David Thayer Hersey (March 4, 1927 – July 17, 1978), known professionally as Thayer David, was an American actor. He was best known to television audiences for his roles on the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows (1966–71). His notable film roles included Count Saknussemm in the film Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959), Reverend Silas Pendrake in Little Big Man (1970), Charlie Robbins in Save the Tiger (1973), Dragon in The Eiger Sanction (1975), fight promoter Miles Jergens in Rocky (1976), and private detective Nero Wolfe in the 1979 ABC television film. He also appeared in numerous Broadway plays, and his raspy, distinctive voice lent itself to voice-over work in commercials and instructional films.
Career
Stage
He went on to act in The Relapse 1950 (Sir Tunbelly Clumsey); The Taming of the Shrew 1951 (Grumio); The Way of the World 1954 (Petulant); The Carefree Tree 1955 (The Sixth Son); King Lear 1956 (Duke of Cornwall); Mister Johnson 1956 (Gollup); Saint Joan 1956 (The Inquisitor); Protective Custody 1956 (Dr. Steidl); Oscar Wilde 1957 (Oscar Wilde); The Golden Six 1958 (Tiberius); A Man for All Seasons 1961 (Cardinal Wolsey); La Belle 1962; Andorra 1963 (pub keeper); The Seagull 1964 (Sorin); The Crucible 1964 (Danforth); Baker Street 1965 (Moriarty); The Royal Hunt of the Sun 1965 (Miguel Estete); Ring Round the Moon 1966 (Messerchann); Those That Play the Clowns 1966 (Henning); Breakfast at Tiffany's 1966 (Rusty Trawler); The Sorrows of Frederick 1967; The Bench 1968 (Phillipi); Uncle Vanya 1971 (Serebryakov); The Jockey Club Stakes 1973 (Sir Dymock Blackburn); and The Dogs of Pavlov 1974. included Matthew Morgan, Ben Stokes, Professor T. Elliot Stokes, Sandor Rakosi, Count Andreas Petofi, Timothy Stokes (Parallel Time), Mordecai Grimes, and Ben Stokes (Parallel Time). David played different roles in each of the spinoff movies - House of Dark Shadows (1970, playing Professor T. Elliot Stokes); and Night of Dark Shadows (1971, playing Reverend Strack).
On the big screen, he played Reverend Silas Pendrake in Little Big Man (1970). He also played the professional arsonist Charlie Robbins in Save the Tiger (1973) with Jack Lemmon, the afflicted spymaster Dragon in The Eiger Sanction (1975) with Clint Eastwood, and fight promoter Miles Jergens in Rocky (1976) (reunited with Save the Tiger director John G. Avildsen).
He played numerous characters on different TV series, including The Wild Wild West, The Rockford Files, Columbo, Ellery Queen, Kojak, Petrocelli, Charlie's Angels, and Hawaii Five-O.
David appeared in TV movies such as Nikita Khrushchev in Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident (1976) and The Amazing Howard Hughes (1977), as well as miniseries such as Roots, The Rhinemann Exchange, and Washington: Behind Closed Doors.
In 1977, David played the title role in Nero Wolfe, Paramount Television's made-for-TV movie based on the Rex Stout novel The Doorbell Rang. David portrayed the corpulent detective Nero Wolfe, who took on clients grudgingly and solved mysteries dazzlingly. Intended to be the pilot for a series, the film was shelved by ABC. It eventually aired December 18, 1979, 17 months after David's death. He also played an important role as the lead antagonist, Mr. Edward Byron, in the made-for-TV film Spider-Man (1977), which served as the pilot for the 1978 TV series The Amazing Spider-Man.
Personal life
A resident of Manhattan, David collected walking sticks, 18th century European landscape paintings, and Victorian furniture. "He was the most widely educated and best-read actor I've ever encountered," said Frank D. Gilroy, who wrote and directed the 1977 TV movie Nero Wolfe.
He was married to and divorced from film and television actress Valerie French.
Death
David died July 17, 1978, of a heart attack in New York City at the age of 51. He and French had been planning to remarry.
Filmography
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1957|| Baby Face Nelson || Connelly ||
|-
|1958|| A Time to Love and a Time to Die || Oscar Binding ||
|-
|1958|| Wolf Larsen || Mugridge ||
|-
|1959|| Journey to the Center of the Earth || Count Saknussemm ||
|-
|1960|| The Story of Ruth || Hedak ||
|-
|1966|| Dark Shadows || Matthew Morgan ||
|-
|1970|| House of Dark Shadows || Professor T. Eliot Stokes ||
|-
|1970|| Little Big Man || Rev. Silas Pendrake ||
|-
|1971|| Night of Dark Shadows || Rev. Strack ||
|-
|1972|| Savages || Otto Nurder, a Capitalist ||
|-
|1972|| The Stoolie || Lattimore ||
|-
|1973|| Save the Tiger || Charlie Robbins ||
|-
|1973|| Happy Mother's Day, Love George || Minister Pollard ||
|-
|1973|| The Werewolf of Washington || Inspector ||
|-
|1973|| Fore Play || General ||
|-
|1975|| The Eiger Sanction || Dragon ||
|-
|1975|| Hearts of the West || Bank Manager ||
|-
|1975|| The Secret Night Caller || Mr. Henry ||
|-
|1976|| Peeper || Frank Prendergast ||
|-
|1976|| Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident || Nikita Khrushchev ||
|-
|1976|| The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox || Josiah Widdicombe (Mormon patriarch) ||
|-
|1976|| Rocky || Miles Jergens ||
|-
|1977|| Fun with Dick and Jane || Deacon ||
|-
|1977|| Sudden Death || Hauser ||
|-
|1977|| Spider-Man || Edward Byron ||
|-
|1978|| House Calls || Phil Pogostin || Final role
|-
|1979|| Nero Wolfe || Nero Wolfe ||
|}
Further reading
- Hamrick, Craig & Jamison, R. J. Barnabas & Company: The Cast of the TV Classic Dark Shadows Revised (2012) iUniverse, 2012. pp 93–107.