John Barry Foster (21 August 1927[1] – 11 February 2002)[2][3] was an English actor who had an extensive career in film, radio, stage and television over almost 50 years.

He was best known for portraying the title character in the British crime series Van der Valk (1972–1992) and Bob Rusk in Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy (1972).

[4] After leaving school, Foster trained as a plastics organic chemist at the local EMI Central Research Laboratories, while unsuccessfully submitting ideas to advertising agencies.

His first film role was in The Battle of the River Plate (1956), as part of the crew of HMS Exeter, in which he played Able Seaman Roper.

Over the next decade and a half, he performed in Joseph Losey's King and Country (1964), The Family Way (1966), Robbery (1967), Inspector Clouseau (1968) and Battle of Britain (1969).

Foster was seen on BBC television in Fall of Eagles (1974, in the role of Kaiser Wilhelm II) and as the condescending chief of British Intelligence in the adaptation of the John le Carré novel Smiley's People (1982).

(1977), spun off from the TV series; The Wild Geese (1978); Merchant Ivory's Heat and Dust (1983); The Whistle Blower (1986); and Maurice (1987).