film Frenzy (1972). Between 1972 and 1992, the British television detective series Van der Valk, in the Foster played a police inspector was Amsterdam. The series ran from 1976 successfully on ZDF. After that he was seen even in the English television series " Smiley's People " (Smiley 's People) by John le Carré with Alec Guinness. For the BBC, Foster also took up 13 episodes of radio plays as Sherlock Holmes.
Foster was married 40 years with Judith Shergold and had with her two daughters, the actresses were also, and a son. He died in 2002 of a heart attack. After his death, a foundation was established, The Barry Foster Memorial Appeal that disabled children should bring the theater closer.