Yeah Bill, for Brits of "a certain age" (and I suppose non-Brits too), during our formative telly years he seemed to be in absolutely everything. Good underrated actor too. "Serious" people may cite his early-career role in COMPULSION, but for me he'll always be the stuttering, increasingly crazed Dr Parmiter in.... BUG.
It will always be ESCAPE FROM THE POTATOES for me (God, I love predictive text, that's what I get for going for POTA) and, unfortunately, THE SWARM. I was a huge fan of the Apes film series as a youngster. I also used to refer to him as Bradford Dildo, for no other reason than I can be a bit of a knob at times.
I also used to refer to him as Bradford Dildo, for no other reason than I can be a bit of a knob at times.
Oh Kev, you're not a knob, you're NOT a knob, at times.
Your story reminds me of how, for some people, he was one of those well-known faces who nobody could put a name to. Every time he appeared on TV in the '70s (twice a week on average), my dad would go, "Oh, there's, there's... Martin Dangler".
Because of that, when chatting to my brother, we still refer to Bradford Dillman as Martin Dangler.
He tended to play the 'bad' guy by summoning up that cold, heartless iron persona with effortlessness, so ended up somewhat typecast. Anyone remember Gold and that clever top of the gold mine slag heap 'hit'?
RIP Bradford Dillman, who was always instantly recognizable. I'm going to see Francis Of Assisi, from my father's collection, as I've never seen it before.
And Graham, if you read Thomas Page's book, The Hephaestus Plague, you'll remember the final message those hive-mind, fire-spitting bugs spelled out on the ground. That's one of the biggest joke lines to finish with I think I've ever seen, whether sci-fi or no.
Solid believable leading man type. Should have been bigger I think in the business. He reminds me of Heston. I'll remember him mostly for ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES.
Bradford Dillman appears in countless tv shows—find a selection:
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (twice) 12 O'Clock High The Wild Wild West Mission: Impossible (twice) Ironside (twice) Rod Serling's Night Gallery ("Pickman's Model") Longstreet (pilot) Columbo ("The Greenhouse Jungle") The Streets of San Francisco
I also remember him the Dirty Harry saga as the superior of Harry Callahan: see The Enforcer and Sudden Impact.
After two years of television work, Bradford Dillman went straight into a co-starring role in his first feature film, A CERTAIN SMILE. The film finds "Dominique" (Christine Carere), a law student at the Sorbonne, engaged to fellow classmate "Bertrand Griot" (Dillman). Unfortunately, she's more attracted to his philandering "Uncle Luc" (Rossano Brazzi), who's married to the charming "Francoise" (Joan Fontaine). James MacArthur was initially cast as "Bertrand," but had to withdraw because of a previous commitment.
In addition to Bradford Dillman, A CERTAIN SMILE marked the screen debut of Yvette Mimieux and the American screen debut of French actress Christine Carere. Jean Negulesco directed the 1957 melodrama. Alfred Newman's score was released on a Columbia LP. The score was expanded on a 2-CD set released by La-La Land in 2011.
IN LOVE AND WAR begins in 1944 when, before being sent overseas to war, U.S. Marines "Nico Kantaylis" (Jeffrey Huinter), "Frankie O'Neill" (Robert Wagner) and "Alan Newcombe" (Bradford Dillman) return to San Francisco to visit their loved ones. Bradford Dillman received a Golden Globe award as "Most Promising Newcomer." Philip Dunne directed this 1958 drama. Intrada released Hugo Friedhofer's score in 2007.
In 1959’s COMPULSION, based on the famous Leopold-Loeb murder case, Dean Stockwell and Bradford Dillman played the characters modeled after Leopold and Loeb, respectively. The pair were eighteen-year-old law students at the University of Chicago when they killed fourteen-year-old Robert Franks for thrills. Orson Welles played the boys' attorney in the film. His character was based on renowned attorney Clarence Darrow who defended the pair. Darrow's closing argument lasted for two days.
Dillman, in his autobiography, said that he and Dean Stockwell never got along. Stockwell had previously played his role on stage, and had wanted his Broadway co-star Roddy McDowall for the movie. Welles, Dillman and Stockwell shared the Best Actor award at Cannes. Richard Fleischer directed the film. Lionel Newman composed the unreleased score, with orchestrations by Earle Hagen.
Bradford Dillman and Orson Welles worked again with director Richard Fleischer in 1960's CRACK IN THE MIRROR. The film is a melodrama about two love triangles, in which three performers play six roles--this is the game of the film.
In a sordid Paris tenement, "Hagolin" (Welles), a boorish, tyrannical laborer, berates "Eponine" (Juliette Gréco), his young mistress, accusing her of cheating on him with the virile "Robert Larnier" (Dillman). Meanwhile, in a wealthy Paris mansion, celebrated attorney "Lamorciere" (Welles) hosts a party attended by his assistant, "Kerstner" (William Lucas), promising attorney "Claude Lancaster" (Dillman) and "Florence" (Gréco), his mistress of ten years.
CRACK IN THE MIRROR marked the first of many scores written for American productions or co-productions by noted French composer Maurice Jarre. It has not had a release.
Bradford Dillman had his first lead role in the 1960 British drama CIRCLE OF DECEPTION. The film finds "Capt. Paul Raine" (Dillman), unbeknownst to him, being sent on a doomed mission because of the high likelihood of him divulging secrets if captured and tortured. Dillman and co-star Suzy Parker first met on this shoot and later married. Jack Lee directed the film, which has an unreleased score by Clifton Parker.
I adore Frank Cordell's music, but what is it with the repeated Alex North similarities? He nicked a whole passage of Cleo in Khartoum, and bits of Andre Previn appear in another score, and in both Cromwell and now here in this clip we have some Spartacus battle and march sections clipped and developed.
It can't all be temp-track love, they aren't the same studios ... or can it? ....
Dillman co-starred with Lee Remick and Yves Montand in 1961's SANCTUARY, which was based on two novels by William Faulkner. Told primarily in flashback, the story focuses on "Temple Drake" (Remick), a pleasure-loving college girl carrying on a flirtatious romance with young "Gowan Stevens" (Dillman). One night Gowan gets drunk and takes her to a backwoods still where she is raped by "Candy Man" (Montand), a Cajun bootlegger.
Britisher Tony Richardson directed the film. Varese Sarabande released Alex North's score in 2002.
