David Langton
Encyclopedia
David Muir Langton was a British
actor
who is best remembered for playing Richard Bellamy in the period drama
Upstairs, Downstairs
.
family in Motherwell, near Glasgow
, in 1912. His father was a wine merchant
and Langton's family moved to England
when he was four years old. He attended a prep school
in Bath, Somerset
and left education at the age of 16. Langton's father had always encouraged him to go into acting and his first job, touring with a small Shakespearean
company, his father had got for him.
At 19 years old, Langton left the theatre and went to live in Yell, a remote island in the Shetlands, and became a sheep farmer
while attempting to become a writer
. However, he later admitted this was a "disaster", and when he went back to the mainland when his mother was ill, he realised he did not want to return. In 1938, Langton returned to working full time in theatre. It was at this time that he changed his name to David Langton, as there was already an actor called Basil Langton, and his legal name was David Muir Langton. However, in 1939 the war
broke out and Langton soon enlisted. He first served in the Royal Artillery
ending up a sergeant
and was later commissioned in the Northumberland Hussars
and ended up a major
. Langton served in France
, Germany
and Belgium
. He married his first wife, Rosemary, in 1940. When the war ended, they realised that the marriage had been a mistake, but stayed together for the sake of their three sons, Simon, Andrew and Robin. The eldest, Simon, a director
, would later work with his father on the set of Upstairs, Downstairs
. Langton divorced in 1966.
following the end of the war, Langton was cast in a play called Fifty Fifty and in 1950, following some periods of unemployment
, he got a part in Seagulls Over Sorrento
. Following the death of his father, Langton went missing and was discovered in New York
, where he was en-route to see his brother Donald in Canada
. He later explained that he needed a break, and soon returned to Seagulls Over Sorrento, which finished its run in 1953. Following Seagulls Over Sorrento, he acted in many plays, including Agatha Christie's
Rule of Three and The Devil's Disciple
, where he met and formed a friendship with Tyrone Power
.
career in the 1950s and went on in the 1960s to appear in The Troubleshooters, Out of the Unknown
, The Avengers
, The Champions
, Dr. Finlay's Casebook and Special Branch
. He also appeared in A Hard Day's Night
and The Liquidator
.
In 1968 director Douglas Camfield
chose Langton to portray Colonel (later Brigadier) Lethbridge-Stewart
in the Dr Who serial "The Web of Fear
", but Langton dropped out to perform in a TV play before production began, so Camfield gave the part to Nicholas Courtney
, who had originally been cast in different role. The Lethbridge-Stewart character made frequent appearances in Dr Who over the next twenty years and became Courtney's best-known screen role.
Langton achieved international fame in 1971 playing family patriarch Richard Bellamy in the popular historical serial drama Upstairs, Downstairs. He was given the role after a chance encounter with producer John Whitney at the Garrick Club
in London
. During some of Upstairs, Downstairss run, Langton actually lived in Eaton Place, the square in Belgravia
where Upstairs, Downstairs was set and where exterior scenes were filmed.
The Incredible Sarah
. In the 1980s, he appeared on television in The Spoils of War, and played Earl Mountbatten of Burma
in Charles & Diana: A Royal Love Story and H. H. Asquith
in Number 10. His final television appearances were in The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes
and Absolutely
in 1991, and The Good Guys in 1992. Langton had also continued to appear on stage, including appearances in Night and Day
, Ross
and Beyond Reasonable Doubt
.
In May 1975, Langton married his second wife, Claire Green, the former wife of TV host Hughie Green
. In 1994, he suffered a fatal heart attack
and died in Stratford-upon-Avon
. The subsequent obituaries
revealed that he was in fact 82, not 72 as was his "official age". The obituaries also paid tribute to a "popular and easy going man" who always "behaved like a gentleman".
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
who is best remembered for playing Richard Bellamy in the period drama
Period piece
-Setting:In the performing arts, a period piece is a work set in a particular era. This informal term covers all countries, all periods and all genres...
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a...
.
Early years
David Langton was born Basil Muir Langton-Dodds to a middle classMiddle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
family in Motherwell, near Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, in 1912. His father was a wine merchant
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
and Langton's family moved to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
when he was four years old. He attended a prep school
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
in Bath, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
and left education at the age of 16. Langton's father had always encouraged him to go into acting and his first job, touring with a small Shakespearean
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
company, his father had got for him.
At 19 years old, Langton left the theatre and went to live in Yell, a remote island in the Shetlands, and became a sheep farmer
Sheep husbandry
Sheep husbandry is a subcategory of animal husbandry specifically dealing with the raising and breeding of domestic sheep. Sheep farming is primarily based on raising lambs for meat, or raising sheep for wool. Sheep may also be raised for milk or to sell to other farmers.-Shelter and...
while attempting to become a writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. However, he later admitted this was a "disaster", and when he went back to the mainland when his mother was ill, he realised he did not want to return. In 1938, Langton returned to working full time in theatre. It was at this time that he changed his name to David Langton, as there was already an actor called Basil Langton, and his legal name was David Muir Langton. However, in 1939 the war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
broke out and Langton soon enlisted. He first served in the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
ending up a sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
and was later commissioned in the Northumberland Hussars
Northumberland Hussars
The Northumberland Hussars is a Squadron of The Queen's Own Yeomanry is an armoured Squadron of the British Territorial Army. It is part of a Formation Reconnaissance Regiment, equipped with the FV107 Scimitar and FV103 Spartan type armoured reconnaissance vehicles...
and ended up a major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
. Langton served in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. He married his first wife, Rosemary, in 1940. When the war ended, they realised that the marriage had been a mistake, but stayed together for the sake of their three sons, Simon, Andrew and Robin. The eldest, Simon, a director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
, would later work with his father on the set of Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a...
. Langton divorced in 1966.
After the war
Within four days of leaving the ArmyBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
following the end of the war, Langton was cast in a play called Fifty Fifty and in 1950, following some periods of unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
, he got a part in Seagulls Over Sorrento
Seagulls Over Sorrento
Seagulls Over Sorrento is a 1954 British wartime drama film made by the Boulting Brothers based on the play of the same name by Hugh Hastings. The film stars Gene Kelly and was one of three made by Kelly in Europe over an 18 month period in order to make use of frozen MGM funds...
. Following the death of his father, Langton went missing and was discovered in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he was en-route to see his brother Donald in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He later explained that he needed a break, and soon returned to Seagulls Over Sorrento, which finished its run in 1953. Following Seagulls Over Sorrento, he acted in many plays, including Agatha Christie's
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
Rule of Three and The Devil's Disciple
The Devil's Disciple
The Devil's Disciple is an 1897 play written by Irish dramatist, George Bernard Shaw. The play is Shaw's eighth, and after Richard Mansfield's original 1897 American production it was his first financial success, which helped to affirm his career as a playwright...
, where he met and formed a friendship with Tyrone Power
Tyrone Power
Tyrone Edmund Power, Jr. , usually credited as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as Ty Power, was an American film and stage actor who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads such as in The Mark of Zorro, Blood and Sand, The Black Swan,...
.
Television fame
David Langton had started his televisionTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
career in the 1950s and went on in the 1960s to appear in The Troubleshooters, Out of the Unknown
Out of the Unknown
Out of the Unknown is a British television science fiction anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Each episode was an independent dramatisation of a separate science fiction short story...
, The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
, The Champions
The Champions
The Champions is a British espionage/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure series consisting of 30 episodes broadcast on the UK network ITV during 1968–1969, produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company...
, Dr. Finlay's Casebook and Special Branch
Special Branch (TV series)
Special Branch is a British television series made by Thames Television for ITV and shown between 1969 and 1974. A police drama series, the action was centred on members of the Special Branch anti-espionage and anti-terrorist department of the London Metropolitan Police.The first two series were...
. He also appeared in A Hard Day's Night
A Hard Day's Night (film)
A Hard Day's Night is a 1964 British black-and-white comedy film directed by Richard Lester and starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—during the height of Beatlemania. It was written by Alun Owen and originally released by United Artists...
and The Liquidator
The Liquidator (film)
The Liquidator is a 1965 MGM film starring Rod Taylor as Brian "Boysie" Oakes, Trevor Howard as his Intelligence Chief Mostyn and Jill St. John as Mostyn's secretary Iris MacIntosh. It was based on the first of a series of Boysie Oakes novels by John Gardner, The Liquidator.-Plot:The film follows...
.
In 1968 director Douglas Camfield
Douglas Camfield
Douglas Gaston Sydney Camfield was an accomplished director for television from the 1960s to the 1980s. His programme credits include Z-Cars, Paul Temple, Van der Valk, The Sweeney, Shoestring, The Professionals, Out of the Unknown, The Nightmare Man, the BBC dramatisation of Beau Geste and...
chose Langton to portray Colonel (later Brigadier) Lethbridge-Stewart
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Nicholas Courtney...
in the Dr Who serial "The Web of Fear
The Web of Fear
The Web of Fear is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 3 February to 9 March 1968. This serial — which marks the return of the Yeti, the Great Intelligence, and Professor Travers — is the sequel to The Abominable...
", but Langton dropped out to perform in a TV play before production began, so Camfield gave the part to Nicholas Courtney
Nicholas Courtney
William Nicholas Stone Courtney was an English television actor, most famous for playing Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Early life:...
, who had originally been cast in different role. The Lethbridge-Stewart character made frequent appearances in Dr Who over the next twenty years and became Courtney's best-known screen role.
Langton achieved international fame in 1971 playing family patriarch Richard Bellamy in the popular historical serial drama Upstairs, Downstairs. He was given the role after a chance encounter with producer John Whitney at the Garrick Club
Garrick Club
The Garrick Club is a gentlemen's club in London.-History:The Garrick Club was founded at a meeting in the Committee Room at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on Wednesday 17 August 1831...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. During some of Upstairs, Downstairss run, Langton actually lived in Eaton Place, the square in Belgravia
Belgravia
Belgravia is a district of central London in the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Noted for its immensely expensive residential properties, it is one of the wealthiest districts in the world...
where Upstairs, Downstairs was set and where exterior scenes were filmed.
Later years
Following the success of Upstairs, Downstairs, Langton appeared in the 1976 film1976 in film
The year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film...
The Incredible Sarah
The Incredible Sarah
The Incredible Sarah is a 1976 British drama film directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Glenda Jackson. It presents dramatization of the acting career of Sarah Bernhardt.-Cast:* Glenda Jackson - Sarah Bernhardt* Daniel Massey - Victorien Sardou...
. In the 1980s, he appeared on television in The Spoils of War, and played Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas George Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS , was a British statesman and naval officer, and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
in Charles & Diana: A Royal Love Story and H. H. Asquith
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC, KC served as the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916...
in Number 10. His final television appearances were in The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes is the final collection of Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. Originally published in 1927, it contains stories published between 1921 and 1927....
and Absolutely
Absolutely (TV series)
Absolutely is a popular United Kingdom television comedy sketch show shown on Channel 4 between 1989 and 1993.The cast and crew were mainly Scottish; the principal writers and performers were Moray Hunter, Jack Docherty, Peter Baikie, Gordon Kennedy , Morwenna Banks and John Sparkes...
in 1991, and The Good Guys in 1992. Langton had also continued to appear on stage, including appearances in Night and Day
Night and Day (play)
Night and Day is a 1978 play by Tom Stoppard. The sets and costumes were designed by Carl Toms and it ran for two years at the Phoenix Theatre in central London, UK. The lead roles of Richard Wagner and Ruth Carson were created by John Thaw and Diana Rigg, respectively.The play is post-colonial in...
, Ross
Ross (Play)
Ross is a 1960 play by British playwright Terence Rattigan.It is a biographical play of T. E. Lawrence- Plot synopsis :The play is structured with a framing device set in 1922, when Lawrence was hiding under an assumed name as "Aircraftman Ross" in the Royal Air Force, and is being disciplined by...
and Beyond Reasonable Doubt
Beyond reasonable doubt
Beyond a reasonable doubt refers to the legal principle of reasonable doubt, the standard of proof required in most criminal cases.Beyond Reasonable Doubt may also refer to:...
.
In May 1975, Langton married his second wife, Claire Green, the former wife of TV host Hughie Green
Hughie Green
Hughie Green was the host of numerous British television shows.-Early life:Hugh H. Green was born in London; his Scottish father was a former British Army Major who made his fortune supplying tinned fish to the Allied forces in World War I, while his mother Violet was the Surrey-born daughter of...
. In 1994, he suffered a fatal heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
and died in Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
. The subsequent obituaries
Obituary
An obituary is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral. In large cities and larger newspapers, obituaries are written only for people considered significant...
revealed that he was in fact 82, not 72 as was his "official age". The obituaries also paid tribute to a "popular and easy going man" who always "behaved like a gentleman".