David Leslie Edward Hemmings (18 November 1941 – 3 December 2003) was an English actor, director, and producer of film and television. Originally trained as a boy soprano in operatic roles, he began appearing in films as a child actor in the 1950s. He became an icon of Swinging London for his portrayal of a trendy fashion photographer in the critically acclaimed film Blowup (1966), directed by Michelangelo Antonioni.

Benjamin Britten

His education at Alleyn's School, Glyn Grammar School in Ewell and the Arts Educational Schools led him to music performance at the start of his career. He sang as a boy soprano in several works by composer Benjamin Britten, who formed a close friendship with him at this time. Most notably Hemmings created the role of Miles in Britten's chamber opera Turn of the Screw (1954). His intimate yet non-sexual relationship with Britten is described in John Bridcut's book Britten'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's The Little Sweep (1952), which was part of Britten's Let'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 of The Turn of the Screw in 1956 in Paris. Britten was furious, waved Hemmings away, and never had any further contact with him.

Acting

Early career

Hemmings then moved on to acting in films. He made his first film appearance in the drama film The Rainbow Jacket (1954). He also appeared in Saint Joan (1957).

Hemmings had bigger roles in Five Clues to Fortune (1957), The Heart Within (1957) and No Trees in the Street (1959), directed by J. Lee Thompson. He also had roles in Men of Tomorrow (1959), In the Wake of a Stranger (1959), Sink the Bismarck! (1960) and The Wind of Change (1961).

Hemmings began to be known for playing young men, for example in The Painted Smile (1962) and Some People (1962). His first lead role was in the low budget teen musical Live It Up! (1963), 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." Hemmings was offered the part of the protagonist, a London fashion photographer who accidentally photographs evidence of a murder, after Sean 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.

The resulting film was a critical and commercial sensation for MGM, which financed it, and helped turn Hemmings and Vanessa Redgrave into stars. "I've been discovered half a dozen times," said Hemmings. "This time I think I've made it."

After Blowup Hemmings accepted an offer from Warner Bros to play Mordred in the big-budget film of the Broadway musical Camelot (1967).

Hemmings costarred with Richard 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 comedy Barbarella (1968), starring Jane 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 epic Alfred the Great (1969), in which Hemmings had the title role. Neither film did well at the box office, with Alfred the Great being a notable flop.

Hemmings was cast in further lead roles at the start of the 1970s : The Walking Stick (1970) with Samantha Eggar for MGM; Fragment of Fear (1970), a thriller; and Unman, Wittering and Zigo (1971).

Hemmings directed David Bowie and Marlene Dietrich in the drama film Schöner Gigolo, armer Gigolo (also known as Just a Gigolo) (1978). The film was poorly received, with Bowie describing it as "my 32 Elvis Presley films rolled into one".

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.

Character actor

From the mid-1970s on, Hemmings's acting work was mainly in supporting roles. In 1977 he appeared as Eddy in the film Islands in the Stream, an adaptation of Hemingway's novel of the same name, starring George C Scott. He also had support roles in The Squeeze (1977), The Prince and the Pauper (1977), The Heroin Busters (1977), The Disappearance (1977), Swindle (1977), Blood Relatives (1978), Power Play (1978) and Murder 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 the Clouds of Glory series about poets.

Australia and New Zealand

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 in Harlequin (1980).

Hemmings then received an offer from Antony I. Ginnane to direct the Australian horror film The Survivor (1981), based on James Herbert's 1976 novel of the same name, starring Robert Powell and Jenny Agutter. Hemmings directed Race for the Yankee Zephyr shot in New Zealand.

While in New Zealand Hemmings played roles in Prisoners (1981) and Beyond Reasonable Doubt (1982).

Hollywood

Hemmings then moved to Hollywood. He played supporting roles in Man, Woman and Child (1983) and Airwolf (1984).

He also worked extensively as a director of television programmes, including the action-adventure drama series Quantum Leap (e.g. the series’ premiere); the crime series Magnum, P.I. (in which he also played characters in several episodes); and two action-adventure series, The A-Team and Airwolf (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). He once joked "People thought I was dead. But I wasn't. I was just directing The A-Team."

Hemmings also directed the puzzle-contest video Money Hunt: The Mystery of the Missing Link (1984). He directed (and acted in) the television film The Key to Rebecca (1985), an adaptation of Ken Follett's 1980 novel of the same name. He also briefly served as a producer on the NBC crime-drama television series Stingray.

He directed the drama film Dark Horse (1992) and as an actor returned to the voyeuristic preoccupations of his Blowup character with a plum part as the Big Brother-esque villain in the series-three opener for the television horror anthology series Tales From the Crypt.

Later years

In later years he had roles that included Cassius in the historical epic film Gladiator (2000), with Russell Crowe, and in the drama film Last Orders (2001) and the spy film Spy Game (2001). He appeared as Mr Schermerhorn in the historical film Gangs of New York (2002), directed by Martin Scorsese.

During his subsequent marriage to de Casembroot, Hemmings continued to have extra-marital relationships with, among others, Tessa Dahl.

His funeral was held at St Peter's Church, in the hamlet of Blackland near Calne, Wiltshire, where he had lived in his final years. He was buried in the graveyard of the church.

Filmography

  • The Rainbow Jacket (1954)
  • Saint Joan (1957) as Minor Role
  • Five Clues to Fortune (1957) as Ken
  • The Heart Within (1957) as Danny Willard
  • No Trees in the Street (1959) as Kenny
  • Men of Tomorrow (1959) as Ted
  • In the Wake of a Stranger (1959) as Schoolboy
  • Sink the Bismarck! (1960) as Seaman on Ark Royal
  • The Wind of Change (1961) as Ginger
  • Play It Cool (1962)
  • The Painted Smile (1962) as Roy
  • Some People (1962) as Bert
  • West 11 (1963) as Bit Role
  • Two Left Feet (1963) as Brian
  • Live It Up! (1963) as Dave Martin
  • The System (1964) as David
  • Be My Guest (1965) as Dave Martin
  • Out of the Unknown – The Counterfeit Man (1965) as Westcott
  • Blowup (1966) as Thomas
  • Eye of the Devil (1966) as Christian de Caray
  • Camelot (1967) as Mordred
  • The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) as Captain Nolan
  • Only When I Larf (1968) as Bob
  • The Long Day's Dying (1968) as John
  • Barbarella (1968) as Dildano
  • The Best House in London (1969) as Benjamin Oakes / Walter Leybourne
  • Alfred The Great (1969) as Alfred
  • The Walking Stick (1970) as Leigh Hartley
  • Fragment of Fear (1970) as Tim Brett
  • Simon, Simon (1970) as Man in car with posters
  • Unman, Wittering and Zigo (1971) as John Ebony
  • The Love Machine (1971) as Jerry Nelson
  • Voices (1973) as Robert
  • Lola (1974) as Juan
  • Juggernaut (1974) as Charlie Braddock
  • Deep Red (1975) as Marcus Daly
  • Mister Quilp (aka The Old Curiosity Shop; 1975) as Richard Swiveller
  • Islands in the Stream (1977) as Eddy
  • The Squeeze (1977) as Keith
  • The Prince and the Pauper (US title Crossed Swords) (1977) as Hugh Hendon
  • The Heroin Busters (1977) as Hamilton
  • The Disappearance (1977) as Edward
  • Swindle (1977) as Robert Clayton
  • Blood Relatives (1978) as Armstrong
  • Power Play (1978) as Colonel Narriman
  • Just a Gigolo (1978) as Captain Hermann Kraft
  • Murder by Decree (1979) as Inspector Foxborough
  • Thirst (1979) as Dr. Fraser
  • Charlie Muffin (US title: A Deadly Game) (1979) as Charlie Muffin
  • Harlequin (1980) as Nick Rast
  • Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1980) as Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Edward Hyde
  • Swan Lake (1981) as Rothbart (voice)
  • Beyond Reasonable Doubt (1981) as Insp. Bruce Hutton
  • Prisoners (1981) as Wilkens
  • Man, Woman and Child (1983) as Gavin Wilson
  • Airwolf (1984) (television film and two subsequent episodes) as Dr. Charles Henry Moffet
  • Magnum, P.I. (1985/87) (two episodes) as Lord Smythe-White / Danny
  • The A-Team (1983/1987) (one episode) as captain of the boat (episode 2 season 4)
  • Murder, She Wrote (1987) (one episode) as a police inspector
  • The Rainbow (1989) as Uncle Henry
  • Tales from the Crypt, "Loved to Death" (1991) as Mr. Stronham
  • Father Dowling Mysteries, "The Mummy's Curse Mystery" (1991) as Kenneth Brubaker
  • Northern Exposure (1992) as Viktor Bobrov
  • Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (1995) as Durham
  • Gladiator (2000) as Cassius
  • Last Orders (2001) as Lenny
  • Spy Game (2001) as CIA Agent Harry Duncan
  • Mean Machine (2001) as Governor
  • Waking the Dead: "Deathwatch" (2002) (television episode in 2 parts) as Ex-DCI Malcolm Finlay
  • Slap Shot 2: Breaking the Ice (2002) as Martin Fox
  • Equilibrium (2002) as Proctor
  • Gangs of New York (2002) as Mr. Schermerhorn
  • The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) as Nigel
  • The Night We Called It a Day (2003) (a.k.a. All the Way) as Mickey Rudin
  • Blessed (2004) as Earl Sydney
  • Romantik (2007) as Dr. Sadun

Director

  • Running Scared (1972)
  • The 14 (1973)
  • Just a Gigolo (1978)
  • Race for the Yankee Zephyr (1981)
  • The Survivor (1981)
  • A-Team (9 episodes) (1983/1987)
  • The Key to Rebecca (1985)
  • Down Delaware Road (1988)
  • In the Heat of the Night (1988)
  • Dark Horse (1992)
  • Passport to Murder (1993)
  • Christmas Reunion (1994)
  • Lone Justice: Showdown at Plum Creek (1996)

Bibliography

  • Hemmings, David (2004). Blow Up... and Other ExaggerationsThe Autobiography of David Hemmings. Robson Books (London). .

See also

  • List of British actors
  • List of British film directors
  • List of film producers
  • List of singer-songwriters

References

  • Pulleine, Tim (5 December 2005). "David Hemmings – Gifted Actor, Director and Producer Who Successfully Outgrew His Iconic '60s Image in Antonioni's Blow Up". The Guardian.