George Pastell
Encyclopedia
George Pastell was a Cypriot
character actor in British films and television programmes. His real name was George Pastellides.
He made his film debut in Give Us This Day (1949), under his real name of Nino Pastellides, and went onto carve out a career as villains in film and television. Although Greek, he was often cast by Hammer Film Productions
as Eastern characters such as Mehemet Bey in The Mummy
(1959); the High Priest of Kali in The Stranglers of Bombay
(1960); and Hashmi Bey in The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb
(1964).
His exotic looks often saw him cast in spy movies of the sixties such as From Russia with Love
(1963); Licensed to Kill
(1965); A Man Could Get Killed
(1966); That Riviera Touch
(1966); and Deadlier Than the Male
(1967).
As well as these film roles he could also be seen as the villain in numerous television series of the sixties including Danger Man
; The Avengers
; Doctor Who
; The Champions
; The Saint
; and Department S
.
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
character actor in British films and television programmes. His real name was George Pastellides.
He made his film debut in Give Us This Day (1949), under his real name of Nino Pastellides, and went onto carve out a career as villains in film and television. Although Greek, he was often cast by Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies and in later...
as Eastern characters such as Mehemet Bey in The Mummy
The Mummy (1959 film)
The Mummy is a 1959 Technicolor British Hammer Horror film starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.Though the title suggests Universal Pictures' 1932 film of the same name, the film actually derives its plot and characters entirely from two later Universal films, The Mummy's Hand and The Mummy's...
(1959); the High Priest of Kali in The Stranglers of Bombay
The Stranglers of Bombay
The Stranglers of Bombay is a 1959 adventure/horror film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Films dealing with the British East India Company's investigation of the Cult of Thuggee stranglers in the 1830s...
(1960); and Hashmi Bey in The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb
The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb
The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb is a 1964 British horror film by Hammer Film Productions.-Plot:A mummy discovered by three Egyptologists is brought back to London by a showman...
(1964).
His exotic looks often saw him cast in spy movies of the sixties such as From Russia with Love
From Russia with Love (film)
From Russia with Love is the second in the James Bond spy film series, and the second to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1963, the film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and directed by Terence Young. It is based on the 1957 novel of the...
(1963); Licensed to Kill
Licensed to Kill (1965 film)
Licensed to Kill is a 1965 superspy imitation James Bond film starring Tom Adams as British secret agent Charles Vine. It was directed and co-written by Lindsay Shonteff. Producer Joseph E...
(1965); A Man Could Get Killed
A Man Could Get Killed
A Man Could Get Killed is a 1966 adventure comedy film directed Ronald Neame and Cliff Owen, shot on various locations in Portugal and starring James Garner, Melina Mercouri, Sandra Dee, Anthony Franciosa, and Robert Coote, as well as the fourteen year old Jenny Agutter in a minor role. The...
(1966); That Riviera Touch
That Riviera Touch
That Riviera Touch was the second feature-length film made by the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise.- Plot :After Eric Simpson nearly gives the Queen a parking ticket, he and Ernest Clark decide to take a holiday in the South of France...
(1966); and Deadlier Than the Male
Deadlier Than the Male
Deadlier Than the Male is a 1967 British action film featuring the character of Bulldog Drummond. It is one of the many take-offs of James Bond produced during the 1960s but based on an established detective fiction hero...
(1967).
As well as these film roles he could also be seen as the villain in numerous television series of the sixties including Danger Man
Danger Man
Danger Man is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the program and wrote many of the scripts...
; The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
; Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
; The Champions
The Champions
The Champions is a British espionage/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure series consisting of 30 episodes broadcast on the UK network ITV during 1968–1969, produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company...
; The Saint
The Saint (TV series)
The Saint was an ITC mystery spy thriller television series that aired in the UK on ITV between 1962 and 1969. It centred on the Leslie Charteris literary character, Simon Templar, a Robin Hood-like adventurer with a penchant for disguise. The character may be nicknamed The Saint because the...
; and Department S
Department S
Department S is a United Kingdom spy-fi adventure series produced by ITC Entertainment. The series consists of 28 episodes which originally aired in 1969–1970. It starred Peter Wyngarde as author Jason King , Joel Fabiani as Stewart Sullivan, and Rosemary Nicols as computer expert Annabelle Hurst...
.