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Alan Badel

Alan Badel (11 September 1923 – 19 March 1982) was a distinguished English stage actor who also appeared frequently in the cinema, radio and television and was noted for his richly textured voice which was once described as "the sound of tears".

Badel was born in Rusholme, Manchester, educated at Burnage High School and fought with the French Resistance during the Second World War.

He played leading parts, including Romeo and Hamlet, with the Old Vic and Stratford companies.

Badel's most notable early screen role was as John the Baptist in the Rita Hayworth version of ''Salome'' (1953), a version in which the story was altered to make Salome a Christian convert who dances for Herod in order to save John rather than have him condemned to death.

Badel portrayed Richard Wagner in ''Magic Fire'' (1957), a biopic about the composer, and Baron de Gunzburg in the Paramount film ''Nijinsky'' (1980). He also played the French Interior Minister in ''Day of the Jackal'' (1973), a political thriller about the attempted assassination of President Charles de Gaulle.

Badel also played the villainous sunglasses-wearing Najim Beshraavi in ''Arabesque'' opposite Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren in 1966.

Badel married the actress Yvonne Owen in 1942 and they remained married until his sudden death in Chichester, aged 58. Their daughter Sarah Badel has forged a successful acting career in her own right.

Source: Wikipedia