Aubrey Morris, 'A Clockwork Orange' Actor, Dies at 89

He also had roles in 'The Wicker Man,' 'Lisztomania' and 'Love and Death.'

Aubrey Morris, the character actor who played probation officer Mr. Deltoid in Stanley Kubrick's 1971 film A Clockwork Orange, has died. He was 89.

Morris, whose career spanned more than five decades and included roles in such films as The Wicker Man (1973) and Lisztomania (1975), died Wednesday, his agent confirmed to THR.

Best known for his role in A Clockwork Orange, Morris had a memorable scene in which his character, probation officer Mr. Deltoid, tries to reform Alex (Malcolm McDowell). "I'm warning you, little Alex, being a good friend to you as always, the one man in this sore and sick community who wants to save you from yourself!" he tells Alex as he hits him in the groin.

Morris also is known for his role as the gravedigger in Robin Hardy's horror film The Wicker Man, co-starring Edward Woodward and Christopher Lee, as well as the 1985 sci-fi film Lifeforce, about space vampires who invade London. The character actor had roles in lighter fare as well, such as Woody Allen's 1975 comedy Love and Death and dramedy My Girl 2 with Dan Aykroyd and Jamie Lee Curtis. In Lisztomania, a comedy about composer-pianist Franz Liszt (played by Roger Daltrey), he plays a manager.

Morris was born in 1926, in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, to a large family. One of nine children, Morris and his siblings were appreciative of the arts, with sisters Julia and Sonia becoming professional dancers and brother Wolfe becoming an actor.

After studying at Portsmouth Municipal College, Morris won a Leverhulme scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He made his professional debut in The Winter's Tale at London's Regent’s Park in 1944.

His small-screen debut was in 1948 for the BBC's restaging of Fly Away Peter (he had starred in the West End theatrical production a year earlier). Morris went on to star in a number of TV series, including The Avengers, The Prisoner, The Sweeney, The Molly Wopsies, The Saint and Ripping Yarns. His most recent TV roles include Deadwood, in which he portrayed Chesterton, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.