The man behind the dementia is none other than a talented British actor named Ronald Lacey. Mr. Lacey has appeared in several dozen movies and TV shows, but given that he is not German, and that he shaved his head for Raiders, you might not even recognize him if you saw him.

Ronald Lacey was born on June 18, 1935, and died on May 15, 1991. His obituary cites a heart attack as the cause, although other documents have indicated it was liver cancer. Through his career he appeared in such diverse films as Valmont, The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai Across the 8th Dimension, and Gawain and the Green Knight.

Lacey was married twice, and had three children across the two marriages. His daughter, Rebecca, starred in the UK's smash TV series Casualty, kind of a brit version of ER, which is fine by me, a big ER fan myself. Lacey and his second wife, Joanne, also tried their hands at producing, with the 1970s film Ghost Story. And he has a son named Matthew.... an excellent choice.

In the Bonus Materials on the Indiana Jones DVD boxed set, John Rhys-Davies relates the tale that Ronald Lacey had actually given up acting to become an agent, before getting his part in Raiders, which returned him to the profession.

Ronald Lacey Photo Gallery

Here are a series of photos of Mr. Lacey from appearances other than Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Lacey in The Boys, one of his earliest film roles. He's the third from the right behind the jury box, playing "Billy."

Here's a closeup....

...and an entirely unrelated shot from the same film.

Lacey's appearance with Margot Kidder in Trenchcoat. Notice how eerily Karen Allen -ish Kidder looks....

An image of Lacey (left) from about 1962 in a play called "Chips With Everything." Click to enlarge.

Ronald Lacey (seen with his natural hair), in the Avengers episode "The Joker." His character name was "Strange Young Man."

Ronald Lacey as "Shades," a pinball-playing hitman in The Last Days of Man on Earth (a.k.a. The Final Programme).