DAVID HEMMINGSDavid Hemmings, who died on 3 December, 2003, was best known for his leading role in the iconic swinging sixties flick Blow-Up (1966).He went on to appear in a string of hit British movies, acting in several European films and embarked on a hit and miss directorial career. During the last few years of his life he experienced a revival of his cinema career, regarded as an elder statesman of the acting world alongside the likes of Michael Caine, Tom Courtenay and Albert Finney.David Leslie Edward Hemmings was born on 18 November, 1941, in Guilford.His father was a dance band pianist and was keen for his son to have a singing career. By the age of nine he was touring with the cast of Benjamin Britten’s operatic translation of The Turn of the Screw – Britten had written the character of Miles with young David in mind.When his voice broke live on stage in 1953, his career as a soprano gave way to movie acting, appearing in his first film, The Rainbow Jacket (1954), aged 13. Before long he had moved to London into his own flat and was working as a professional actor, notching up nearly 50 film credits before being cast in Blow-Up.Mr Hemmings was already well-embedded in 1960s counter-culture before making the film, claiming to have smoked pot with John Lennon among others. He became a screen icon when Michelangelo Antonioni was searching for a fresh face to play a mod photographer in his next film.Hemming’s character Thomas leads a hedonistic but unfulfilling life. He accidentally photographs what he later realises is a murder, embroiling him and Vanessa Redgrave in a bewildering plot.Blow-Up was nominated for several Oscars and BAFTAs, caused controversy for its full-frontal nudity and divided critics, but it also made Hemmings a star. His next film was Camelot (1967) with Redgrave and Richard Harris, followed by Tony Richardson’s The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968), also with Redgrave. He was also among the sixties luminaries who appeared in Barbarella (1968).At the end of the decade he went on an extended holiday and ended up working Australia and New Zealand for several years. In 1972 he returned to England to write and direct his first film, Running Scared (1972) based on a novel by Gregory McDonald. It was poorly received by audiences but The 14 (1973), starring Jack Wild and June Brown, showed more promise and won an award at the 1973 Berlin Film Festival.He directed David Bowie to few plaudits in Just a Gigolo (1979) and acted in films in Italy, France and Canada, but his career was in decline by the end of the ’70s. He moved onto TV acting and directional work in America. "People thought I was dead," he once said. "But I wasn't. I was just directing The A-Team." Episodes of Airwolf, Magnum PI, Quantum Leap were also among his credits.After years of obscurity he returned to the screen in 2000 as the Coliseum master of ceremonies in Gladiator, virtually unrecognisable having gained weight and lost the colour in his hair, his thick, curled eyebrows now a distinguishing feature.A glut of supporting roles in 2001 followed (Last Orders, Spy Game, Mean Machine) and he was also cast in big-budget productions Gangs of New York (2002) and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003).He was married four times, most famously to American actress Gayle Hunnicutt between 1968 and 1975.He died from a heart attack at the age of 62 while filming the thriller Blessed (2004) in Romania.
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