Roland Bartrop

from Walthamstow, London, England, UK

Artwork for BarabbasImage of Roland Bartrop

Biography

His father worked for Scotland Yard's Special Branch, but young Rowland decided to pursue a career in acting. Born in Walthamstow on 21 December 1925, Rowland Thomas Bartrop joined the London Stage Academy in 1943 and was initially promoted for juvenile parts. During the war he toured with NAAFI and ENSA in French Without Tears playing support to Rex Harrison and Anna Neagle. He did a good deal of theatre work in both London and the provinces, and performed in Shakespeare on records, notably Coriolanus starring Richard Burton. In the 1950s Bartrop moved to television and it was on the series Sword of Freedom (1957) that he became a good friend of Edmund Purdom. The two actors decided to further their careers in Europe, mainly in costume movies. Bartrop's memorable roles were Horatio Nelson in The Battle of Austerlitz (1960) and friend-of-the-hero to Steve Reeves in The Son of Spartacus (1962). In Europe, Bartrop (who spoke several languages) shortened his first name to "Roland." However, when he played a German officer in two Italian films it was the idea of the producer, as a little joke, to bill him in the credits as "Roland von Bartrop." Bartrop's death went largely unreported, but his family believe that his early death at 43 was due to a suspected heart attack, surprisingly since he kept himself extremely fit for action roles. At the time of his death the actor was living in Switzerland. His widow, actress Colette Bartrop, had appeared with him in Faces in the Dark (1960). - IMDb Mini Biography By: Jim Marshall

Timeline

1966Aged 41

  • Poster for Cast a Giant Shadow

    Bert Harrison

1963Aged 38

  • Poster for Two Colonels

    (Unknown)

1962Aged 37

  • Poster for The Slave

    Lumonius

  • Poster for The Four Monks

    Il padre Priore

1961Aged 36

1960Aged 35

  • Poster for The Angry Silence

    TV Producer

  • Poster for Austerlitz

    Nelson

1957Aged 32

  • Poster for Ill Met by Moonlight

    Miki

1955Aged 30

  • Poster for Intermediate Landing in Paris

    (Unknown)