Roger Caesar Marius Bernard de Delgado Torres Castillo Roberto (1 March 1918 – 18 June 1973) was an English actor best known for being the first actor to play recurring antagonist the Master in the long-running science fiction series Doctor Who. He had a tendency to be typecast as a villain on shows like Danger Man and The Saint.
He appeared as the Master in eight serials over the course of three years. A ninth, to be called The Final Game, was planned but scrapped following Delgado's sudden death. He was killed in a car accident while filming a miniseries in Turkey. His friend Jon Pertwee, who played the Third Doctor, said this was a major factor in his decision to leave the series the following year.
Works with pages on TV Tropes that he appeared in:
TV- Quatermass II: episode "The Coming" (1955) — Hugh Conrad
- The Adventures of Robin Hood: episode "The Minstrel" (1958) — Ambassador
- Danger Man: episode "Under the Lake" (1961) — Von Golling
- Z Cars: episode "Business Trip" (1962) — Gregori Katsybalis
- The Saint, episodes:
- The Golden Journey (1962) — Hotel Manager
- Locate and Destroy (1966) — Captain Rodriguez
- Man in a Suitcase: episode "Burden of Proof" (1968) — Ambassador
- The Champions: episode "Desert Journey" (1968) — Yussef
- The Avengers (1960s), episodes:
- "Crescent Moon" (1961) — Vasco
- "Stay Tuned" (1969) — Kreer
- The Persuaders!: episode "To the Death, Baby" (1971) — Estoban
- Doctor Who: 37 episodes / 8 storiesshow list (1971-73) — The Master
- The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes: episode "Madame Sara" (1971) — Silva
- Jason King: episode "The Stones of Venice "(1972) — Capitano Garozzo
Film
- The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954) — Sultan's Aide (uncredited)
- The Terror of the Tongs (1961) — Tang Hao, tong enforcer
- Khartoum (1966) — Sheikh Abdul Rahim (uncredited)
- The Mummy's Shroud (1967) — Hasmid
Tropes associated with this actor include:
- Beard of Evil: He sported this for many roles, including his most famous one as the Master.
- British Accents: Despite his dignified villainous RP accent, his Belgian mother and his Spanish father, he liked to point out he was born in Whitechapel within the sound of the Bow bells, meaning he was a genuine Cockney!
- Mean Character, Nice Actor: He generally played villains throughout his career, but all who knew him attest that he was a nice guy in real life. Katy Manning described working with Delgado and Jon Pertwee as being under the wing of two kindly fairy godfathers.
- Typecasting: He was usually cast as villains.
