Donald Burton

While he is best known in the United States for his daffy role as the knife-wielding butler Alfred in the Bruce Willis action-comedy flop "Hudson Hawk," English actor Donald Burton was actually classically trained actor, who studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and worked as an Associate Artiste at the Royal Shakespeare Company in his native land. He made the leap from theater to television in 1962 with a one-off role on the British crime-drama "Z Cars," and went on to become a familiar face on British television, often popping up in shows and miniseries. His first major role was as a cast regular on the short-lived criminal-centered drama "Big Breadwinner Hog," and not long after he won the lead role in the espionage miniseries "Man Who Was Hunting Himself." In the passing decades, Burton developed a niche working on austere dramas, like the miniseries adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's sweeping epic "War and Peace" and the Royal Navy-centered series "Warship." In his native land, it is his portrayal of Commander Mark Nialis in the latter for which he is best remembered. Yet a bit part in a goofy American movie cemented him Stateside as a sneering British villain. He went on to appear in a handful of American television shows, including the detective dramas "Jake and the Fatman" and "Murder, She Wrote" before retiring in 1999 with the forgettable comedy "Follow Your Heart." Burton died nearly a decade later, leaving behind a legacy of bold performances.