Derren Nesbitt

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Derren Nesbitt
Born
Derren Michael Horwitz

(1935-06-19) 19 June 1935 (age 89)
London, England, U.K.
Alma mater Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
OccupationActor
Years active1956–present
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1961;div. 1973)​

Susan Parr
​
​
(m. 1976,divorced)​
[1]
Miranda Nesbitt
Children5

Derren Nesbitt (born Derren Michael Horwitz; 19 June 1935) is a British actor. Nesbitt's film career began in the late 1950s, and he appeared in many British television series throughout the 1960s and 1970s. He is perhaps best known for his role as Major von Hapen in the 1968 film Where Eagles Dare .

Contents

Acting career

Nesbitt's television appearances began in the 1950s, playing numerous different roles in series such as The Adventures of Sir Lancelot and The Adventures of William Tell ; he was often billed as Derry Nesbitt at this stage of his career. He went on to play the villain in a number of well known tv series of the 60s and 70s, including Danger Man , The Saint , Doctor Who , The Prisoner , Gideon's Way , Man in a Suitcase , UFO and The Persuaders! . In 1969 he took on the role of DCI Jordan in the police drama Special Branch .

Nesbitt has also appeared in film roles such as a predatory blackmailer of gay men in Victim (1961), a murderous pimp in The Informers (1963), a slimy assassin in Nobody Runs Forever , and the suspicious Gestapo officer in Where Eagles Dare (1968). Nesbitt was keen to be as authentic as possible with his character in Where Eagles Dare. Whilst on location, he requested to meet a former member of the Gestapo to better understand how to play the character and to get the military regalia correct. He was injured on set whilst filming the scene in which his character is killed. The blood squib attached to Nesbitt exploded with such force that he was temporarily blinded, though he made a quick recovery. [2] [3] He also had leading roles in classic early sixties 'B' Movies The Man in the Back Seat and Strongroom , both directed by Vernon Sewell.

In 2018, Nesbitt played the leading role, as a drag queen, in a British independent film, Tucked. [4]

Personal life

Nesbitt has been married four times and has five children. [5] . He is Jewish.

In 1961, he married his first wife, the actress Anne Aubrey; the couple had a daughter the next year. On 25 January 1973, he was fined £250 when he pleaded guilty to two charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in October the previous year. He attacked her with a leather strap after she told him that she was having an affair with another man. He also bruised her by grabbing her clothing the next day when she refused to tell him details about her lover. She divorced him a few months later. [6] [7] [8] [9]

His third wife was an Australian beauty queen, and for a time he moved to her country where he taught theatre studies at the Northern Rivers Conservatorium of Arts in the New South Wales city of Lismore. By 2014, he was living in Worthing, West Sussex, with his fourth wife, Miranda. [5]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1958 The Silent Enemy Officer in charge of security patrol boatuncredited
A Night to Remember Stoker
1959 Room at the Top Thug
Life in Danger The Man
Behemoth, the Sea Monster Radio Officeruncredited
1960 In the Nick Mick
Sword of Sherwood Forest Martin of Eastwooduncredited
1961 The Man in the Back Seat Tony
Victim Sandy Youth
Karolina RijeckaUnknown
1962 Strongroom Griff
Term of Trial Lodger
Kill or Cure Roger Forrester
1963 The Informers Bertie Hoyle
1965 The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders Younger Brother
1966 The Blue Max Fabian
Operation Third FormSkinner
1967 The Naked Runner Colonel Hartmann
1968 Nobody Runs Forever Pallain
Where Eagles Dare Major von Hapen
1969 Monte Carlo or Bust! Waleska
1972 Burke & Hare Burke
Innocent Bystanders Andrew Royce
Ooh... You Are Awful Sid Sabbath
1973 Not Now Darling Harry McMichael
1974 Invasion: UFO Craig CollinsEdited from UFO (TV series)
1975 The Amorous Milkman Replacement Milkmanuncredited. Writer, Director, Producer
1976 Spy Story Colonel Stok
1978 The Playbirds Jeremy
Give Us Tomorrow Ron
1981 The Guns and the Fury Captain Noel
1983 Funny Money Jake Sanderson
1987 Eat the Rich Manager
1990 Bullseye! Inspector Grosse
Fatal Sky Arthur Corbin
1992 Double X: The Name of the Game The Minister
2006 Pu-239 Pepsiuncredited
2007 Flawless Sinclair
2011 The Hot Potato Fritz Meyer
2012 Run For Your Wife Man on Bus
2014Home for ChristmasGrandad
2018TuckedJackie
2020The Haunting of Margam CastleHugh Morgan

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1956-

1957

 The Adventures of Sir Lancelot Sir Tristam

Various other roles

Season 1: (14 episodes)
1957 Sword of Freedom Di LuccaSeason 1, episode 32: "The Marionettes"
1957

1961

Armchair TheatreOtto

Geoffrey Fitton

Season 2, episode 5: "The Pier"

Season 4, episode 21: "Honeymoon Postponed"

1958-

1959

 The Adventures of William Tell Captain Frederick

Various other roles

Season 1: (8 episodes)
1959 The Larkins SpiderSeason 2, episode 2: "Teddy for Eddie"
The Invisible Man Corporal

Stephan

Season 1, episode 2: "Crisis in the Desert"

Season 2, episode 1: "Point of Destruction"

ITV Television PlayhouseTod BlakeSeason 5, episode 6: "The Blood Fight"
Probation OfficerJoeSeason 1, episode 6
1960SkyportPhillipeSeason 1, episode 44
Theatre 70 UnknownSeason 1, episode 10: "The Neighbour"
1960

1961

 Danger Man Hans Vogeler

Hugo Morelli

Season 1: (2 episodes)
1961International DetectiveIstvan MartosSeason 1, episode 27: "The Martos Case"
1962 Man of the World PolikoffSeason 1, episode 11: "Specialist for the Kill"
1963 Dixon of Dock Green Brian ThomasSeason 9, episode 26: "A Woman Named Julie"
Emergency-Ward 10 Campbell GoffinSeason 1: (8 episodes)
Taxi! Lennie MarshSeason 1, episode 7: "A Long Way to Go"
The Sentimental Agent LewisSeason 1, episode 6: "Meet My Son, Henry"
The Saint NetchideffSeason 2, episode 13: "The Sporting Chance"
1964 No Hiding Place Wilf BarretSeason 6, episode 6: "The Write-off"
Doctor Who TeganaSeason 1: (7 episodes)
The ProtectorsStodgey PayneSeason 1, episode 5: "The Loop Men"
1964

1965

1966

 ITV Play of the Week Caiser

Harry

Ricky

Season 10: (2 episodes)

Season 11, episode 35: "The Move After Checkmate"

1965 Public Eye KileySeason 1, episode 11: "Protection Is a Man's Best Friend"
Gideon's Way John BensonSeason 1, episode 14: "The Tin God"
Danger Man Rachid NoureddineSeason 2, episode 4: "Sting in the Tail"
1967 The Rat Catchers Charles DinleySeason 2: (2 episodes)
Mr. RoseFred ChaterSeason 1, episode 10: "The Deadly Doll"
Write a PlayUnknownSeason 2, episode 8: "The White Christ & The Freeze Man"
Softly, Softly NewnesSeason 3: (2 episodes)
The Troubleshooters LanyonSeason 4, episode 7: "And the Walls Came Tumbling Down"
Man in a Suitcase Lucas GuardinoSeason 1, episode 11: "Dead Man's Shoes"
The Prisoner New Number TwoSeason 1, episode 10: "It's Your Funeral"
1969 Honey Lane Al DowmanUnknown
1969-

1970

 Special Branch Detective Chief Inspector JordanSeason 1: (14 episodes)

Season 2: (13 episodes)

1970 Strange Report Nils PaavoSeason 1, episode 16: "Report 4977: Swindle – Square Root of Evil"
Berlin Affair  [ de ]GaltTV movie
1971 UFO Colonel Craig CollinsSeason 1, episode 16: "The Man Who Came Back"
The Persuaders! GroskiSeason 1, episode 9: "The Old, the New and the Deadly"
1972

1973

 The Protectors Brad Huron

Colin Foster

Season 1: (2 episodes)
1979 Return of the Saint Inspector LebecSeason 1: (2 episodes: "Collision Course Part I: The Brave Goose" and "Collision Course Part II: The Sixth Man")
The House on Garibaldi Street Arthur LubinskyTV movie
1980 Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson George WhartonSeason 1, episode 20: "The Case of the Luckless Gambler"
1982 The Chinese Detective Gunther EsslinSeason 2, episode 6: "Chorale"
1988

1990

1993

 The Comic Strip Presents... Various charactersSeason 4, episode 1: "The Strike"

Season 5: (2 episodes)

Season 7, episode 2: "Space Virgins from Planet Sex"

1990 Bergerac Dennis SwainSeason 8, episode 2: "My Name's Sergeant Bergerac"
1993 Hale and Pace UnknownSeason 5, episode 6
2004 The Courtroom Judge Arnold FrancisSeason 1: (11 episodes)

References

  1. ↑ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2021. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  2. ↑ A Conversation with Derren Nesbitt. "Major von Hapen" in "Where Eagles Dare". YouTube (10 June 2013). Retrieved on 2015-11-20.
  3. ↑ "Actor Injured as Burton Fires 'Shot'". Chicago Tribune. 25 April 1968. p. b30.
  4. ↑ "Tucked - cast list". IMDB.com. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  5. 1 2 "Derren Nesbit at 75". sussex.greatbritishlife.co.uk. Sussex Life. Archived from the original on 2 January 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  6. ↑ Actor Derren Nesbitt Thrashed Wife With Leather, Evening Standard, 25 January 1973
  7. ↑ Actor Spanked 'Errant' Wife With Thong, The Daily Telegraph, 26 January 1973
  8. ↑ Derren Nesbitt Fined £250 For Wife Assaults, The Times, 26 January 1973 (see Times Digital Archive)
  9. ↑ Moore, Matthew (24 July 2008). "TV actor Derren Nesbitt to expose 'biblical myths' in controversial book". The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 28 September 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
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