David Saire obit

David Saire obituary

 He was not on the list.

My father, David Saire, who has died aged 89, was an actor and director whose work included The Andromeda Breakthrough (1962), Mickey Dunne (1967) and BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950).

David played a leading role in the Arnold Wesker Trilogy at the Royal Court theatre (1960) and in 1955 was in Orson Welles’s Moby-Dick at the Duke of York’s. When he went for the audition Welles asked him, “Do you play the guitar?” When David said he didn’t, Welles said, “You look like you should play the guitar”, so David was sent to the London Guitar School run by Len William (father of John), where he learned the only tune he ever played.

David’s work included several Shakespeare productions, in which he shared the stage with, among others, Rosemary Harris and Wendy Hiller. He then moved on to television and films, starring in Greengage Summer (1961) alongside Kenneth More and Susannah York.

After working as a director behind the camera with the BBC (around 1965-68), he did freelance work for various film production companies, including Natural Breaks (where Ridley Scott started his career), Jennie and Co and Sierra Productions, as well as advertising agencies. With most of his work coming from Amsterdam, in 1977 David decided to moved to the city, setting up a film production company called Images. He lived in New York for a while then moved back to Amsterdam after 9/11, where he continued to direct and also became a voice artist, returning to his love of acting.

Born in Lowestoft in Suffolk, to Sidney Salamon, a scriptwriter with J Arthur Rank and a medical director, and Sarah (nee Sotnick), a housewife, David attended Fettes college in Edinburgh. He studied drama at the Sorbonne in Paris, before following his dream to London to become an actor. He met Jacqueline Chan in a coffee bar in the city in the late 1950s, and they married in 1962. The couple had two daughters and 15 memorable years together. They separated in 1979 and divorced in 1989.

David was a man of many talents with a great eye for beauty, and anyone who crossed his path found his natural charm irresistible. He is survived by his daughters, Abigail and me, and his grandchildren, Jeffrey and Garance.

 

Actor

Gödel

7.3

Short

TV-announcer (voice)

2007

 

Ernstige delicten (2002)

Ernstige delicten

7.3

TV Series

Engelse toerist

2004

1 episode

 

Marty Grabstein in Courage the Cowardly Dog (1999)

Courage the Cowardly Dog

8.3

TV Series

The Sandman (voice)

2002

13 episodes

 

Patrick Mower and Jane Jordan Rogers in Haunted (1967)

Haunted

TV Mini Series

David Bishop

1968

1 episode

 

Man in a Suitcase (1967)

Man in a Suitcase

7.6

TV Series

Joe Mason

1967

1 episode

 

ITV Play of the Week (1955)

ITV Play of the Week

6.7

TV Series

MartinApprentice MappinClive ...

1959–1967

4 episodes

 

Gerald Flood, Glyn Owen, and Philip Stone in The Rat Catchers (1966)

The Rat Catchers

7.7

TV Series

John Dougan

1966

1 episode

 

Armchair Theatre (1956)

Armchair Theatre

7.7

TV Series

Dominik

1963–1966

2 episodes

 

Object Z Returns

TV Series

Dallier

1966

1 episode

 

Patrick McGoohan in Secret Agent (1964)

Secret Agent

8.2

TV Series

YgalManuel

1965

2 episodes

 

Diane Cilento in Blackmail (1965)

Blackmail

6.9

TV Series

Nicholas

1965

1 episode

 

A World of Comedy

TV Mini Series

John Perkins

1965

1 episode

 

Julia Lockwood and Margaret Lockwood in The Flying Swan (1965)

The Flying Swan

6.2

TV Series

Douglas Parker

1965

1 episode

 

No Hiding Place (1959)

No Hiding Place

7.5

TV Series

AstonDave FordAtholl Blair

1960–1965

3 episodes

 

The Secret of Blood Island (1965)

The Secret of Blood Island

4.8

Kempi Chief

1965

 

The Ipcress File (1965)

The Ipcress File

7.2

Technician (uncredited)

1965

 

Roger Moore in The Saint (1962)

The Saint

7.5

TV Series

David Tregarth

1965

1 episode

 

Zia Mohyeddin and Elizabeth Weaver in The Hidden Truth (1964)

The Hidden Truth

6.6

TV Series

James Gilroy

1964

1 episode

 

Rattle of a Simple Man (1964)

Rattle of a Simple Man

6.7

Mario

1964

 

Espionage (1963)

Espionage

7.6

TV Series

Raul

1964

1 episode

 

Bob Dylan, David Warner, Ursula Howells, Reg Lye, James Mellor, and Maureen Pryor in The Madhouse on Castle Street (1963)

BBC Sunday-Night Play

8.4

TV Series

Gabriel

1963

1 episode

 

Drama 61-67 (1961)

Drama 61-67

7.4

TV Series

NigelRalph Ellinger

1961–1963

2 episodes

 

Suspense (1962)

Suspense

5.7

TV Series

Hugo de la TourelleNutty

1962–1963

2 episodes

 

John Laurie in Tales of Mystery (1961)

Tales of Mystery

7.8

TV Series

David Monson

1963

1 episode

 

Wendy Richard in Harpers West One (1961)

Harpers West One

TV Series

Larry Parkyn

1962

1 episode

 

The Andromeda Breakthrough (1962)

The Andromeda Breakthrough

6.7

TV Series

Abu Zeki

1962

5 episodes

 

Jack Warner in Dixon of Dock Green (1955)

Dixon of Dock Green

6.9

TV Series

Boysie

1962

2 episodes

 

Michael Quinn and Donald Wolfit in Ghost Squad (1961)

Ghost Squad

7.2

TV Series

The Desk Clerk

1961

1 episode

 

Loss of Innocence (1961)

Loss of Innocence

6.7

Paul

1961

 

Operation Cupid (1960)

Operation Cupid

5.4

Claude

1960

 

ITV Television Playhouse (1955)

ITV Television Playhouse

8.3

TV Series

Michael Warren

1959

1 episode

 

Murder Bag (1957)

Murder Bag

5.4

TV Series

1958

1 episode

 

BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950)

BBC Sunday-Night Theatre

7.1

TV Series

Henry Susskind

1957

1 episode

 

Violent Stranger (1957)

Violent Stranger

7.0

Reception Clerk (uncredited)

1957

 

Betty McDowall and Dennis Price in Assignment Foreign Legion (1956)

Assignment Foreign Legion

7.0

TV Series

Achmed

1957

1 episode

 

Director

Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Paul Scofield, and Anna Calder-Marshall in ITV Saturday Night Theatre (1969)

ITV Saturday Night Theatre

5.7

TV Series

Director

1969

1 episode

 

John Gregson in The Jazz Age (1968)

The Jazz Age

5.3

TV Series

Director

1968

1 episode

 

Sherlock Holmes (1964)

Sherlock Holmes

7.5

TV Series

Director

1968

1 episode

 

Detective (1964)

Detective

6.9

TV Series

Director

1968

1 episode

 

Dinsdale Landen in Mickey Dunne (1967)

Mickey Dunne

7.2

TV Series

Director

1967

2 episodes

 

Thirty-Minute Theatre (1965)

Thirty-Minute Theatre

7.0

TV Series

Director

1966–1967

2 episodes

 

Additional Crew

Sunset Contract (2019)

Sunset Contract

5.9

Additional Crew

2019