Roy Dotrice (Phil Hogan) began his acting career in a German prisoner-of-war camp in 1942, having been shot down after flying with the Royal Air Force Bomber Command. He was born in Guernsey and was a school boy when the Germans occupied the island in 1940. He escaped to England, "advancing" his age to enlist in the R.A.F. After his release in 1945, he went into repertory where he met and married his leading lady, Kay Newman. After 53 years of marriage they produced an acting dynasty as all three of their daughters became actresses. In 1957 Roy joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, playing leading roles with them for nine years. During this period he performed in all of Shakespeare's plays and worked with the world 's greatest actors and directors. Roy considers his greatest achievement was to introduce baseball into what had been a cricket stronghold, and in 1959 he pitched for his team that included at first base, Paul Robeson (Othello); second base, Sam Wanamaker (lago); third base, Laurence Olivier (Coriolanus), short stop, Peter O'Toole (Shylock); Charles Laughton (Lear) was plate umpire and Albert Finney was his catcher. He has appeared in ten Broadway productions, including three one-man shows: Brief Lives (Golden 1968), Mister Lincoln (Morosco 1980), Brief Lives (Booth 1974). He received a Tony nomination for his work in A Life. On television he was a regular in four television series: "Beauty and the Beast," "Going to Extremes," "Picket Fences," and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." As well as the BBC-produced "Dickens of London" guest starring in dozens of series, including a recurring role in "Murder She Wrote." Some of his films include The Scarlet Letter, The Cutting Edge, Amadeus and Swimming with Sharks. He has homes in Hollywood and London's Covent Garden.

New York Times, Friday, March 10, 2000

From... ON STAGE AND OFF
By Jesse McKinley

Who's on First? Word for word it may be the best read on Broadway. Just look at the first sentence: ''Roy Dotrice began his acting career in a German prisoner-of-war camp in 1942. . .

'' So starts the Playbill biography of Mr. Dotrice, 76, who is embarking on his 11th Broadway production as Phil Hogan, the irascible pig farmer in Eugene O'Neill's ''Moon for the Misbegotten.'' It began previews on Tuesday night at the Walter Kerr Theater. Along the way from P.O.W. to V.I.P., the colorful Mr. Dotrice has had more than a few adventures, many of which are touched upon in his 214-word stage biography. But despite his 58 years of credits, Mr. Dotrice's bio is most exhaustive on what he calls his greatest accomplishment: bringing baseball to the Royal Shakespeare Company.

In 1959 he headed a squad that included Paul Robeson at first base, Sam Wanamaker at second, Laurence Olivier at third and Peter O'Toole at short. (Just imagine the dugout: ''Who's nicked my batting crown?'') Albert Finney was catcher, Charles Laughton was the ump, and Mr. Dotrice pitched.

''I threw a mean curve,'' he said.

And while he has played his share of noblemen, he says that playing Phil, the pig man with a whiskey smile, strikes a chord. ''He's a tough little bugger, full of hearts and guts,'' he said. ''He understands it's better to get through with humor than feeling sorry for yourself.''

Sara Krulwich/The New York Times

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