David Spenser ('' né'' De Saram; 12 March 1934 – 20 July 2013) John Tydemanbr>David Spenser obituary
''The Guardian'', 1 August 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013 was a British actor, director, producer and writer. Spenser played the title role in a 1948 radio production of Richmal Crompton's ''

Just William ''Just William'' is the first book of children's short stories about the young school boy William Brown, written by Richmal Crompton, and published in 1922. The book was the first in the series of William Brown books which was the basis for ...

'', and also appeared in popular films and TV series including '' Doctor Who''.BFI.org
/ref> His documentary about

Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies Dame Gwen Lucy Ffrangcon-Davies, (25 January 1891 – 27 January 1992) was a British actress and centenarian. Early life She was born in London of a Welsh family; the name "Ffrangcon" is said to originate from a valley in Snowdonia. Her pare ...

won an International

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

. He was the elder brother of actor Jeremy Spenser. Aged 11 he appeared in plays on BBC radio's '' Children's Hour''. He was cast in ''Just William'' by the author of the books, Richmal Crompton. He played Harry in the first production of

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

's opera '' Albert Herring''. Spenser was a regular on television, with appearances in episodes of ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debut ...

'', ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' was a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 19 ...

'', and '' The Saint''. In 1967 Spenser appeared as Thonmi in the ''Doctor Who'' serial '' The Abominable Snowmen'' alongside

Patrick Troughton Patrick George Troughton (; 25 March 1920 – 28 March 1987) was an English actor who was classically trained for the stage but became known for his roles in television and film. His work included appearances in several fantasy, science fiction ...

. Spenser later worked as a radio producer for the BBC. He produced several radio plays including

Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves ...

's '' The Way We Live Now'' in 1988, and

Christopher Isherwood Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood (26 August 1904 – 4 January 1986) was an Anglo-American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, autobiographer, and diarist. His best-known works include '' Goodbye to Berlin'' (1939), a semi-autobiographical ...

's '' Mr Norris Changes Trains'' in 1984. Spenser wrote a historical drama about the Egyptian pharaoh

Akhnaton Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Echnaton, Akhenaton, ( egy, ꜣḫ-n-jtn ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning "Effective for the Aten"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth D ...

, ''The City of the Horizon''. It was broadcast in 1972 and 1976. Spenser subsequently produced documentaries about figures such as Benny Hill, Angus Wilson,

Dodie Smith Dorothy Gladys "Dodie" Smith (3 May 1896 – 24 November 1990) was an English novelist and playwright. She is best known for writing '' I Capture the Castle'' (1948) and the children's novel '' The Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1956). Other works ...

and

. He was survived by his brother, and by his partner Victor Pemberton.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Radio Memories
David Spenser's radio work {{DEFAULTSORT:Spenser, David 1934 births 2013 deaths 20th-century English male actors British expatriates in Spain British male child actors British male film actors British male television actors English radio producers English television producers English television writers English gay actors British gay writers British LGBT screenwriters English LGBT writers People from Colombo British male television writers 21st-century British screenwriters 20th-century British businesspeople 21st-century LGBT people