David Farrar (actor)
| David Farrar | |
|---|---|
 Farrar in Black Narcissus (1947) | |
| Born |
21 August 1908 Forest Gate, London, England, United Kingdom  |
| Died |
31 August 1995 (aged 87) KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |
| Resting place | Cremains scattered into the Indian Ocean |
| Years active | 1937-1962 |
| Spouse(s) | Irene Elliot (1929-1976) 1 child |
David Farrar (21 August 1908 – 31 August 1995) was an English stage and film actor, born in Forest Gate, east London.
He gained fame in the 1940s playing Sexton Blake in a pair of low-budget thrillers which were enormously popular. By 1945 he was receiving 800 fan letters a week.[1][2]
Three of his most notable film roles were leads in the Powell and Pressburger films Black Narcissus (1947), The Small Back Room (1949) and Gone to Earth (1950). In 1949 exhibitors voted him the ninth-most popular British star.[3] Director Michael Powell once spoke of his handsome appearance and distinctive "violet eyes", and his exceptional timing in films. Powell also stated that had Farrar been more interested in cinema and cared more about his career he could have been a much more high-profile actor, as successful as any.[4] John Huston once offered him a part but it was given to Humphrey Bogart instead.[4]
He retired in 1962. After the death of his wife Irene in 1976, he moved to South Africa to be with their daughter, Barbara.
He died on 31 August 1995 in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, 10 days after his 87th birthday.
Filmography
- Return of a Stranger (1937)
- Silver Top (1938)
- Sexton Blake and the Hooded Terror (1938)
- A Royal Divorce (1938)
- Q Planes (1939)
- Danny Boy (1941)
- Sheepdog of the Hills (1941)
- Penn of Pennsylvania (1941)
- Suspected Person (1942)
- Went the Day Well? (1942)
- They Met in the Dark (1943)
- The Dark Tower (1943)
- The Night Invader (1943)
- The Hundred Pound Window (1944)
- For Those in Peril (1944)
- Headline (1944)
- The World Owes Me a Living (1945)
- Meet Sexton Blake (1945)
- The Echo Murders (1945)
- Lisbon Story (1946)
- The Trojan Brothers (1946)
- Black Narcissus (1947)
- Frieda (1947)
- Mr. Perrin and Mr. Traill (1948)
- Diamond City (1949)
- The Small Back Room (1949)
- Cage of Gold (1950)
- Gone to Earth (1950)
- Night Without Stars (1951)
- The Late Edwina Black (1951)
- The Golden Horde (1951)
- The Black Shield of Falworth (1954)
- Duel in the Jungle (1954)
- Lilacs in the Spring (1954)
- Escape to Burma (1955)
- The Sea Chase (1955)
- Pearl of the South Pacific (1955)
- Lost (1956)
- The Battle of the River Plate (1956)
- Woman and the Hunter (1957)
- I Accuse! (1958)
- The Son of Robin Hood (1958)
- John Paul Jones (1959)
- Watusi (1959)
- Beat Girl (1959)
- Solomon and Sheba (1959)
- The Webster Boy (1962)
- The 300 Spartans (1962)
References
- ↑ "FILM CABLE FROM LONDON:.". The Sunday Times (Perth: National Library of Australia). 17 March 1946. p. 13 Supplement: The Sunday Times MAGAZINE. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
- ↑ "Strange Story Of England's "Unknown" Top-ranker.". Townsville Daily Bulletin (Qld.: National Library of Australia). 20 November 1945. p. 4. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
- ↑ "Bob Hope Takes Lead from Bing In Popularity.". The Canberra Times (National Library of Australia). 31 December 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
- 1 2 Black Narcissus (The Criterion Collection) (2001) DVD commentary
External links
- David Farrar at the Internet Movie Database
- David Farrar biography and credits at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
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