Sydney Desmond Tester (17 February 1919 – 31 December 2002) was an English film and television actor,

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County * Host Island, in the Wilhelm Archipelago, Antarctica People * ...

and executive. He was born in London, England, and started his career as a

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage, television, or in film, movies. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associa ...

; among his most notable roles, was that of the ill-fated boy Stevie in the

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

film ''

Sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...

'' (1936).

Early life

Tester made his first stage appearance at the age of 11, in ''

The Merry Wives of Windsor ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a ref ...

'', 1930, receiving positive reviews from London; he also appeared as Emil in ''Emil and the Detectives''. From 1934 he became better known as a child actor in film in his native Britain. Tester's characters were often doomed to untimely deaths in such early films as

Carol Reed Sir Carol Reed (30 December 1906 – 25 April 1976) was an English film director and producer, best known for '' Odd Man Out'' (1947), '' The Fallen Idol'' (1948), '' The Third Man'' (1949), and '' Oliver!'' (1968), for which he was awarded th ...

's ''

Midshipman Easy ''Midshipman Easy'' is a 1935 British adventure film directed by Carol Reed and starring Hughie Green, Margaret Lockwood, Harry Tate and Robert Adams. The screenplay concerns a young man who runs away from home, joins the navy and goes to se ...

'' (1935), '' Tudor Rose'' (1936), '' The Stars Look Down'' (1939) and ''

''. He was a musical prodigy in Robert Stevenson's '' Non-Stop New York'' (1937) and a drummer boy in '' The Drum'' (1938).

Emigration to Australia and post-war career

After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he moved to Australia and embarked in careers in radio, theatre, and television. As television broadcasting began in Australia, Tester soon found work hosting the localized version of panel game show ''

What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a Panel show, panel game show that originally ran in the United States, between 1950 and 1967, on CBS, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent American revivals. The game uses celebrity panelists ...

'' and in a variety of children's programmes including ''Cabbage Quiz'' and ''Kaper Kops'' with Reg Gorman and Rod Hull. He spent fifteen years at Channel Nine, taking charge of children's programming, and became more involved behind the scenes in production and publicity. He later moved to Reg Grundy Productions, eventually leaving the industry entirely due to a dislike of the overall management culture. Tester was the compere of "Desmond and the Channel 9-Pins," an Australian children's television series which aired from 1957 to 1962 on Sydney station TCN-9. He introduced the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...

for their first TV appearance in 1960. By 1961, Tester retired from appearing on-screen on the series, but continued to write, produce and direct the show. In 1974 he revived his stage acting career on the advice of Hayes Gordon and appeared in numerous productions including productions by playwrights

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

and John Ewing. He also had occasional minor roles in various films, such as '' Barry McKenzie Holds His Own'' (1974) and ''

The Wild Duck ''The Wild Duck'' (original Norwegian title: ''Vildanden'') is an 1884 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It explores the complexities of truth and illusion through the story of a family torn apart by secrets and the intrusion of a ...

'' (1983).

Personal life

On 10 November 1939 Tester was registered as a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

, conditional upon performing farm work, which he did on a pig farm, saying he liked it. He also said, "We know from history that war does not rid the world of fear. War breeds war and greater fear".''Peace News'', 1 December 1939 He married Evelyn Stuart and had five children – Jolyon (deceased), Dermot, Giles, Toby and Simon and five grandchildren – Sally, Daisy, Sam, Georgia, and Max. The last 29 years of his life he resided in Lindfield on Sydney's North Shore with his partner Valerie Jones. Desmond Tester died on 31 December 2002, in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, New South Wales, at the age of 83.

Selected filmography

* '' The Night Club Queen'' (1934) – Messenger Boy in Nightclub (uncredited) * ''

'' (1935) – Gossett * '' Late Extra'' (1935) – Copy Boy (uncredited) * '' Tudor Rose'' (1936) – Edward VI * '' The Beloved Vagabond'' (1936) – Asticot * ''

'' (1936) – Stevie * '' Non-Stop New York'' (1937) – Arnold James * '' The Drum'' (1938) – Bill Holder * '' The Stars Look Down'' (1940) – Hughie Fenwick * '' An Englishman's Home'' (1940) – Billy Brown * '' The Turners of Prospect Road'' (1947) – Nicky * '' Barry McKenzie Holds His Own'' (1974) – Marcel Escargot * '' Save the Lady'' (1982) – Captain Playfair

Bibliography

* John Holmstrom, ''The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995'', Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 91.

References

External links

*
Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tester, Desmond 1919 births 2002 deaths English male child actors English male film actors English male stage actors 20th-century English male actors English conscientious objectors English television personalities English emigrants to Australia Male actors from London