Donald Houston
| Donald Houston | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Donald Daniel Houston 6 November 1923 Clydach Vale, Glamorgan, Wales, UK |
| Died | 13 October 1991 (aged 67) Coimbra, Portugal |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1949–1983 |
| Spouse(s) | Brenda Hogan (m. 1949; his death 1991) |
| Family | Glyn Houston (brother) |
Donald Daniel Houston (6 November 1923 – 13 October 1991) was a Welsh actor whose first two films – The Blue Lagoon (1949) with Jean Simmons, and A Run for Your Money (1949) with Sir Alec Guinness – were highly successful. Later in his career he was cast in military roles and in comedies such as the Doctor and Carry On series.
Houston was born in Tonypandy, Glamorgan, and was the elder brother of actor Glyn Houston and a sister, Jean. His father, Alex, was a professional football player from Scotland and his mother, Elsie, ran a milk round. After school he worked at Glamorganshire colliery before his first foray into acting came in 1940 when he performed on stage with the Pilgrim Players. He then later served in the Royal Air Force during World War II.
He would sometimes indulge his Welsh accent as well as conceal it behind an English public school veneer. He had a successful career as a character actor in British film and television, with prominent parts in several well-known films, including Yangtse Incident (1957), 633 Squadron (1964), The Longest Day (1962) (in which he appeared alongside Richard Burton), Where Eagles Dare (1968) (again with Burton) and The Sea Wolves (1981). His forte tended to be authority figures, often military, such as the brilliant but tough David Caulder, the head of Moonbase 3 or as Dr Francis in Thirteen to Centaurus (from the anthology series Out of the Unknown).
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