Sydney Tafler
Sydney Tafler was an English actor who after having started his career on stage, was best remembered for numerous appearances in films and television from the 1940s to the 1970s.
Personal life
Tafler was born into a Jewish family, the son of Eva and Mark Tafler, an antique dealer. His sister, Hylda, married the film director Lewis Gilbert. Another sister, Sheila, was also an actress.He was married to the actress Joy Shelton from 1941 until his death from cancer; they had three children – two sons, Jeremy and Jonathan, and a daughter, Jennifer, who became a child actress.
Career
After two years at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Tafler first appeared on stage in London's West End in 1936, with Sir Seymour Hicks in The Man in Dress Clothes. From 1943 to 1946 he played many Shakespearean roles with the Old Vic company at the New Theatre. His other stage roles included the menacing character of Nat Goldberg in a 1975 revival of Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party, a role he'd already played in William Friedkin's 1968 film version alongside Robert Shaw and Patrick Magee. His last acting role was with his wife Joy in a 1979 tour of Barefoot in the Park.On British television, he appeared alongside Sid James in Citizen James. His other television work included Angel Pavement, The Gentle Killers, The Infernal Machine, Focus, Dixon of Dock Green, Wodehouse Playhouse, and Hadleigh. He appeared in many films from 1947 to 1977, including The Lavender Hill Mob, The Sea Shall Not Have Them, and Alfie, frequently being directed by his brother-in-law Lewis Gilbert.
Tafler starred in several crime films for Anglo-Amalgamated such as Assassin for Hire.
He most commonly played spiv characters. One notable exception being the film Reach for the Sky, in which he played the sympathetic prosthetics expert to Douglas Bader. There again, he appeared briefly in a dryly comic role as a uniformed policeman in the film The Cockleshell Heroes. His film career ended with a featured role as the captain of the supertanker Liparus in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me.
Selected filmography
Film
- Cottage to Let as RAF Officer
- The Little Ballerina as
- It Always Rains on Sunday as Morry Hyams
- Uneasy Terms as Maysin
- London Belongs to Me as Nightclub Receptionist
- No Room at the Inn as Stranger
- The Monkey's Paw as The Dealer
- Broken Journey, uncredited, final scene.
- Passport to Pimlico as Fred Cowan
- Dance Hall as Manager
- Once a Sinner as Jimmy Smart
- Assassin for Hire as Antonio Riccardi
- Scarlet Thread as Marcon
- The Galloping Major as Mr. Leon
- The Lavender Hill Mob as Clayton
- Chelsea Story as Fletcher Gilchrist
- Hotel Sahara as Corporal Pullar
- Mystery Junction as Larry Gordon
- Blind Man's Bluff as Rick Martin
- Secret People as Syd Burnett
- Wide Boy as Benny
- Emergency Call as Brett
- Time Gentlemen, Please! as Joseph Spink
- Venetian Bird as Boldesca
- The Floating Dutchman as Victor Skinner
- There Was a Young Lady as Johnny
- Johnny on the Run as Harry
- The Square Ring as 1st Wiseacre
- The Saint's Return as Max Lennar
- Operation Diplomat as Wade
- The Crowded Day as Alex
- The Sea Shall Not Have Them as Cpl. Robb
- The Glass Cage as Rorke
- A Kid for Two Farthings as Madam Rita
- The Woman for Joe as Butch
- The Cockleshell Heroes as Policeman
- Dial 999 as Alf Cressett
- Guilty? as Camino
- The Long Arm as Stone
- Fire Maidens from Outer Space as Dr. Higgins
- Reach for the Sky as Robert Desoutter
- The Counterfeit Plan as Harry Flint
- Interpol as Curtis
- The Surgeon's Knife as Dr. Hearne
- Carve Her Name with Pride as Potter
- The Bank Raiders as Bernie Shelton
- Too Many Crooks as Solicitor
- The Crowning Touch as Joe
- Follow a Star as Pendlebury
- Tommy the Toreador as Ramon
- Sink the Bismarck! as First Workman
- Bottoms Up as Sid Biggs
- Let's Get Married as Pendle
- Light Up the Sky! as Ted Green
- Make Mine Mink as Lionel Spanager
- The Bulldog Breed as Speedboat Owner
- Five Golden Hours as Alfredo
- No Kidding as Mr. Rockbottom
- Carry On Regardless as Strip Club Manager
- A Weekend with Lulu as Stationmaster
- The 7th Dawn as Tom. Chief Petty Officer
- Promise Her Anything as Panel Participant
- Runaway Railway as Mr. Jones
- Alfie as Frank
- The Sandwich Man as First Fish Porter
- Berserk! as Harrison Liston
- The Birthday Party as Nat Goldberg
- The Adventurers as Col. Gutierrez
- The Spy Who Loved Me as Liparus captain