David Horovitch (born 11 August 1945) is an English actor, perhaps best known for playing the character of Inspector Slack in ''

Miss Marple Miss Jane Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Miss Marple lives in the village of St Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterised as an elderly spinster, she is one ...

''. He appeared in the ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...

'' prequel series ''

House of the Dragon ''House of the Dragon'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by George R. R. Martin and Ryan Condal for HBO. A prequel to ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), it is the second television series in Martin's ''A Song of Ice and F ...

'' as Grand Maester Mellos.

Early life

Horovitch was born in London, the son of Alice Mary, a teacher, and Morris Horovitch, a child care worker. He was educated at St Christopher School, a boarding

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

in the town of

Letchworth Garden City Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first Garden city movement, garden city. The population at the time of the 2021 United Kin ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, followed by the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for ...

in London. Horovitch's father was

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

but atheist and married a non-Jew, and Horovitch, who is not Jewish, was not brought up in the faith but started learning about the faith in his 40s when he was given a string of Jewish roles.

Career

Horovitch has played many roles on popular British TV shows in the past 40 years including: '' Thriller'', '' The New Avengers'', ''

Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness) or ab ...

'', '' Piece of Cake'', '' Bulman'', '' Hold the Back Page'', '' Boon'', '' Love Hurts'', ''

Westbeach ''Westbeach'' is a British television series produced by WitzEnd Productions for the BBC in 1993. The series was set in the fictional seaside town of Westbeach (filmed on location in Eastbourne) and dealt with two rival families, the Cromers a ...

'', '' Just William'', '' Drop the Dead Donkey'', ''

Peak Practice ''Peak Practice'' is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale — a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District — and the doctors who worked there. It originally starred Kevin Whately as Dr Jack Kerruish, Amanda Burton ...

'', '' Foyle's War'', '' The Second Coming'', ''

Deceit Deception is the act of convincing of one or many recipients of untrue information. The person creating the deception knows it to be false while the receiver of the information does not. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Deceit ...

'' and ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'' as well as starring in the little-remembered ITV detective show ''

Bognor Bognor Regis (), also known as Bognor, is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns include Littleham ...

''. In 1984 he played the role of Detective Inspector Slack for the first BBC

adaptation, ''

The Body in the Library ''The Body in the Library'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1942 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in May of the same year. The US edition retailed at ...

''. He returned for four Miss Marple Christmas specials ('' The Murder at the Vicarage'', '' 4.50 from Paddington'', '' They Do It With Mirrors'' and '' The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side''). In 1990 he played the role of Commander Daniels in Agatha Christie's Poirot '' The Kidnapped Prime Minister''. In 2022, he played Grand Maester Mellos in the ''

'' prequel series ''

.'' He has also made a number of film appearances, including Sergeant Maskell in '' An Unsuitable Job for a Woman'' (1982), a French scientist in '' The Dirty Dozen: The Deadly Mission'' (1987), a

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

-speaking character in ''

Solomon and Gaenor ''Solomon & Gaenor'' () is a 1999 Welsh film written and directed by British filmmaker Paul Morrison. It stars Ioan Gruffudd as Solomon Lewinsky, an Orthodox Jewish man in early 20th-century Wales who falls in love with a gentile woman named Gae ...

'' (1999), Dr. Pavlov in Disney's ''

102 Dalmatians ''102 Dalmatians'' is a 2000 American crime comedy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. Directed by Kevin Lima from a screenplay by Kristen Buckley, Brian Regan, Bob Tzudiker and N ...

'' (2000) and Cardinal Conroy in '' The Nun II'' (2023). In 2008, Horovitch guest-starred in the ''

Sapphire and Steel Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name ''sapphire ...

'' audio drama ''Remember Me''. He played Dr. Price in Mike Leigh's 2014 film '' Mr. Turner''. In 2019 he played Corporal-Colonel Square in '' Dad's Army: The Lost Episodes'', a recreation of three missing episodes of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

comedy ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...

''. Horovitch has also made numerous audiobooks, including the 2008 production of

Jaroslav Hašek Jaroslav Hašek (; 1883–1923) was a Czechs, Czech writer, Humorism, humorist, Satire, satirist, journalist, Bohemianism, bohemian, first anarchist and then communist, and commissar of the Red Army against the Czechoslovak Legion. He is best k ...

's ''

The Good Soldier Švejk ''The Good Soldier Švejk'' () is an unfinished satirical dark comedy novel by Czech writer Jaroslav Hašek, published in 1921–1923, about a good-humored, simple-minded, middle-aged man who appears to be enthusiastic to serve Austria-Hungary i ...

'',

Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in the Eng ...

's ''

The Secret Agent ''The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale'' is an anarchist spy fiction novel by Polish-British author Joseph Conrad, first published on 12 September 1907.. The story is set in Soho, London in 1886 and deals with Mr. Adolf Verloc and his work as a sp ...

'', and the 2015 production of '' The Buried Giant'' by

Kazuo Ishiguro is a Japanese-born English novelist, screenwriter, musician, and short-story writer. He is one of the most critically acclaimed contemporary fiction authors writing in English, having been awarded several major literary prizes, including the 2 ...

Selected theatre performances

* Willum in '' The Nerd'' by Larry Shue. European premiere directed by Braham Murray at the

Royal Exchange, Manchester The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal Ex ...

(1982) * ''Hope Against Hope'' adapted and directed by

Casper Wrede Baron Casper Gustaf Kenneth Wrede af Elimä, known as Caspar Wrede (8 February 1929 – 25 September 1998), was a Finnish theatre and film director. He was long active in the English theatre, co-founding the Royal Exchange theatre company in Man ...

at the

(1983) * Frink in ''The Act'' by Richard Langridge. Directed by

at the

(1986) * Torvald Helmer in ''

A Doll's House ''A Doll's House'' (Danish language, Danish and ; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act Play (theatre), play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 De ...

'' by

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

. Directed by Greg Hersov at the

(1987) * Prospero in ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

''. Directed by Braham Murray at the

(1990) * Dr Prentice in '' What the Butler Saw'' by

Joe Orton John Kingsley Orton (1 January 1933 – 9 August 1967), known by the pen name of Joe Orton, was an English playwright, author, and diarist. His public career, from 1964 until his murder in 1967 committed by his partner, was short but highly i ...

. Directed by Robert Delamere at the

(1994) * Dr Gortler in ''

I Have Been Here Before ''I Have Been Here Before'' is a play by J. B. Priestley, first produced by Lewis Casson at the Royalty Theatre, London, on 22 September 1937. The play is one of Priestley's J. B. Priestley's Time Plays, ''Time Plays'', and in 1947 the script w ...

'' by J B Priestley. Directed by Marianne Elliott at the

(1996) * Josep Fenwick in ''An Experiment with an Airpump'' by Shelagh Stephenson. World premiere directed by

Matthew Lloyd Matthew James Lloyd (born 16 April 1978) is a former professional Australian rules footballer, who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A highly decorated full-forward, Lloyd's AFL's honours include ...

at the

(1998) * Pastor Manders in ''

Ghosts In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

'' by

. Directed by Braham Murray at the

(2000) * ''

Major Barbara ''Major Barbara'' is a three-act English play by George Bernard Shaw, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907. The story concerns an idealistic young woman, Barbara Undershaft, who is engaged in helping the poor as a Major in ...

'' by

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

. Directed by Greg Hersov at the

(Jun 2004) *

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

in '' All the Angels'' by

Nick Drake Nicholas Rodney Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter and musician. An accomplished acoustic guitarist, Drake signed to Island Records at the age of twenty while still a student at the University of Cambridg ...

at the

Sam Wanamaker Playhouse The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse is an indoor theatre forming part of the Shakespeare's Globe complex, along with the recreated Globe Theatre on Bankside in Southwark, London. Built by making use of 17th-century plans for an indoor English theatre, ...

, London (2015)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Horovitch, David 1945 births Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors Living people People educated at St Christopher School Male actors from London 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors