About André Morell
Cecil André Mesritz (20 August 1909 – 28 November 1978), known professionally as André Morell, was an English actor. He appeared frequently in theatre, film and on television from the 1930s to the 1970s. His best known screen roles were as Professor Bernard Quatermass in the BBC Television serial Quatermass and the Pit (1958–59), and as Doctor Watson in the Hammer Film Productions version of The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959). He also appeared in David Lean's film classics The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and Ben-Hur (1959), in several of Hammer's horror films throughout the 1960s and in the acclaimed ITV historical drama The Caesars (1968). His obituary in The Times newspaper described him as possessing a "commanding presence with a rich, responsive voice... whether in the classical or modern theatre he was authoritative and dependable." He appeared in two films which won the Academy Award for Best Picture; The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), as Colonel Green, and Ben-Hur (1959) as Sextus. The couple had a son, Jason Morell, who also became an actor, appearing in films such as Mrs Brown (1997, as Lord Stanley) and Wilde (also 1997, as Ernest Dowson).
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