David Warbeck

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David Warbeck (born November 17, 1941 in Christchurch , † July 23, 1997 in London ; actually David Mitchell ) was a New Zealand actor and model . He gained fame in the 1970s as a leading actor in various European low-budget films .

Life

David Warbeck was born David Mitchell in New Zealand in 1941 . His family was of Scottish descent. After attending school in his hometown and Invercargill , he began training as an art teacher. At the same time, he began to get enthusiastic about acting and to appear in schools with a small professional theater company. Warbeck subsequently received an acting scholarship from the New Zealand Arts Council , which led him to the London Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in 1965 . He only briefly attended the renowned drama school, where such well-known actors as Richard Attenborough , Vivien Leigh or Anthony Hopkins had studied; according to his own admission due to his bad sexual behavior. Instead, he began to make a living as a model. At the end of the 1960s Warbeck received his first engagements in British television series and appeared in the English repertoire theater.

In 1969 Warbeck got the lead role as Robin Hood in the British film Wolfshead by John Hough . Two years later the director entrusted the New Zealander with a small role in the hammer horror film Dracula's Witch Hunt (1971). In the same year, the actor played a supporting role in Sergio Leone's Death Melody (1971) alongside James Coburn . This was followed by leading roles in Martin Campbell's adult comedy The Sex Thief and Russ Meyer's sexploitation film Black Snake (both 1973), before Warbeck received roles in Italian film productions through an Italian agent in the late 1970s.

His first leading role followed in 1980 with Antonio Margheritis Hunter of the Apocalypse , in which he plays an American officer who is commissioned to destroy a Viet Cong station that undermines the morale of US troops. He then achieved cult status through more than 30 other cheap Italian productions, mostly adventure or horror films, in which he satanic victims ( Über dem Jenseits , 1981), secret agents ( Curse of the Hidden Treasure , 1982), arms dealers ( Höllenkommando zur Ewigkeit , 1982), Master Thieves ( The Survivors of the Necropolis , 1983) or the unscrupulous dowry hunter ( The House of the Cursed , 1985). He often played under the direction of Lucio Fulci and Antonio Margheriti.

His film career didn't add much to a living. According to his own statements, Warbeck received around 4000 pounds for each Italian film, and later he also worked for many young filmmakers without pay. He earned a lot more in the 1970s and 1980s as a global model. Warbeck could charge up to £ 300,000 for a few television commercials. His good looks also made him a potential James Bond successor to Sean Connery and Roger Moore . In the end, however, the New Zealander was not awarded the contract as a secret agent.

David Warbeck lived in London, where he lived in a neo-Gothic house built by Giles Gilbert Scott called “The Convent” , which he restored himself for more than two decades. From 1965 until his death he was married to Lois Shephard, from whom he lived separately in the last years of his life. A daughter came from the connection. Warbeck died of cancer in 1997 at the age of 55.

In the film "The Dead hate the Living" made in 2000, reference is briefly made to Warbeck, in which the director portrays the actor as an icon of the low budget zombie film.

Filmography (selection)

  • 1969: Wolfshead: The Legend of Robin Hood
  • 1970: The monster ( trough )
  • 1970: Incest ( My Lover My Son )
  • 1971: Dracula's Witch Hunt ( Twins of Evil )
  • 1971: Melody of Death ( Giù la testa )
  • 1973: The Sex Thief
  • 1973: Black Snake ( Blacksnake! ... The Whip! )
  • 1974: Demon of Horror ( Craze )
  • 1976: Panic ( bacterion )
  • 1980: Hunters of the Apocalypse ( L'ultimo cacciatore )
  • 1981: Black Cat ( Gatto nero )
  • 1981: Beyond the Hereafter ( L'aldilà )
  • 1982: Curse of the Hidden Treasure ( I cacciatori del cobra d'oro )
  • 1982: Infernal Command for Eternity ( Fuga dall'archipelago maledetto )
  • 1983: The survivors of the city of the dead ( I sopravvissuti della città morta )
  • 1985: Miami Golem ( Miami Golem )
  • 1985: The House of the Cursed ( 7, Hyden Park: la casa maledetta )
  • 1987: The Treasure in Space ( L'isola del tesoro )
  • 1988: Ratman ( Quella villa in fondo al parco )
  • 1990: Arizona Road ( Il ragazzo delle mani d'acciaio )
  • 1995: Karate Warrior 4 ( Il ragazzo dal kimono d'oro 4 )
  • 1996: Fatal Frames ( Fatal Frames )
  • 1997: Sudden Fury
  • 1998: Razor Blade Smile

literature

  • Jason J. Slater, Harvey Fenton, Julian Grainger: David Warbeck: the man and his movies. Guildford, England: FAB, 1996.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d Derek Granger: Obituary: David Warbeck. In: The Independent , August 28, 1997, p. 12.
  2. a b c David Mcgillivray: Obituary: David Warbeck: Shock, Horror, Italian-Style. In: The Guardian , August 9, 1997, p. 19.
  3. ^ Siegfried Tesche: Bond, almost Bond at Spiegel Online , April 13, 2005, accessed on August 22, 2009.