Ronald Lacey was born on June 18, 1935 in the suburbs of London. He began his career in 1961 after a brief stint in the Royal service. He attended The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. His first notable performance was delivered at The Royal Court in 1962's "Chips With Everything". Lacey had an unusual pug look with beady eyes and cherub's cheeks which landed him repeatedly in bizarre roles on both stage and screen. However it was his unforgettable demonic smile and peculiar Peter Lorre mannerisms that would bring Lacey a short period of fame in Hollywood. After performing on British television throughout the 1960's and 1970's, Lacey finally landed the role for which these characteristics could be used to full advantage. In 1981 he was cast as the villainous Nazi henchman in 'Steven Spielberg' 's widescreen blockbuster Les aventuriers de l'arche perdue (1981) He followed this with a series of various villainous roles for the next five to six years: Firefox, l'arme absolue (1982) with 'Clint Eastwood', Sahara (1983) with Brooke Shields, and Kalidor - la légende du talisman (1985) with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Lacey turned in two hilarious cinematic performances in full drag (Disney's Meurtres à Malte (1983) with Margot Kidder from 1982 and Invitation to the Wedding (1983) from 1985 - in which he played a husband/wife couple!). Sadly his career began to wane in the late eighties and Lacey died in London of liver failure on May 15, 1991. A tremendous talent with great depth and many facets, Ronald Lacey will be remembered best for his small but significant role as the dapper yet psychotic Nazi in Les aventuriers de l'arche perdue (1981).
