Two Sides of a Camera

Welcome back to Day 8! Today features two men, whose careers span about the same amount of time, were both born in the UK and interestingly, died the same day of the same year. A little bit of trivia for you: which Italian director also went by the name of Anthony Dawson rather than Anthony Daisies, which was the English translation of his Italian last name? I’ll post the answer tomorrow.

Anthony Dawson as Professor Dent none to happy with his next task in Dr. No

Anthony Dawson

Passed Away January 8, 1992

Professor Dent from Dr. No; Blofeld in From Russia With Love, Thunderball

Born in Edinburgh in 1916, Anthony Dawson made his film debut in They Met in the Dark (1943). His break came when he received a call from Alfred Hitchcock and was asked to play C.A. Swann/Captain Lesgate in Dial M for Murder. He went on to work on Curse of the Werewolf (1961), a Hammer Horror film and of course a year later as Professor Dent in Dr. No. Dawson was in two additional Bond films – From Russia With Love and Thunderball – in which he provided a physical presence to Ernst Blofeld. Eric Pohlmann voiced the faceless villain.

In 1967, Dawson rejoined Young for Operation Kid Brother, also known as O.K. Connery. The film starred Sean Connery’s younger brother Neil Connery in this Italian knock-off, or Eurospy. Adolfo Celi (Enilio Largo in Thunderball), Daniela Bianchi (Tatiana Romanova in From Russia With Love), Lois Maxwell (Miss Moneypenny) and Bernard Lee (M) also appeared. If you are curious to see how the younger brother did as a spy, you can find the film being riffed in Volume 25 box set of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

John Winbolt

Passed Away January 8, 1992

Camera Operator for Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball

John Winbolt passed away the same day as Anthony Dawson. While Dawson appeared in front of the camera, Winbolt worked behind the lens as a camera operator. Winbolt got his start in 1945 as an uncredited clapper loader for Ealing Studios’ Dead of Night, a horror film directed by Alberto Cavalcanti. After working on the Bond films, he re-united with Terence Young on Mayerling (1968) and worked on an “anti-Bond” film, Michael Anderson’s 1966 The Quiller Memorandum. Winbolt also operated a camera for the small screen. According to IMDB, his last job was as a Second Unit Cameraman for four episodes of the Australian television series, Captain James Cook, in 1988.