Roy Dotrice

Life and career

Dotrice was born in Guernsey to Neva (née Wilton) (1897–1984) and Louis Dotrice (1896–1991). He served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, and was imprisoned in a German POW camp from 1942 to 1945.

Radio

Dotrice was the voice of "Permanent Under-Secretary Sir Gregory Pitkin" in the early episodes of BBC Radio's long-running comedy The Men from the Ministry. He was succeeded by Ronald Baddiley in the role.

He also played the caretaker Ramsay, alongside Patricia Hayes in the Radio 4 sitcom "Know Your Place".

Theatre

Dotrice played the part of John Aubrey in the play devised and written by Patrick Garland of Brief Lives, a one-man show that saw Dotrice on stage for more than two-and-a-half hours (including the interval [intermission], during which he would feign sleep). Premiering in 1967 at the Hampstead Theatre in London, the play had two tours on Broadway. In 1968, it moved to the Criterion Theatre in the West End, where it would run for 400 performances before transferring to the Mayfair Theatre.

These runs, combined with extensive international touring, earned Dotrice a place in the Guinness World Records for the greatest number of solo performances (1,782). In 1984, he starred opposite Rosemary Harris in a production of Noël Coward's Hay Fever. He appeared in the stage production of Irving Berlin's White Christmas at the Lowry Theatre in Salford from November 2009 to January 2010.

Television

In the 1970s, Dotrice played the title role in the television mini-series Dickens of London. He also appeared as Albert Haddock in the BBC TV adaptation of A.P. Herbert's Misleading Cases in 1971. In 1972 he played the Curé Ponosse in the BBC2 TV adaptation of Clochemerle. He was known to North American audiences as Father in the 1980s American TV series Beauty and the Beast and as Catholic priest Father Gary Barrett in the 1990s series Picket Fences, although his acting career dates back to 1945 in a revue called Back Home, performed by ex-POWs in aid of the Red Cross.

Dotrice was known to Buffyverse fans as Roger Wyndam-Pryce, the overbearing father of the character Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. An earlier science-fiction role was Commissioner Simmonds in two episodes of the 1970s series Space: 1999. In 1998, Dotrice appeared in three episodes of the series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys as Zeus to Kevin Sorbo's Hercules.

Dotrice was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1974 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at Pinewood Studios.

In June 2010, it was announced that Dotrice would be playing the role of Grand Maester Pycelle in the HBO TV series Game of Thrones, an adaptation of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire books. Dotrice later withdrew from the part for medical reasons, after which Julian Glover was cast in his place. Shortly after filming for the second season commenced, it was confirmed that Dotrice would be returning to play Pyromancer Hallyne, who is featured in the instalments "The Ghost of Harrenhal" and "Blackwater".

Radio and Audiobooks

In 1982, BBC Radio 4 broadcast Dotrice's reading of fellow Guernseyman G.B. Edwards' classic novel The Book of Ebenezer Le Page in twenty-eight 15-minute parts on its Woman's Hour segment. The producer subsequently wrote that the serialisation was "without question the most popular serial I have ever done in the 500 or so I have produced in the last 21 years...".

He subsequently performed "The Islander", a stage version of The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, to critical success at the Theatre Royal, Lincoln. In 2012, AudioGo produced a complete and unabridged recording of Ebenezer Le Page which is available on Audible

Dotrice recorded audiobooks for each book in George R. R. Martin's series A Song of Ice and Fire. He earned a place in the Guinness World Records in 2004 for the highest number of character voices by a single actor for the first book in the series, A Game of Thrones (in which he voices a total of 224 characters).

Dotrice also narrated many storybook adaptations for Disney Records including The Little Mermaid for which he was nominated for a Grammy award.

Personal life

Dotrice was married to Katherine "Kay" Newman, a television and stage actress, from 1947 until her death in 2007. They had three daughters—Michele, Yvette and Karen—all of whom acted at various points in their lives. He was the father-in-law of actor Edward Woodward, the deceased husband of Michele.

Honours

He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours.