Derren Nesbitt (born Derren Michael Horwitz; 19 June 1935) is a British

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. Nesbitt's film career began in the late 1950s, and he appeared in many British television series throughout the 1960s and 1970s. He is perhaps best known for his role as Major von Hapen in the 1968 film ''

Where Eagles Dare ''Where Eagles Dare'' is a 1968 action adventure war film directed by Brian G. Hutton and starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure. Set during World War II, it follows a Special Operations Executive team charged with saving a ca ...

''.

Acting career

Nesbitt's television appearances began in the 1950s, playing numerous different roles in series such as '' The Adventures of Sir Lancelot'' and '' The Adventures of William Tell''; he was often billed as Derry Nesbitt at this stage of his career. He went on to play the villain in a number of well known tv series of the 60s and 70s, including ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again ...

'', '' The Saint'', ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'', ''

The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a British television series created by Patrick McGoohan. McGoohan portrays Number Six (The Prisoner), Number Six, an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a The Village (The Prisoner), mysteri ...

'', ''

Gideon's Way ''Gideon's Way'' is a British television crime series that was made by ITC Entertainment and broadcast by ITV in 1964–1966, following the 1958 film, '' Gideon's Day''. The film and series are based on novels by John Creasey (writing as 'J. ...

'', ''

Man in a Suitcase ''Man in a Suitcase'' is a British television private eye thriller series produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment. It originally aired in the United Kingdom on ITV (TV network), ITV from 27 September 1967 to 17 April 1968. American Broadcast ...

'', '' UFO'' and ''

The Persuaders! ''The Persuaders!'' is a British action comedy television series starring Tony Curtis and Roger Moore, produced by ITC Entertainment, and initially broadcast on ITV and ABC in 1971. The show has been called 'the last major entry in the c ...

''. In 1969 he took on the role of DCI Jordan in the police drama ''

Special Branch Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...

''. Nesbitt has also appeared in film roles such as a predatory blackmailer of gay men in '' Victim'' (1961), a murderous pimp in '' The Informers'' (1963), a slimy assassin in '' Nobody Runs Forever'', and the suspicious Gestapo officer in ''

'' (1968). Nesbitt was keen to be as authentic as possible with his character in ''Where Eagles Dare''. Whilst on location, he requested to meet a former member of the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

to better understand how to play the character and to get the military regalia correct. He was injured on set whilst filming the scene in which his character is killed. The blood squib attached to Nesbitt exploded with such force that he was temporarily blinded, though he made a quick recovery.A Conversation with Derren Nesbitt. "Major von Hapen" in "Where Eagles Dare"
YouTube (10 June 2013). Retrieved on 2015-11-20. He also had leading roles in classic early sixties 'B' Movies '' The Man in the Back Seat'' and ''

Strongroom A bank vault is a secure room used by banks to store and protect valuables, cash, and important documents. Modern bank vaults are typically made of reinforced concrete and steel, with complex locking mechanisms and security systems. This article ...

'', both directed by

Vernon Sewell Vernon Campbell Sewell (4 July 1903 – 21 June 2001) was a British film director, writer, producer and, briefly, an actor. Sewell was born in London, England, and was educated at Marlborough College. He directed more than 30 films during his c ...

. In 2018, Nesbitt played the leading role, as a

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...

, in a British independent film, ''Tucked''.

Personal life

Nesbitt has been married four times and has five children.. He is Jewis

In 1961, he married his first wife, the actress

Anne Aubrey Anne Aubrey (born 1 January 1937) is a retired English film actress. Aubrey was mainly active in Warwick Films in the 1950s and 1960s. She worked with Anthony Newley in such films as '' Idol on Parade'', '' Killers of Kilimanjaro'', '' The Ba ...

; the couple had a daughter the next year. On 25 January 1973, he was fined £250 when he pleaded guilty to two charges of

assault occasioning actual bodily harm Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (often abbreviated to Assault OABH, AOABH or simply ABH) is a statutory offence of aggravated assault in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Hong Kong and t ...

in October the previous year. He attacked her with a leather strap after she told him that she was having an affair with another man. He also bruised her by grabbing her clothing the next day when she refused to tell him details about her lover. She divorced him a few months later. His third wife was an Australian beauty queen, and for a time he moved to her country where he taught theatre studies at the Northern Rivers Conservatorium of Arts in the New South Wales city of Lismore. By 2014, he was living in

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

, West Sussex, with his fourth wife, Miranda.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nesbitt, Derren 1935 births Living people English male film actors English male television actors English people convicted of assault Violence against women in England People convicted of domestic violence Male actors from London Male actors from Worthing Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors