Leon Thau (8 April 1926 in

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

– 16 May 2010 in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

)"Leon Thau"
BFI Film Forever was a British actor, TV producer and director. He played the part of Frankie Wing in the 1960 London production of the musical ''

Flower Drum Song ''Flower Drum Song'' was the eighth musical theatre, musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on the 1957 novel, ''The Flower Drum Song'', by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee (author), C. Y. Lee. It premiered on Broadway the ...

''. As an actor, he became known in the BBC TV comedy series '' It's a Square World'' (1960–64), and also appeared in ''

Comedy Playhouse ''Comedy Playhouse'' is a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 128 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including '' Steptoe and Son'', '' Meet the Wife'', ' ...

'', ''

The Gnomes of Dulwich ''The Gnomes of Dulwich'' is a British television sitcom originally broadcast from 12 May 1969 to 16 June 1969. Written by Jimmy Perry, the show starred Terry Scott, Hugh Lloyd, John Clive, Leon Thau, Anne de Vigier and Lynn Dalby as garden ...

'', ''

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 and CID detectives in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by ...

'', ''

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 ...

'' and '' The Avengers''. He had parts in the films '' The Magic Christian'', ''

Carry On Up the Khyber ''Carry On Up the Khyber'' is a 1968 British comedy film, the 16th in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). It stars ''Carry On'' regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Bernard Bresslaw and Peter But ...

'', ''

The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery ''The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery'' is a British comedy film, directed by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, written by Sidney and Leslie Gilliat, and released on 4 April 1966. It is the last of the original series of films based on the ' ...

'' and '' The Sandwich Man''. Having worked with

Michael Bentine Michael Bentine (born Michael James Bentin; 26 January 1922General Register Office for England and Wales – Birth Register for the March Quarter of 1922, Watford Registration District, Reference 3a 1478, listed as "Michael J. Bentin", mother's ...

in ''It's a Square World'' and ''The Sandwich Man'', he produced and directed '' Michael Bentine's Potty Time'' for

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

.www.thechestnut.com/potty.htm
/ref> As a director he was responsible for ''

Prisoner Cell Block H ''Prisoner'' (known in the UK and the US as ''Prisoner: Cell Block H'' and in Canada as ''Caged Women'') is an Australian television soap opera, which was broadcast on Network Ten (formerly the 0-10 Network) from February 27 (Melbourne) and Fe ...

'', ''

The Tomorrow People ''The Tomorrow People'' is a British children's science fiction on television, science fiction television series created by Roger Price (television producer), Roger Price. Produced by Thames Television for the ITV (TV network), ITV Network, th ...

'', and the children's series

Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

and '' T-Bag'', of both of which he was also a producer. He produced the situation comedy '' It's Awfully Bad for Your Eyes, Darling'' (1971).TV Comedy Resources
/ref>

Filmography

*''

'' (1966) - Pakistani Porter *'' The Sandwich Man'' (1966) - Ram *'' Casino Royale'' (1967) - Soldier Johnson (uncredited) *''

'' (1968) - Stinghi *'' The Magic Christian'' (1969) - Engine Room Toff (uncredited)

References

Search at Ancestry.co.uk

External links

includes image *, 1926 births 2010 deaths British television directors British people in Mandatory Palestine {{UK-tv-actor-1920s-stub