Anthony Valentine was an English actor best known for his television roles: the ruthless Toby Meres in Callan, the sadistic Major Horst Mohn in Colditz, and the suave gentleman thieftitle character in Raffles.
Aged 9, Valentine was spotted tap-dancing in a stage version of Robin Hood at Ealing Town Hall. He made his acting debut at age 10 in the Nettlefold Studios film No Way Back, and at age 12 he was a boy sleuth in The Girl on the Pier. He worked regularly as a child actor for the BBC, most notably as Harry Wharton in the 1950s adaptation of Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School, having initially played Lord Mauleverer in earlier episodes. In 1958, he appeared in a television production of Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman, with Laurence Olivier as Borkman and Irene Worth as his wife, as part of ITV's The Play of the Week series. Valentine was best known for his striking performances in particular television roles: ruthless Toby Meres in the series Callan, sinister Luftwaffe officer Major Horst Mohn in the BBC drama Colditz, the dashing eponymous role in Yorkshire TV's Raffles, and suave crook George Webster in The Knock. Valentine's early stage credits include: the premiere of Arnold Wesker's Chicken Soup with Barley ; John Osborne's Epitaph for George Dillon ; Australian drama The Shifting Heart ; John Mortimer's Two Stars for Comfort ; the original cast of Half a Sixpence ; and The Platinum Cat. Later stage credits include: No Sex Please We're British ; Anthony Shaffer's Sleuth ; a revival of Hans Christian Andersen ; Art ; and he played Cardinal Monticelso in Webster's The White Devil. Valentine made his debut as a writer and director in 1998 at The Mill at Sonning with The Waiting Game. He went on to direct regularly at the Mill, productions including: Separate Tables, The Odd Couple and California Suite. On 12 November 2005 Valentine became a patron of the Thwaites Empire Theatre in his birthplace, Blackburn. He narrated three Wildlife Explorer documentary films: "Powerful Predators", "Animal Defences", and "Weird and Wonderful". He was also the voice of "Dr. X" on American heavy metal band Queensrÿche's 1988 album, .
Death
Valentine died on 2 December 2015 in Guildford, Surrey. He had suffered from Parkinson's disease since 2012. He was survived by his wife, actress Susan Skipper. The couple married in 1982, having met during the filming of the successful Raffles television series, and later appeared together again in a television film of Ivor Novello's show The Dancing Years. Interviewed in 1995, Valentine recalled two earlier brushes with death. First, when he was dangerously ill with meningitis at the age of 26; second in 1974, when caught up in the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, he holed up for two days in a holiday hotel as gunfire raged outside. "I've always felt that everything since has been an incredible bonus," he said.
