Olaf Pooley

Acting

Olaf Pooley

Born — Died

1914-03-13 — 2015-07-14

Place of birth

Parkstone, Dorset, England, U.K.

Known for

Acting

Credits

58 titles

Known for

Doctor Who poster
7.9

The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.

Doctor Who

1963

Star Trek: Voyager poster
7.8

Pulled to the far side of the galaxy, where the Federation is 75 years away at maximum warp speed, a Starfleet ship must cooperate with Maquis rebels to find a way home.

Star Trek: Voyager

1995

MacGyver poster
7.7

He's everyone's favorite action hero... but he's a hero with a difference. Angus MacGyver is a secret agent whose wits are his deadliest weapon. Armed with only a knapsack filled with everyday items he picks up along the way, he improvises his way out of every peril the bad guys throw at him. Making a bomb out of chewing gum? Fixing a speeding car's brakes... while he's riding in it? Using soda pop to cook up tear gas? That's all in a day's adventures for MacGyver. He's part Boy Scout, part genius. And all hero.

MacGyver

1985

Hill Street Blues poster
7.6

A realistic glimpse into the daily lives of the officers and detectives at an urban police station.

Hill Street Blues

1981

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman poster
7.6

Dr. Michaela Quinn journeys to Colorado Springs to be the town's physician after her father's death in 1868.

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman

1993

ITV Playhouse poster
7.0

ITV Playhouse is a British comedy-drama TV series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour and was produced by various companies for the ITV network, a format that would inspire Dramarama. Actors appearing in the series included Leslie Anderson, Gwen Nelson, Ricky Alleyne, Pat Heywood, Michael Elphick, Ian Hendry, Edward Woodward, Margaret Lockwood, Jessie Matthews and Lloyd Peters.

ITV Playhouse

1967

Film credits

1980s · 2 titles

1970s · 4 titles

Doctor Who: Inferno poster
8.6

UNIT is providing security cover at an experimental drilling project at Eastchester, designed to penetrate the Earth's crust and release a previously untapped source of energy. Soon, however, the drill head starts to leak an oily green liquid that transforms those who touch it into vicious primeval creatures with a craving for heat. The Doctor is accidentally transported "sideways in time" by the partially repaired TARDIS control console into a parallel universe where the drilling project is at a more advanced stage. Thwarted by his friends' ruthless alter egos, he works to save both universes.

Doctor Who: Inferno

1970

The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer poster
6.1

Fresh-faced young Michael Rimmer worms his way into an opinion poll company and is soon running the place. He uses this as a springboard to get into politics and in the mini-skirted flared-trousered world of 1970 Britain starts to rise through the Tory ranks.

The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer

1970

Charlie Muffin poster
6.4

Charlie Muffin, top British Intelligence operative, has just broken up a major Soviet spy network in England. However, a new Director with new ideas takes over and wants Charlie out. But then a high-ranking Soviet spy-master hints that he wants to defect, and both British Intelligence and the CIA want him and will do anything to get him. Charlie may be the only man who can bring the defection off successfully, but is the whole thing an elaborate set-up? And when your so-called allies are stabbing each other and you in the back to get this prize, whom can Charlie trust on either side?

Charlie Muffin

1979

Crucible of Horror poster
5.4

A mother and daughter hatch a scheme to murder their family's domineering and sadistic patriarch.

Crucible of Horror

1971

1960s · 5 titles

Sink the Bismarck! poster
6.9

The story of the breakout of the German battleship Bismarck—accompanied by the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen—during the early days of World War II. The Bismarck and her sister ship, Tirpitz, were the most powerful battleships in the European theater of World War II. The British Navy must find and destroy Bismarck before it can escape into the convoy lanes to inflict severe damage on the cargo shipping which was the lifeblood of the British Isles. With eight 15 inch guns, it was capable of destroying every ship in a convoy while remaining beyond the range of all Royal Navy warships.

Sink the Bismarck!

1960

The Assassination Bureau poster
6.7

In 1908 London, a women's rights campaigner discovers the Assassination Bureau Limited, an organization that kills for justice. When its motives are called into question, she commissions the assassination of its chairman. Knowing that his colleagues have recently become more motivated by greed than morality, he turns the situation into a challenge for his board members: kill him or be killed.

The Assassination Bureau

1969

The Password Is Courage poster
6.5

Sergeant-Major Charles Coward, a brave British soldier is captured by German forces during World War II. When he's thrown into a prisoner of war camp, he immediately plans his escape. Masquerading as a wounded German soldier, he makes it as far as the medical tent, where the deceived enemy forces award him the Iron Cross. Though he is ultimately discovered, he goes on to courageously pursue his freedom with a whimsical and undying audacity.

The Password Is Courage

1962

Naked Evil poster
6.3

Jamaican obi-man hexes student hostel manager, eventually causing the manager's death, before being killed himself by the manager's vengeful spirit.

Naked Evil

1966

Destiny of a Spy poster
9.0

A veteran Russian spy is brought out of retirement to be sent to the West to do an important sabotage job. However, he finds himself falling in love with an attractive British double agent.

Destiny of a Spy

1969

1950s · 7 titles

The Iron Petticoat poster
5.7

Captain Vinka Kovalenko defects from Russia, but not for political reasons. She defects because she feels discriminated against as a woman. Captain Chuck Lockwood gets the order to show her the bright side of capitalism, while she tries to convince him of the superiority of communism. Naturally, they fall in love, but there's still the KGB, which doesn't like the idea of having a defected Russian officer running around in London.

The Iron Petticoat

1956

Top Secret poster
8.0

A British Sanitary Engineer, goes on holiday with a set of plans for a new secret weapon which he has mistaken for his new plumbing invention. Everyone is hunting for him, including the Russians. The Russians find him and offer him a job in the Kremlin doing research (on plumbing he believes). He accepts, arrives in Russia and falls in love with Tania, a secret agent. And then discovers the true nature of the plans he is carrying...

Top Secret

1952

Hell Is Sold Out poster
6.0

A supposedly dead writer suddenly turns up to confront the young woman who is using his penname.

Hell Is Sold Out

1951

The Woman's Angle poster
8.0

The organising force of a family of musical prodigies, Robert Mansell is a frustrated composer in seach of one thing personal happiness. This search, however, has landed him in the divorce courts and the judge's summary does not paint him in a favourable light.

The Woman's Angle

1952

The Gamma People poster
5.2

An American reporter smells a story when he is stranded in an Iron Curtain country where the local dictator is using gamma rays to transform children into mutated henchmen.

The Gamma People

1956

Left Right and Centre poster
6.1

At the Earndale by-election natural history expert and TV personality Bob Wilcot for the Conservatives finds himself up against Billingsgate girl Stella Stoker for the socialists. Amateur politician against committed activist. But could it become boy-who-fancies-girl against girl-who-fancies-boy? The party agents are soon colluding against such a disaster.

Left Right and Centre

1959

Highly Dangerous poster
6.0

A US newsman and a British entomologist spy on germ-warfare research in a mythical country.

Highly Dangerous

1950

1940s · 3 titles

Series credits

Doctor Who poster
7.9

The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.

Doctor Who

1963

Doctor Who poster
7.9

The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.

Doctor Who

1963

Star Trek: Voyager poster
7.8

Pulled to the far side of the galaxy, where the Federation is 75 years away at maximum warp speed, a Starfleet ship must cooperate with Maquis rebels to find a way home.

Star Trek: Voyager

1995

MacGyver poster
7.7

He's everyone's favorite action hero... but he's a hero with a difference. Angus MacGyver is a secret agent whose wits are his deadliest weapon. Armed with only a knapsack filled with everyday items he picks up along the way, he improvises his way out of every peril the bad guys throw at him. Making a bomb out of chewing gum? Fixing a speeding car's brakes... while he's riding in it? Using soda pop to cook up tear gas? That's all in a day's adventures for MacGyver. He's part Boy Scout, part genius. And all hero.

MacGyver

1985

Hill Street Blues poster
7.6

A realistic glimpse into the daily lives of the officers and detectives at an urban police station.

Hill Street Blues

1981

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman poster
7.6

Dr. Michaela Quinn journeys to Colorado Springs to be the town's physician after her father's death in 1868.

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman

1993

ITV Playhouse poster
7.0

ITV Playhouse is a British comedy-drama TV series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour and was produced by various companies for the ITV network, a format that would inspire Dramarama. Actors appearing in the series included Leslie Anderson, Gwen Nelson, Ricky Alleyne, Pat Heywood, Michael Elphick, Ian Hendry, Edward Woodward, Margaret Lockwood, Jessie Matthews and Lloyd Peters.

ITV Playhouse

1967

Scarecrow and Mrs. King poster
6.7

Scarecrow and Mrs. King is an American television series that aired from October 3, 1983, to May 28, 1987 on CBS. The show stars Kate Jackson and Bruce Boxleitner as divorced housewife Amanda King and top-level "Agency" operative Lee Stetson who begin a strange association, and eventual romance, after encountering one another in a train station.

Scarecrow and Mrs. King

1983

The Protectors poster
6.1

The Protectors is a British television series, an action thriller created by Gerry Anderson. It was Anderson's second TV series using live actors as opposed to electronic marionettes, and also his second to be firmly set in contemporary times. It was also the only Gerry Anderson produced television series that was not of the fantasy or science fiction genres. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company. Despite not featuring marionettes or any real science fiction elements, The Protectors became one of Anderson's most popular productions, easily winning a renewal for a second season. A third season was in the planning stages when the show's major sponsor pulled out, forcing its cancellation. The Protectors first aired in 1972 and 1973, and ran to 52 episodes over two series, each 25 minutes long - making it one of the last series of this type to be produced in a half-hour format. It starred Robert Vaughn as Harry Rule, Nyree Dawn Porter as the Contessa Caroline di Contini, and Tony Anholt as Paul Buchet. Episodes often featured prominent guest actors.

The Protectors

1972

Maigret poster
7.1

BBC series based on the novels by Georges Simenon which starred Rupert Davies as Inspector Maigret, a French police detective who preferred to watch and listen in order to solve crimes. The series ran from 1960-63 on British television.

Maigret

1960

Dixon of Dock Green poster
6.0

Dixon of Dock Green was a BBC television series following the activities of police officers at a fictional Metropolitan Police station in the East End of London from 1955 to 1976. Some episodes were later remade as a BBC radio series in 2005 and 2006.

Dixon of Dock Green

1955

Dixon of Dock Green poster
6.0

Dixon of Dock Green was a BBC television series following the activities of police officers at a fictional Metropolitan Police station in the East End of London from 1955 to 1976. Some episodes were later remade as a BBC radio series in 2005 and 2006.

Dixon of Dock Green

1955

The Expert poster
9.0

The Expert is a British television series produced by the BBC between 1968 and 1976. The series starred Marius Goring as Dr. John Hardy, a pathologist working for the Home Office and was essentially a police procedural drama, with Hardy bringing his forensic knowledge to solve various cases. The Expert was created and produced by Gerard Glaister. The series was also one of the first BBC dramas to be made in colour, and throughout its four series had numerous high quality guest appearances by actors such as John Carson, Peter Copley, Rachel Kempson, Peter Vaughan, Clive Swift, Geoffrey Palmer, Peter Barkworth, Jean Marsh, Ray Brooks, George Sewell, Anthony Valentine, Bernard Lee, Lee Montague, Geoffrey Bayldon, Mike Pratt, Edward Fox, André Morell, Brian Blessed, Nigel Stock, Philip Madoc and Warren Clarke.

The Expert

1968

Doomwatch poster
6.4

Doomwatch is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC, which ran on BBC 1 between 1970 and 1972. The series was set in the then present-day, and dealt with a scientific government agency led by Doctor Spencer Quist, responsible for investigating and combating various ecological and technological dangers. The series was followed by a film adaptation produced by Tigon British Film Productions and released in 1972, and a revival TV film was broadcast on Channel 5 in 1999.

Doomwatch

1970

Jason King poster
7.8

Jason King - a suavely sophisticated former secret agent turned novelist - travels the world searching for material to fill his books, encountering an endless parade of glamorous women, exotic locales, menacing villains and daring intrigue! Before Austin Powers swung into action, Jason King set the standard for the hip crime-fighting international playboy!

Jason King

1971

Paul Temple poster
7.2

Paul Temple is a British-German television series . It features Francis Matthews as Paul Temple, the fictional detective created by Francis Durbridge, who solves crimes with the assistance of his wife Steve. Paul Temple used overseas locations in France, Malta, Germany and elsewhere.

Paul Temple

1969

Richard the Lionheart poster
9.0

A kid-friendly take on the exploits of King Richard the Lion Heart, from his participation in the Crusades, to his capture in Austria, to his final return to England.

Richard the Lionheart

1962

Richard the Lionheart poster
9.0

A kid-friendly take on the exploits of King Richard the Lion Heart, from his participation in the Crusades, to his capture in Austria, to his final return to England.

Richard the Lionheart

1962

The Paradise Club poster
6.2

Focuses on brothers Frank and Danny Kane. Their mother is the matriarch of a South London criminal gang, assisted by Danny. Frank has become a priest but leaves the church; he inherits The Paradise Club following the death of their mother and returns to London to try and steer Danny away from crime.

The Paradise Club

1989

Fall of Eagles poster
7.0

"Fall of Eagles" is a 13-part British television drama aired by the BBC in 1974. The series portrays historical events from 1848 to 1918, dealing with the collapse of the ruling dynasties of Austria-Hungary (the Habsburgs), Germany (the Hohenzollerns) and Russia (the Romanovs).

Fall of Eagles

1974

Detective poster
9.0

A BBC anthology series featuring adaptations of detective stories over 45 episodes in three seasons that ran from 1964 to 1969. As with many BBC programmes made before the early 1970s, many of its episodes no longer exist. Of the eighteen episodes from the first season only twelve are currently known to exist; likewise six of the sixteen editions from the second run are considered lost, and just one of the final ten survives in the archives.

Detective

1964

Colonel March of Scotland Yard poster
7.5

Colonel March of The Department of Queer Complaints investigates unusual cases, locked-room murders, and mysteries concerning the supernatural.

Colonel March of Scotland Yard

1956

Sherlock Holmes poster
6.9

Sherlock Holmes (also known as 'Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes') is a series of Sherlock Holmes adaptations produced by British television company BBC between 1964 and 1968. This was the second screen adaption of Sherlock Holmes for BBC Television.

Sherlock Holmes

1964

The Sandbaggers poster
8.2

The Sandbaggers is a British television drama series about men and women on the front lines of the Cold War. Set contemporaneously with its original broadcast on ITV in 1978 and 1980, The Sandbaggers examines the effect of the espionage game on the personal and professional lives of British and American intelligence specialists.

The Sandbaggers

1978

Not in Front of the Children poster
7.0

Jennifer Corner is a rather scatterbrained middle-class housewife. Her husband Henry is a school art teacher, and they have three children, Henry, Robin and Trudi.

Not in Front of the Children

1967

Shadows poster
6.8

Shadows is a British Supernatural television anthology series produced by Thames Television for ITV between 1975 and 1978. Extending over three seasons, it featured ghost and horror dramas for children. Guest actors included John Nettleton, Gareth Thomas, Jenny Agutter, Pauline Quirke, Brian Glover, June Brown, Rachel Herbert, Jacqueline Pearce and Gwyneth Strong. The series was also notable for reviving the character of Mr. Stabs. Notable writers for the series included J. B. Priestley, Fay Weldon and PJ Hammond.

Shadows

1975

No artwork available
8.0

Codename, which premiered in April 1970, was about the secretive MI17 Spy Organisation of the same name based in the residential hall of a Cambridge College. Eventually the series attained a more international flavour, although its base was always in Great Britain. Primarily Codename dealt with the themes of espionage and counter-espionage at the time of the Cold War of the sixties. Its cast contained many of Great Britain's most versatile and talented actors.

Codename

1970

Ghost Squad poster
6.0

Ghost Squad, known as G.S.5 for its third series, was a crime drama series about an elite division of Scotland Yard that ran between 1961 and 1964. Each episode the Ghost Squad would investigate cases that fell outside the scope of normal police work. Despite the show and characters being fictional, an actual division did exist within the Metropolitan Police Service at the time. Inspiration for the series was taken from a book of the same name, written by John Gosling — a retired police officer and former member of the team. Although the real-life squad only operated in London, the fictionalised team travelled internationally; however — as was typical of the time — most foreign locations were actually a combination of stock footage and sets at Independent Artists Studio at Beaconsfield and Elstree Studios. Music was by Philip Green. The show was produced by ITC Entertainment, along with Rank Organisation TV and ATV. It was the first ITC show filmed to fit the one hour time-slot — setting the trend for the majority of ITC's future output. Another common ITC trait was to feature an American, in this case Michael Quinn, in a leading role so as to increase the chances of international sales. At 6' 3", Quinn often towered over his co-workers. This was especially noticeable in the first series title sequence showing him walking through a crowd walking in the opposite direction. He frequently smoked in the show as did many others. The second series had a different title sequence and Neil Hallett sometimes replaced Quinn. Hallett looked more like a spy while Quinn looked a bit like a playboy. Quinn was replaced by Australian actor, Ray Barrett in the third series. Ray Austin played Billy Clay in and was also Stunt Director on all series bringing the action to life. Austin went on to become a renowned TV director in Hollywood and the UK.

Ghost Squad

1961

The Zoo Gang poster
7.8

Six resistance fighters, known by their animal-based code names, fought during World War II. Their efforts came to a stop when one of their number, "the Wolf", betrayed them to the Gestapo. In their interrogation, one of their number, Claude Roget, the husband of Manouche was shot before her eyes. Thirty years later, Thomas Devon spots the Wolf in his shop. The surviving members of the Zoo Gang drop what they are doing and rendezvous for vengeance. The series follows the adventures of the remaining gang of four resistance fighters reunited 30 years later to scam habitual con artists and criminals in order to take their money and use it for good causes. Despite their ages, they put their skills and experience to use to raise enough money to construct a hospital in the memory of Claude. The gang is aided by the son of Manouche and Claude, an inspector in the French police.

The Zoo Gang

1974

No artwork available
NR

Top Secret was a British TV spy series broadcast in two seasons on ITV in 1961-1962 which was produced by Associated-Rediffusion. It starred William Franklyn as suave secret agent Peter Dallas, over a total of 26 black-and-white episodes, each filling a 60 minutes slot. All episodes also featured Patrick Cargill as Miguel Garetta, and Alan Rothwell as "Mike".

Top Secret

1961

No artwork available
NR

A series about life on a London daily newspaper.

Deadline Midnight

1960

Behind the camera