Barry Foster (actor)

Barry Foster was an English actor who is arguably best known for playing the title role in Van der Valk, which ran for five series between 1972 and 1992, and as serial killer Bob Rusk in the Alfred Hitchcock thriller Frenzy.

He was born John Barry Foster in Beeston, Nottinghamshire, the son of a toolsetter. His family moved to Hayes, Hillingdon when he was a few months old. He attended Southall County Grammar School. After leaving school, Foster worked as a plastics organic chemist at the local EMI Central Research Laboratories, while unsuccessfully submitting ideas to advertising agencies.

Source: Wikipedia