English actor and writer Peter Bull was BOTD in 1912. Born in London, his father was the politician Sir William Bull. He was educated at Winchester College and made his professional stage appearance in If I Were You in 1933. He came to Broadway in 1935 with the London cast of Escape Me Never, leading to a role in Alfred Hitchcock‘s film Sabotage in 1937. During World War Two, he served in the Royal Navy, receiving the Distinguished Service Cross in 1945. After the war, he became a dependable character actor in British films, appearing in David Lean’s Oliver Twist, the Ealing Studios film Saraband, and Scrooge, a successful adaptation of A Christmas Carol. In the 1950s, he played opposite Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn in The African Queen, and co-starred in the English-language premiere of Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot. He had a vivid supporting role as the Russian ambassador in Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 film Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, and also appeared in Tony Richardson‘s Tom Jones and the musical film Dr Doolitle. Later in life, he wrote a series of memoirs, and a book about his extensive collection of teddy bears. Closeted for much of his life, he is mentioned in Hollywood hustler Scotty Bowers‘ 2012 memoir as one of Bowers’ regular clients. He died in 1984, aged 72.