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David Hemmings | |
|---|---|
_David_Hemmings_(2)_(cropped).png) Hemmings inDeep Red (1975) | |
| Born | David Leslie Edward Hemmings (1941-11-18)18 November 1941 |
| Died | 3 December 2003(2003-12-03) (aged 62) Bucharest, Romania |
| Resting place | St Peter Churchyard,Blackland,Wiltshire, England |
| Alma mater | Glyn Grammar School |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1954–2003 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 6, includingNolan |
David Leslie Edward Hemmings (18 November 1941 – 3 December 2003) was an English actor, director, and producer of film and television. Originally trained as aboy soprano inoperatic roles, he began appearing in films as achild actor in the 1950s. He became an icon ofSwinging London for his portrayal of a trendy fashion photographer in the critically acclaimed filmBlowup (1966), directed byMichelangelo Antonioni.[1][2][3][4]
During the 1960s and 70s, Hemmings played both leading roles and major supporting parts in films likeCamelot (1967),The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968),Barbarella (also 1968),Alfred the Great (1969),The Walking Stick (1970),Juggernaut (1974),Deep Red (1975),Islands in the Stream (1977), andThe Prince and the Pauper (also 1977). In 1967, he co-founded theHemdale Film Corporation withJohn Daly.
From the late 1970s on, Hemmings appeared mainly in supporting roles, and increasingly as a director. His second feature film,The 14 (1973), won theSilver Bear at the23rd Berlin International Film Festival. He directed thecult horror filmThe Survivor (1981) in Australia. After moving to the United States in the 1980s, he directed episodes of television series likeMagnum, P.I. andThe A-Team. He continued acting in major motion pictures, notablyGladiator (2000),Spy Game (2001), andGangs of New York (2002), until his death in 2003.
David Hemmings was born inGuildford,Surrey, to a father who was a biscuit salesman, and a mother who was a homemaker.[5]
His education atAlleyn's School,Glyn Grammar School inEwell and theArts Educational Schools led him to music performance at the start of his career. He sang as aboy soprano in several works by composerBenjamin Britten, who formed a close friendship with him at this time. Most notably Hemmings created the role of Miles in Britten'schamber operaTurn of the Screw (1954). His intimate yet non-sexual relationship with Britten is described inJohn Bridcut's bookBritten's Children (2006).
Although many commentators identified Britten's relationship with Hemmings as based on an infatuation, throughout his life Hemmings maintained categorically that Britten's conduct with him was beyond reproach at all times. Hemmings had earlier played the title role in Britten'sThe Little Sweep (1952), which was part of Britten'sLet's Make an Opera! children's production.
Britten's interest in Hemmings ceased abruptly from the moment his voice broke, which occurred unexpectedly while he was singing the aria 'Malo' during a performance ofThe Turn of the Screw in 1956 in Paris. Britten was furious, waved Hemmings away, and never had any further contact with him.[6]
Hemmings then moved on to acting in films. He made his first film appearance in the drama filmThe Rainbow Jacket (1954). He also appeared inSaint Joan (1957).[7]
Hemmings had bigger roles inFive Clues to Fortune (1957),[4]The Heart Within (1957) andNo Trees in the Street (1959), directed byJ. Lee Thompson. He also had roles inMen of Tomorrow (1959),In the Wake of a Stranger (1959),Sink the Bismarck! (1960) andThe Wind of Change (1961).
Hemmings began to be known for playing young men, for example inThe Painted Smile (1962) andSome People (1962). His first lead role was in the low budget teen musicalLive It Up! (1963),[4] then he had support roles forMichael Winner'sThe System (1964).[citation needed] After this, he starred in a sequel toLive It Up!,Be My Guest (1965)[4] and in the same year inTwo Left Feet withMichael Crawford.
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Hemmings’ luck changed when he was cast in the lead ofBlowup (1966). It was directed byMichelangelo Antonioni, who detested the"Method" way of acting.[8] He sought a fresh young face for the lead in the film. He found Hemmings, at the time acting in small-stage theatre in London, although at their first meeting Antonioni told Hemmings, "You look wrong. You're too young."[9] Hemmings was offered the part of the protagonist, a London fashion photographer who accidentally photographs evidence of a murder, afterSean Connery turned the role down because Antonioni would not show him the full script but only a seven-page treatment stored in a cigarette packet.[10]
The resulting film was a critical and commercial sensation forMGM, which financed it, and helped turn Hemmings andVanessa Redgrave into stars. "I've been discovered half a dozen times," said Hemmings. "This time I think I've made it."[11]
AfterBlowup Hemmings accepted an offer fromWarner Bros to playMordred in the big-budget film of the Broadway musicalCamelot (1967).[7] He had a supporting part in the thrillerEye of the Devil (1966), playing the brother ofSharon Tate. Hemmings was then cast asLouis Nolan in the big-budget epicThe Charge of the Light Brigade (1968),[7] which, likeCamelot, was widely seen but failed to recoup its cost.
Around 1967 Hemmings was briefly considered for the role of Alex in a film version ofAnthony Burgess's novelA Clockwork Orange (1962), which was to be based on a screen treatment by satiristTerry Southern and British photographerMichael Cooper. Cooper andthe Rolling Stones were reportedly upset by the move and it was decided to return to the original plan in whichMick Jagger, the lead vocalist of the Rolling Stones, would play Alex, with the rest of the Stones as hisdroog gang; the production was shelved after Britain's chief censor, theLord Chamberlain, indicated that he would not permit it to be made.[12]
Hemmings costarred withRichard Attenborough in the crime comedy,Only When I Larf (1968), then was the sole star of an anti-war film,The Long Day's Dying (1968). Both films flopped. More financially successful was the science fiction sex comedyBarbarella (1968), starringJane Fonda in which Hemmings had a key supporting role. He played the lead in two period films for MGM: a comedy,The Best House in London (1969), and the historical epicAlfred the Great (1969), in which Hemmings had the title role. Neither film did well at the box office, withAlfred the Great being a notable flop.
Hemmings was cast in further lead roles at the start of the 1970s :The Walking Stick (1970) withSamantha Eggar for MGM;Fragment of Fear (1970), a thriller; andUnman, Wittering and Zigo (1971).[4] He went to Hollywood to play a supporting role inThe Love Machine (1971). Back in Britain he starred in a horror film,Voices (1973). He went to Spain to appear inLola (1974) and in Britain supportedRichard Harris inJuggernaut (1974).
Hemmings appeared in the Italiangiallo filmProfondo Rosso (also known asDeep Red orThe Hatchet Murders) (1975) directed byDario Argento. Back in England he supportedAnthony Newley inMister Quilp (1975).
Hemmings first turned to directing withRunning Scared (1972), an adaptation of an American novel byGregory Mcdonald for which Hemmings also co-wrote the script, resetting the story fromHarvard toCambridge University. He directed the drama filmThe 14 (1973), which won theSilver Bear at the23rd Berlin International Film Festival.[13]
Hemmings directedDavid Bowie andMarlene Dietrich in the drama filmSchöner Gigolo, armer Gigolo (also known asJust a Gigolo) (1978). The film was poorly received, with Bowie describing it as "my 32Elvis Presley films rolled into one".[4][14]
On David Bowie's Stage tour in 1978 Hemmings filmed two of the three concerts at the Earls Court Arena in London on 30 June and 1 July. The rough cut was shown to Bowie, who didn't like it and the footage is since then unpublished.
Later, after relocating to Hollywood, he directed a number of television films and series episodes.
From the mid-1970s on, Hemmings's acting work was mainly in supporting roles. In 1977 he appeared as Eddy in the filmIslands in the Stream, an adaptation of Hemingway's novel of the same name, starringGeorge C Scott. He also had support roles inThe Squeeze (1977),The Prince and the Pauper (1977),The Heroin Busters (1977),The Disappearance (1977),Swindle (1977),Blood Relatives (1978),Power Play (1978) andMurder by Decree (1979). He also returned to television in 1978 with a film for Granada TV directed by Ken Russell and written by Melvyn Bragg:The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, about Samuel Taylor Coleridge (played by Hemmings), was the second of two films in theClouds of Glory series about poets.
In 1979, Hemmings received an offer to play a supporting role in an Australian vampire film,Thirst. He starred in a TV film,Charlie Muffin then returned to Australia to feature inHarlequin (1980).
Hemmings then received an offer fromAntony I. Ginnane to direct the Australian horror filmThe Survivor (1981), based onJames Herbert's1976 novel of the same name, starringRobert Powell andJenny Agutter. Hemmings directedRace for the Yankee Zephyr shot in New Zealand.
While in New Zealand Hemmings played roles inPrisoners (1981) andBeyond Reasonable Doubt (1982).
Hemmings then moved to Hollywood. He played supporting roles inMan, Woman and Child (1983) andAirwolf (1984).
He also worked extensively as a director of television programmes, including the action-adventure drama seriesQuantum Leap (e.g. the series’ premiere); the crime seriesMagnum, P.I. (in which he also played characters in several episodes); and two action-adventure series,The A-Team andAirwolf (in which he also played the role of Doctor Charles Henry Moffet, twisted creator of Airwolf, in the pilot and the second-season episode "Moffett's Ghost" – a typographical error by the studio's titles unit).[15] He once joked "People thought I was dead. But I wasn't. I was just directingThe A-Team."
Hemmings also directed the puzzle-contest videoMoney Hunt: The Mystery of the Missing Link (1984). He directed (and acted in) the television filmThe Key to Rebecca (1985), an adaptation ofKen Follett's1980 novel of the same name. He also briefly served as a producer on theNBC crime-drama television seriesStingray.
He directed the drama filmDark Horse (1992) and as an actor returned to the voyeuristic preoccupations of hisBlowup character with a plum part as theBig Brother-esque villain in the series-three opener for the television horroranthology seriesTales From the Crypt.
In later years he had roles that included Cassius in thehistorical epic filmGladiator (2000), withRussell Crowe, and in the drama filmLast Orders (2001) and thespy filmSpy Game (2001). He appeared as Mr Schermerhorn in the historical filmGangs of New York (2002), directed byMartin Scorsese.[7]
His last screen appearances included the science-fiction action filmEquilibrium (2002),[citation needed] , thesuperhero filmThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), withSean Connery,[7] and asFrank Sinatra's attorney in the 2003 Australian filmThe Night We Called It a Day, a comedy based on true events.[citation needed] He also appeared in the horror filmBlessed (2004) withHeather Graham, which was dedicated to his memory after a fatal heart attack while on set.[7]
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In 1967, Hemmings recorded a pop single, "Back Street Mirror" (written byGene Clark), and a studio album,David Hemmings Happens, in Los Angeles. The album featured instrumental backing by several members ofthe Byrds, and was produced by Byrds' mentorJim Dickson.
In the 1970s, he was jointly credited with formerEasybeats membersHarry Vanda andGeorge Young as a co-composer of the song"Pasadena". The original 1973 recording of this song – the first Australian hit for singerJohn Paul Young – was produced bySimon Napier-Bell, in whose SNB Records label Hemmings was a partner at the time.
Hemmings also later provided the narration forRick Wakeman'sprogressive-rock albumJourney to the Centre of the Earth (1974) – an adaptation ofJules Verne'sscience-fiction novelA Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) – which was recorded live.
He starred asBertie Wooster in the short-livedAndrew Lloyd Webber musical,Jeeves (1975), for which an original cast album was released.
After his death his autobiography,Blow Up... and Other Exaggerations – The Autobiography of David Hemmings, was published in 2004.
Hemmings was married four times: to Genista Ouvry (1960–1967), actressGayle Hunnicutt (1968–1975), Prudence de Casembroot (1976–1997), and Lucy Williams (2002 to his death). Hemmings met Hunnicutt while he was in America promotingBlowup, by which time his marriage to Ouvry was over. At their outdoor wedding,Henry Mancini conducted an orchestra and theMamas and the Papas performed next to a swimming pool filled with doves dyedpuce. Of his relationship with Hunnicutt, Hemmings remarked, "We were the poor man'sTaylor andBurton". Their marriage ended when Hunnicutt discovered Hemmings's affairs with actressSamantha Eggar (his co-star inThe Walking Stick (1970)), and his secretary Prudence de Casembroot.[16]
During his subsequent marriage to de Casembroot, Hemmings continued to have extra-marital relationships with, among others,Tessa Dahl.[16]
Hemmings had six children altogether; he and Ouvry had a daughter, he and Hunnicutt had a son (actorNolan Hemmings), while he and de Casembroot had three sons and a daughter.
Hemmings was an active supporter of liberal causes, and spoke at a number of meetings on behalf of the UK'sLiberal Party.[citation needed]
Hemmings died suddenly in 2003 at age 62 of aheart attack, inBucharest,Romania, on the film set ofBlessed (working title:Samantha's Child) after he had performed his scenes for the day.[17]
His funeral was held at St Peter's Church, in the hamlet ofBlackland nearCalne,Wiltshire, where he had lived in his final years. He was buried in the graveyard of the church.
