David Keith Rodney Buck (17 October 1936 – 27 January 1989) was an English actor and author.

Biography

Buck was born in London, the son of Joseph Buck and Enid Marguerite (née Webb). He starred in many television productions from 1959 until 1989. One of his earlier roles was that of

Horatio Hornblower Horatio Hornblower is a fictional officer in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, the protagonist of a series of novels and stories by C. S. Forester. He later became the subject of films and radio and television programmes, and ...

in an episode entitled "Hornblower" (1963), in the

Alcoa Premiere ''Alcoa Premiere'' (also known as ''Premiere, Presented by Fred Astaire'' ) is an American anthology drama series sponsored by the Alcoa Corporation that aired from October 10, 1961, to September 12, 1963, on ABC. The series was hosted by Fred ...

TV series. He played Winston Smith in ''Theatre 625: The World of George Orwell: 1984'' (1965), a remake of

Nigel Kneale Thomas Nigel Kneale (18 April 1922 – 29 October 2006) was a Manx screenwriter and author, whose career spanned more than 50 years, between 1946 and 1997. Predominantly a writer of thrillers that used science-fiction and horror elemen ...

's adaptation of the novel. In the first two series of the ITV horror and supernatural anthology series ''

Mystery and Imagination ''Mystery and Imagination'' is a British television anthology series of classic horror and supernatural dramas. Five series were broadcast from 1966 to 1970 by the ITV network and produced by ABC and (later) Thames Television. Outline The se ...

'' (1966–68) he played the series narrator Richard Beckett (from

Sheridan Le Fanu Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu (; 28 August 1814 – 7 February 1873), popularly known as J. S. Le Fanu, was an Irish writer of Gothic literature, mystery novels, and horror fiction. Considered by critics to be one of the greatest ghost ...

's story "The Flying Dragon") whose character also became involved in some of the other stories adapted. His film career included roles in '' Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow'' (1963), '' The Sandwich Man'' (1966), the

Hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...

film '' The Mummy's Shroud'' (1967), '' Deadfall'' (1968) and '' Taste of Excitement'' (1970). He also had a role as

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

David "Scotty" Scott in the film ''

Mosquito Squadron ''Mosquito Squadron'' is a 1969 British war film made by Oakmont Productions, directed by Boris Sagal and starring David McCallum. The raid echoes Operation Jericho, a combined RAF–Maquis (World War II), Maquis raid which freed French prison ...

'' (1969), with

David McCallum David Keith McCallum (19 September 1933 – 25 September 2023) was a Scottish actor and musician, based in the United States. He gained wide recognition in the 1960s for playing secret agent Illya Kuryakin in the television series '' The Man fr ...

, in which his character is shot down during a low-level bombing raid over Northern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1944 and assumed killed. Later, he was a voice actor for the films ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

'' (1978), for which he provided the voice of Gimli, and ''

The Dark Crystal ''The Dark Crystal'' is a 1982 dark fantasy, dark fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. It stars the voices of Stephen Garlick, Lisa Maxwell (actress), Lisa Maxwell, Billie Whitelaw, Percy Edwards, and Barry Dennen. The film was prod ...

'' (1982), where he voiced SkekNa the Slave Master. Buck portrayed

Dr. Watson Dr. John H. Watson is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). "The Adventure of Shosc ...

in the 1978

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

series of 13

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

short stories. Buck died of cancer in 1989. At the time of his death, he was married to the actress Madeline Smith, who featured in the film version of ''

Up Pompeii ''Up Pompeii!'' is a British television comedy series set in ancient Pompeii and broadcast between 1969 and 1970, starring Frankie Howerd. The first series was written by Talbot Rothwell, a scriptwriter for the ''Carry On'' films, and the seco ...

'' (1971) and numerous comedy programmes in the 1970s.

''The Small Adventures of Dog''

In 1968,

William Heinemann William Henry Heinemann (18 May 1863 – 5 October 1920) was an English publisher of Jewish descent and the founder of the Heinemann publishing house in London. Early life On 18 May 1863, William Heinemann was born in Surbiton, Surrey, Englan ...

published a 'funny and off-beat' children's book written and illustrated by Buck entitled ''The Small Adventures of Dog''. He later claimed to have written the book in ' few days'. Buck presented his stories for the children's show ''

Jackanory ''Jackanory'' was a BBC children's television series which was originally broadcast between 1965 and 1996. It was designed to stimulate an interest in Reading (activity), reading. The programme was first transmitted on 13 December 1965, and the ...

'' in April, 1971.Mary Griffiths, 'Booked for Children' London ''Daily Mirror'' 5 April 1971 p. 17

Filmography

References

External links

* 1936 births 1989 deaths 20th-century English male actors Deaths from cancer in England English male film actors English male television actors English male voice actors Male actors from London People educated at Mill Hill School {{UK-voice-actor-stub