Friday 29 July 2011

Britain is a country which says "Happy Birthday" to David Warner and old men remember him as 'Morgan' when he and they were young










David Warner, actor, who has appeared in many films, is 70 years old today. He was 25
years old in 1966 and I was a 19 year old student living in Brighton, when I saw him starring with the beautiful Vanessa Redgrave in 'Morgan : A Suitable Case for Treatment'.

What I didn't know about David when I saw the film was that he :

* was born out of wedlock in Manchester where his father owned a nursing home, brought up by each of his parents and eventually settled in with his Russian Jewish father and stepmother.

* was educated in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire and then trained for the stage at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and made his stage debut at the Royal Court Theatre in 1962, playing 'Snout', in Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', directed by Tony Richardson.


* made his film debut in 1963, as the villainous Blifil, in 'Tom Jones' and in an early television role, starred alongside Bob Dylan in the play 'Madhouse on Castle Street'.

* joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1963 and was cast as Henry VI the 1966 season and also Hamlet.

Then came 'Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment' which established his reputation for playing slightly off-the-wall characters.

The film trailer :
http://www.sinematurk.com/film_fragman/19255/Morgan--A-Suitable-Ca...

* In Highgate Cemetry at the grave of Karl Marx with his Mum, played by the wonderful Irene Handl :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNEWimL7-vw

* Being put to bed by his Mum :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--yHhC2wrTY

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