David Healy(1929-1995)
- Actor
A rotund, jovial New Yorker, David Healy obligingly played every manner
of stereotypical American in British films and on television for more
than thirty years. The son of an Australian father and an American
mother, he spent much of his youth in Texas. Studying at Southern
Methodist University in Dallas, he majored in drama and befriended
another young acting hopeful, named
Larry Hagman. David first arrived in
England as a member of the U.S. Air Force and soon wound up, along with
Hagman, in the cast of a touring show written by
John Briley. This later grew into
The Airbase (1965), a 25-minute
BBC sitcom (with David as Staff Sergeant Tillman Miller), which took a
humorous look at British-American cultural differences at an RAF base.
Considering his job prospects to be rather more lucrative in Britain --
in keeping with the 'bigger fish, smaller pond' theory - David soon
found himself in almost continuous demand for any part which required
an affable or imperious American. His long gallery of characters
included diplomats, businessmen, bureaucrats, spooks, military brass,
and so on. There were rare occasions, when he acted against type and
played
'Britishers' -- a notable point in case being a likeable Dr. Watson, opposite charismatic Ian Richardson
as Sherlock Holmes, in
The Sign of Four (1983).
His comedic side was showcased in guest appearances with
Dick Emery and
Kenny Everett and a with couple of
turns in
Jeeves and Wooster (1990).
Though married and settled in Surrey, David took job offers on both
sides of the Atlantic. He was glimpsed as a cleric in
Patton (1970) and in
Robert Aldrich's doomsday
thriller
Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977);
well-cast as Teddy Roosevelt in
Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years (1977);
and he had recurring roles in TV's favourite soapie of the day,
Dallas (1978). British TV audiences
saw him guesting in just about every major crime series, from
The Saint (1962) and
Department S (1969), to
The Persuaders! (1971).
Simultaneously, from 1967, David pursued a successful career as a stage
actor in classical plays with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the
National Theatre. In 1975, he re-visited his roots, playing Falstaff at
a Shakespeare festival in Dallas. Ever versatile, David found another
calling in musicals, appearing in "Kismet", "Call Me Madam" and "The
Music Man". He received much praise for his interpretation of
Runyonesque gambler Nicely-Nicely Johnson (played definitively on
screen by Stubby Kaye) in "Guys and Dolls",
performing show-stopping encores of "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the
Boat".
of stereotypical American in British films and on television for more
than thirty years. The son of an Australian father and an American
mother, he spent much of his youth in Texas. Studying at Southern
Methodist University in Dallas, he majored in drama and befriended
another young acting hopeful, named
Larry Hagman. David first arrived in
England as a member of the U.S. Air Force and soon wound up, along with
Hagman, in the cast of a touring show written by
John Briley. This later grew into
The Airbase (1965), a 25-minute
BBC sitcom (with David as Staff Sergeant Tillman Miller), which took a
humorous look at British-American cultural differences at an RAF base.
Considering his job prospects to be rather more lucrative in Britain --
in keeping with the 'bigger fish, smaller pond' theory - David soon
found himself in almost continuous demand for any part which required
an affable or imperious American. His long gallery of characters
included diplomats, businessmen, bureaucrats, spooks, military brass,
and so on. There were rare occasions, when he acted against type and
played
'Britishers' -- a notable point in case being a likeable Dr. Watson, opposite charismatic Ian Richardson
as Sherlock Holmes, in
The Sign of Four (1983).
His comedic side was showcased in guest appearances with
Dick Emery and
Kenny Everett and a with couple of
turns in
Jeeves and Wooster (1990).
Though married and settled in Surrey, David took job offers on both
sides of the Atlantic. He was glimpsed as a cleric in
Patton (1970) and in
Robert Aldrich's doomsday
thriller
Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977);
well-cast as Teddy Roosevelt in
Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years (1977);
and he had recurring roles in TV's favourite soapie of the day,
Dallas (1978). British TV audiences
saw him guesting in just about every major crime series, from
The Saint (1962) and
Department S (1969), to
The Persuaders! (1971).
Simultaneously, from 1967, David pursued a successful career as a stage
actor in classical plays with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the
National Theatre. In 1975, he re-visited his roots, playing Falstaff at
a Shakespeare festival in Dallas. Ever versatile, David found another
calling in musicals, appearing in "Kismet", "Call Me Madam" and "The
Music Man". He received much praise for his interpretation of
Runyonesque gambler Nicely-Nicely Johnson (played definitively on
screen by Stubby Kaye) in "Guys and Dolls",
performing show-stopping encores of "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the
Boat".