Olaf Pooley, the British actor best known for his role as the villain Professor Stahlman on "Doctor Who," died last week in Los Angeles. He was 101.
Pooley, who passed away on July 14, is survived by a daughter and a son, along with four grandchildren.
Known for his role as Professor Eric Stahlman on “Doctor Who,” Pooley is also well known for playing the Cleric on
“Star Trek Voyager,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. Pooley is the oldest actor to have ever appeared in both franchises, which have come to define the sci-fi genre.
Pooley also had a very notable West End theater career, including the role of Chorley Bannister in the original cast of Noel Coward’s “Peace in Our Time,” as well as parts in “The Tempest,” “Twelve Angry Men,” and “Othello.” The accomplished actor also guest directed at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, directed Anthony Hopkins in
“The Waltz of the Toreadors,” according to Variety.
His first film credit was in 1948's “Penny and the Pownall Case." At one time, he worked as an artist and was named a permanent artist at the Santa Monica Art Studios in California, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Pooley is credited with more than 80 acting roles in films spanning an impressive 60 years.
After word of the actor’s death broke, members and admirers of the acting community took to Twitter to express their remorse and sadness:
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