Anthony Steel

Anthony Maitland Steel (21 May 1920 – 21 March 2001) was an English actor and singer best known for his appearances in British war films of the 1950s such as The Wooden Horse (1950), and his marriage to Anita Ekberg. He was described as "a glorious throwback to the Golden Age of Empire... the perfect Imperial actor, born out of his time, blue-eyed, square-jawed, clean-cut." As another writer put it, "whenever a chunky dependable hero was required to portray grace under pressure in wartime or the concerns of a game warden in a remote corner of the empire, Steel was sure to be called upon."

Spouse(s)

Juanita Forbes (1949–1954)
Anita Ekberg (1956–1959)
Johanna Melcher (1964–2001

Partner(s)

Patricia Roc (one son)
Ann Hanson (one daughter)

Biography

Early life

Anthony Steel was born in Chelsea, the son of an Indian army officer, and educated at Alexander House Prep School, Broadstairs, Kent before attending the University of Cambridge. When World War II broke out he enlisted in the Grenadier Guards and became an officer. He was badly wounded on patrol in the Middle East, and again in the Far East. He trained as a parachutist, and made nine operational jumps.

On demobilisation, Steel decided to become an actor and got some parts on stage, including appearing opposite Margaret Lockwood in Roses for Her Pillow. He was dating a niece of J. Arthur Rank who introduced Steel to her uncle at a party. Rank subsequently signed the actor to a long-term contract with his company. Steel was trained at Rank's "charm school" and given a slow buildup with small parts in several films, starting with Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948). He also appeared in Quartet (1948), The Blue Lamp (1949), Trottie True (1949), Christopher Columbus (1949), and The Chiltern Hundreds (1949).

Stardom

Steel's first big break was being cast as one of three British POWs who escape from a camp in The Wooden Horse (1950). This film, based on a true story, was a hit and established Steel as a star. Director Jack Lee said that the actor "was fine to work with just a physical type, a young chap who could do certain things, though he didn't have much acting to do in this."

Steel followed this performance playing the romantic male lead in The Mudlark (1950) and supported Bette Davis in Another Man's Poison (1951). He then starred as a game park warden in Where No Vultures Fly (1951), which was the most popular British movie of the year and the Royal Command Performance Film for 1951, confirming Steel's status as a genuine box office draw. In 1952 British exhibitors voted him the fourth most popular British star.

Rank tried Steel in a comedy, Something Money Can't Buy (1952), but the public response was not enthusiastic. Later they put him back in war films such as The Planter's Wife (1952) and Malta Story (1953), the genre in which audiences seemed to enjoy him most. He rarely carried a movie alone, usually supporting a better known star, such as Claudette Colbert, Errol Flynn, Alec Guinness, Peter Finch or Bette Davis. Nonetheless he was popular and in 1954 he and Dirk Bogarde were the highest paid actors with the Rank Organisation.

In 1956 Steel married Swedish actress Anita Ekberg and together they moved to Hollywood, with mixed results. He broke his contract with the Rank Organisation, received bad publicity for fighting with Ekberg and attacking paparazzi, and was arrested twice for drunk driving. During his time in Hollywood he appeared in one film, the little-seen Valerie (1957). It was announced he would be in a film to be made in Spain, Tetuan, but this did not come to fruition.

Career decline

Steel returned to Britain but was unable to regain his earlier popularity. His most prestigious role was in a film directed by Michael Powell, Honeymoon (1959), but it was one of Powell's least known works. John Davis, head of the Rank Organisation was known to be furious about Steel having left the company earlier after the support they had given him, and this was thought to have harmed his chances at reviving his career. Steel was also hurt that the sort of war films in which he had made his name were going out of fashion.

In 1960 Steel moved to Rome and lived there for the next decade. His roles grew smaller and less prestigious, such as appearing as Sir Stephen in the Just Jaeckin film adaptation of Story of O (1975).

By the 1970s he had returned to Britain where he appeared in number of TV shows such as Bergerac, The Professionals, Robin of Sherwood and Crossroads. After stage tours in the 1980s he rarely worked, and later lived for a number of years in a tiny flat in Northolt, west London. His then-agent, David Daly, said that:

He was a very private man. He just decided that he would withdraw. He found a place to live and simply went into hiding. In some ways, it was not unlike him; if he decided that things weren't right, he would withdraw into himself and not contact anybody.

Daly arranged for him to stay at Denville Hall, a London retirement home for actors. Not long before he died he had a guest role in the TV series The Broker's Man.

Singer

In 1954, Steel teamed up with the British vocal ensemble, the 'Radio Revellers', to record "West of Zanzibar". Released on the Polygon Records label, it peaked at No.11 in the UK Singles Chart.

Personal life

Steel was married three times:

• Juanita Forbes (1949–1954)
• Anita Ekberg (1956–1959)
• Johanna Melcher (1964)

He was engaged to his secretary, Anne Hanson in 1954. He had two daughters and a son.

Steel's engagement and marriage to Ekberg was widely publicised at the time. Ekberg later claimed he hit her:

When he wasn't drunk he was charming and cultured, intelligent, a sense of humour. Too bad he got on that road. He would start arguments with anybody after one drink too much and then he would get violent."

Steel had an affair with actress Patricia Roc in 1952 while they were co-starring in Something Money Can't Buy, resulting in a son, Michael. At the time Roc was married to André Thomas but they were unable to have children, so Thomas agreed to bring up Michael as his own.

Death

Anthony Steel died from lung cancer in Northolt, Middlesex in 2001, aged 80.

Selected filmography

• Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948)
• A Piece of Cake (1948)
• Portrait from Life (1948)
• Once Upon a Dream (1949)
• Marry Me! (1949)
• Poet's Pub (1949)
• Trottie True (1949)
• Don't Ever Leave Me (1949)
• Helter Skelter (1949)
• The Chiltern Hundreds (1949)
• The Blue Lamp (1950)
• The Wooden Horse (1950)
• The Mudlark (1950)
• Laughter in Paradise (1951)
• Another Man's Poison (1951)
• Where No Vultures Fly (1951)
• Emergency Call (1952)
• Something Money Can't Buy (1952)
• The Planter's Wife (1952)
• Malta Story (1953)
• The Master of Ballantrae (1953)
• Albert R.N. (1953)
• West of Zanzibar (1954)
• The Sea Shall Not Have Them (1954)
• Out of the Clouds (1955)
• Passage Home (1955)
• Storm Over the Nile (1955)
• The Black Tent (1956)
• Checkpoint (1956)
• Valerie (1957)
• Harry Black (1958)
• A Question of Adultery (1959)
• Luna de Miel (1959)
• Revenge of the Barbarians (1960)
• Tiger of the Seven Seas (1962)
• The Switch (1963)
• A Matter of Choice (1963)
• Last of the Renegades (1964)
• Zwei Girls vom Roten Stern (de) (1966)
• Anzio (1968)
• Run, Rabbit, Run (de) (1969)
• Story of O (1975)
• Hardcore (1977)
• Twilight of Love (1977)
• Let's Get Laid (1978)
• The World Is Full of Married Men (1979)
• The Dick Francis Thriller: The Racing Game (1979) (TV series)
• The Monster Club (1980)
• Tales of the Unexpected (1980) (TV series) – two eps
• The Mirror Crack'd (1981)
• Artemis 81 (1981) (TV film)
• Jemima Shore Investigates (1983) (TV series) – one ep
• Andy Robson (1983) (TV series)
• Bergerac (1983) (TV series) – one ep
• The Glory Boys (1984) (TV series)
• Robin of Sherwood (1984) (TV series)
• The Broker's Man (1998) (TV series)

Box Office Ranking

At the height of his career, British exhibitors voted Steel among the most popular local stars in the country.

• 1952 – 4th most popular British star
• 1953 – 10th most popular British star
• 1954 – 7th most popular British star
• 1956 – 6th most popular British star