News has just been released that Scottish actor Nicol Williamson died this past December in the Netherlands after a long battle with cancer. Among his best known roles was that of Merlin in the 1981 film Excalibur, with Nigel Terry as King Arthur and Helen Mirren as the enchantress Morgan.. The "Charm of Making" used by both Merlin and Morgan in the film has become one of the most mnemonic pieces of dialogue among fans of fantasy films.
In 1985 Mr. Williamson played the Nome King in Disney's Return to Oz, allied with Jean Marsh as the witch Mombi. In one scene he reveals to Dorothy that it was her ruby slippers that enabled him to conquer Oz.
In 1982, he played the title role in a television production of Macbeth, part of the BBC Television Shakespeare series. Here, in Act IV, scene 1, Macbeth meets with the Three Witches.
Williamson also appeared in The Exorcist III with George C. Scott and in the 1997 film Spawn in his last film role. Nicol Williamson had had a long and distinguished career on stage, television, and film, and for many he remains the definitive movie Merlin. He is and will be sorely missed.
Witches, witchcraft, magic, and sorcery as portrayed in film and video.
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