| David Hurst | |
| Birth Name: | Heinrich Theodor Hirsch |
| Birth Date: | 8 May 1926 |
| Birth Place: | Berlin, Germany |
| Death Place: | Berlin, Germany |
| Years Active: | 1948–2000 |
| Occupation: | Actor, theatre producer |
David Hurst (born Heinrich Theodor Hirsch; 8 May 1926 – 15 September 2019) was a German actor, best known for his role in the film Hello, Dolly as Rudolph the headwaiter.
Hurst grew up in a family of actors. As a Jewish child living in 1930s Germany, he faced persecution from the Nazi regime. After the pogroms of Kristallnacht, the British government allowed for the rescue of Jewish children from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland and the Free City of Danzig. He was one of the nearly 10,000 children in 1938–1939 moved with the Kindertransport to the United Kingdom. He was separated from his mother at 12 years old, and never saw her again.
Housed in a manor in Northern Ireland, he lived with other young emigrants in the care of the family of an estate manager. His first stage experience was in Belfast at a repertory theatre, where he also changed his name from Heinrich Hirsch to David Hurst. During the Second World War he joined the British army, but because of his German background he was assigned to Entertainments National Service Association, where he performed as an actor and a comedian.
His first film role was as Wolfgang Winkel in The Perfect Woman (1949), a role Hurst had previously played in the West End to critical praise. He went on to appear in many British films of the 1950s.
In 1957, Hurst moved to the United States. He spent most of his time in California, but often performed on Broadway. In 1960, he created the role of Merlyn in the original Broadway production of Camelot opposite Richard Burton.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s he played in film, television and theatre. In 1959 he received the Clarence Derwent Award and in 1964, he was awarded the Obie Award from The Village Voice for his off-Broadway performance in A Month in the Country.[1]
He performed in the film version of Hello, Dolly (1969) as Rudolph the headwaiter alongside Barbra Streisand and Walter Matthau. This was his most notable role in America. He also had roles in the films Kelly's Heroes (1970) and The Boys From Brazil (1978). Hurst also appeared in numerous TV series including Mission: Impossible, Serpico and Star Trek.
Throughout his career he worked as a visiting professor at Yale, Boston University and Carnegie Mellon.
In the 1980s he appeared in several German-American co-productions, and visited his half-brother Wolfgang Heinz in East Berlin. Hurst decided to remain in Germany, and worked in Vienna and Berlin with a fellow erstwhile emigrant (and Actors Studio colleague), theatre director George Tabori.[2] From 1991 Hurst worked at the Burgtheater, Vienna, eventually returning to live in Berlin in 2000, when he retired from acting. He died there on 15 September 2019 after suffering a stroke and pneumonia.[3] [4]
| Play | Role | Theatre | Dates[5] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | Ensemble | Broadway | 21 September – 17 October 1954 | |
| Look After Lulu! | The Policeman | Broadway | 3 March – 4 April 1959 | |
| Under The Sycamore Tree | The Scientist | Cricket Theatre | 7 March – 10 April 1960 41 performances | |
| Camelot | Broadway | 3 December 1960 – 5 January 1963 | ||
| The Lunatic View | Young Man | November 1962 | ||
| A Month in the Country | Ignaty Ilyitch Shpigelsky | 1963 – 1964 48 performances | ||
| Electra | Paedagogus | 5 – 29 August 1964 22 performances (New York Shakespeare Festival) | ||
| Henry IV | Dr. Dionysius Genoni | Broadway | 28 April – 28 May 1973 | |
| Dracula | Broadway | 20 October 1977 – 6 January 1980 | ||
| The Faithful Brethren of Pitt Street | Joseph Knaitsch | 5 – 20 November 1988 20 performances |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | The Perfect Woman | Wolfgang Winkel | ||
| 1950 | Tony Draws a Horse | Ivan | ||
| Soho Conspiracy | Franco | |||
| 1951 | Smart Alec | Poppi | ||
| 1952 | So Little Time | Blumel / Baumann | ||
| Old Mother Riley Meets the Vampire | Mugsy | |||
| Venetian Bird | Minelli | |||
| Top Secret | Professor Deutsch | |||
| 1953 | Rough Shoot | Lex | ||
| Always a Bride | Beckstein | |||
| 1954 | River Beat | Paddy McClure | ||
| Mad About Men | Signor Mantalini | |||
| 1955 | One Good Turn | Professor Dofee | ||
| As Long as They're Happy | Dr. Hermann Schneider | |||
| All for Mary | M. Victor | |||
| 1956 | The Intimate Stranger | Dave Pearson | Uncredited | |
| 1957 | After the Ball | Perelli | ||
| 1964 | The Confession | Gustave | ||
| 1968 | How to Steal the World | Dr. Jan Vanovech | (archive footage) | |
| 1969 | The Maltese Bippy | Dr. Charles Strauss | ||
| Hello, Dolly! | Rudolph Reizenweber | |||
| 1970 | Kelly's Heroes | Col. Dankhopf | ||
| 1973 | Orville and Wilbur | Chanute | ||
| 1978 | The Boys from Brazil | Strasser |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | The Adventures of Aggie | Lazareff | Episode: "Snap Judgment" | |
| 1957 | Armstrong Circle Theatre | Government official | Episode: "The Shepherd of Paris" | |
| 1958 | DuPont Show of the Month | Episode: "A Tale of Two Cities" | ||
| Kraft Television Theatre | 2 Episodes: "Riddle of a Lady" and "Next Door to Death" | |||
| 1960 | Play of the Week | 2 Episodes: "Tiger at the Gates" and "The Emperor's Clothes" | ||
| Dow Hour of Great Mysteries | Baron | Episode: "The Dachet Diamonds" | ||
| 1962 | Car 54, Where Are You? | Robin Stuart, playwright | Episode: "That's Show Business" | |
| 1964 | The Defenders | Dr. Schaeffer | Episode: "Drink Like a Lady" | |
| 1965 | Look Up and Live | 2 Episodes: "The Initiation" and "The Judgment" | ||
| The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Dr. Leland Mayes Elmont | Episode: "The Brain-Killer Affair" | ||
| The Patty Duke Show | Dennis Latouche | Episode: "It Takes a Heap of Livin'" | ||
| 1966 | Hawk | Louis Anselmi | Episode: "The Longleat Chronicles" | |
| The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. | Matthew Brecker | Episode: "The Mata Hari Affair" | ||
| 1967 | Hallmark Hall of Fame | Petrovini | Episode: "Anastasia" | |
| Mission: Impossible | Victor Grigov | Episode: "The Astrologer" | ||
| Mannix | Vladek | Episode: "The Many Deaths of Saint Christopher" | ||
| 1968 | To Die in Paris | Pirot | TV movie | |
| The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Dr. Jan Vanovech | Episode: "The Seven Wonders of the World Affair" | ||
| It Takes a Thief | Captain Kovich | Episode: "When Boy Meets Girl" | ||
| The Monkees | The Baron | Episode: "Monkees Race Again" | ||
| The Flying Nun | Gus Mendoza – Sister Sixto's Uncle | Episode: "A Fish Story" | ||
| Run for Your Life | Heinrich Kleist | Episode: "The Exchange" | ||
| 1969 | Star Trek | Hodin | Episode: "The Mark of Gideon" | |
| Mission: Impossible | Dr. Oswald Beck | Episode: "The Test Case" | ||
| The Flying Nun | Benito Gomez | Episode: "The Lottery" | ||
| 1970 | The Mod Squad | Consulate General Fohgib | Episode: "The Exile" | |
| The F.B.I. | Alex Keeler | Episode: "The Traitor" | ||
| 1971 | Dark Shadows | Justin Collins | 3 episodes | |
| NET Playhouse | Chanute | Episode: "The Wright Brothers" | ||
| 1976 | Serpico | Ducek | Episode: "The Indian" | |
| 1977 | Nero Wolfe | TV film broadcast 1979 | ||
| McCloud | Colonel Andrei Krasnavian | Episode: "The Moscow Connection" | ||
| Insight | Episode: "Arnstein's Miracle" | |||
| 1978 | Child of Glass | Jacques Dumaine | TV film | |
| Eight Is Enough | Episode : "The Hipbone's Connected to the Thighbone" | |||
| Quincy, M.E. | Dr. Fred Webber | Episode: "Dead and Alive" | ||
| 1979 | Ryan's Hope | Dr. Nelson | Uncredited, 1 episode | |
| 1980 | Charlie's Angels | Stovich | Episode: "Angel in Hiding" | |
| 1981 | Skokie | TV film, (final film role) |