David Burke (born 25 May 1934) is an English actor, known for playing

Dr. John Watson John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle fe ...

in the initial series of

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was its ...

's 1980s '' The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'', which starred

Jeremy Brett Peter Jeremy William Huggins (3 November 1933 – 12 September 1995), known professionally as Jeremy Brett, was an English actor. He played fictional detective Sherlock Holmes in four Granada TV series from 1984 to 1994 in all 41 episodes. His ...

in the title role. He also starred as

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...

in the last two episodes of ''

Reilly, Ace of Spies ''Reilly, Ace of Spies'' is a 1983 British television programme dramatizing the life of Sidney Reilly, a Russian-born adventurer who became one of the greatest spies ever to work for the United Kingdom and the British Empire. Among his exploits ...

''.

Early life

Burke was born on 25 May 1934 in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, England, and trained at

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...

Career

In the theatre, Burke originated the part of

Niels Bohr Niels Henrik David Bohr (; 7 October 1885 – 18 November 1962) was a Danish physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum theory, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922 ...

Michael Frayn Michael Frayn, FRSL (; born 8 September 1933) is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce '' Noises Off'' and the dramas ''Copenhagen'' and ''Democracy''. His novels, such as '' Towards the End of the M ...

's ''

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

''. Burke played Dr. Watson in '' The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' for the initial series and then left the programme after receiving an invitation to join the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

along with his wife, Anna. They both considered the joint work to be the best idea for their young son, Tom, who was around 3 years old at the time. He was thought by many to portray Dr. Watson with an excellent style. He was replaced by Edward Hardwicke, whom he had recommended as his successor. Burke had earlier experience with Holmes having played the villain in an adaptation of " The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet" for the 1965 BBC series starring Douglas Wilmer and Nigel Stock. Other notable TV appearances include his turn as

in the British serial ''

'' and the

John Wyndham John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris (; 10 July 1903 – 11 March 1969) was an English science fiction writer best known for his works published under the pen name John Wyndham, although he also used other combinations of his names ...

science fiction story '' Random Quest''. He also played

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He w ...

in the 1975 series '' The Love School''. Burke frequently portrays Johannes Coenradus Klene in the Dutch commercials for Klene liquorice. He appeared with his son, Tom Burke, in the 2006 BBC adaptation of the

M.R. James Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936). He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridg ...

ghost story, '' Number 13''.

Personal life

Burke is married to

Anna Calder-Marshall Anna Calder-Marshall (born 11 January 1947) is an English stage, film and television actress. Personal life Calder-Marshall was born in Kensington, London, and is the daughter of the novelist and essayist Arthur Calder-Marshall and documentary ...

. Their son Tom Burke is also an actor. Burke is an Everton supporter.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, David 1934 births Male actors from Liverpool Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art English male stage actors English male television actors Living people 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors English male film actors Calder Marshall family