Tom Bell, the tall, suave British leading actor who came into his own later in his career auditing villainous roles superbly in such films as Wish You Were Here, The Krays and the hugely popular television series Prime Suspect, died on October 4 in Brighton, England. The cause of his death was not disclosed. He was 73.

He was born on August 2, 1933 in Liverpool, but raised in Morecambe during World War II. He later trained at the Bradford Civic Playhouse where he worked alongside such notable performers as Billie Whitelaw, Robert Stephens and Bryan Moseley. By the '50s, Bell had gained a solid reputation through repertory theater as a dependable actor who held a quiet, reserved power whenever he was on the stage. Eventually, the big screen got a taste of his charisma and his first few films were part of Britain's neo-realistic, "kitchen sink" movement that made stars out of Bell's contemporaries - Albert Finney (Saturday Night, Sunday Morning (1960); Tom Courtney (The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962); and Alan Bates (A Kind of Loving (also 1962). He was serviceable in his first two film vehicles: Echo of Barbara and The Kitchen (both 1961); but he arrived with a moving performance as Toby, the unpublished writer who befriends Leslie Caron in Bryan Forbes' The L-Shaped Room (1962).

Despite some early promise, Bell stuck to the stage and television for the next several years, only occasionally venturing into the movies with middling fare such as The Long Day's Dying (1968), Lock Up Your Daughters! (1969), Quest for Love (1971), and Straight on Till Morning (1972). Later, he earned favorable reviews when he turned to television for some key work in three first-rate mini-series: as Adolph Eichmann in Holocaust (1978); Walter Morel in Sons and Lovers (1981); and Felix Dzerzhinsky in the classic spy thriller Reilly: The Ace of Spies (1983). Movie audiences got to savor his brilliance in a trio of awesome UK hits when he played Eric, the unsettling, older admirer to a young Emily Lloyd in Wish You Were Here (1987); the ill-fated Jack 'The Hat' McVie who is brutally killed in The Krays (1990); and as Clive Owen's stern father in Chancer (also 1990). Of course American audiences will always relish his rich treachery as DS Bill Otley, Helen Mirren's nemesis in the first three Prime Suspect series (1991-93).

Bell had kept a relatively low-profile over the years, concentrating on stage and television appearances, but fans of this fine character actor can still catch him on the current PBS airing of Prime Suspect: The Final Act (2006) where he reprised his role as Otley; and the soon to be released (UK only) theatrical feature Dead Man's Cards (2007). Bell is survived by his son, Aran; and daughter, Polly.

by Michael T. Toole