David Keith Rodney Buck (17 October 1933 – 27 January 1989) was an English actor. Buck was born in London, the son of Joseph Buck and Enid Marguerite (née Webb). He starred in many television productions from 1959 until 1989. One of his earlier roles was that of Horatio Hornblower in an episode entitled "Hornblower" (1963), in the

Alcoa Premiere '' Alcoa Premiere'' (also known as ''Premiere, Presented by Fred Astaire'') is an American anthology drama series that aired from October 1961 to July 1963 on ABC. The series was hosted by Fred Astaire, who also starred in several of the episode ...

TV series. He played Winston Smith in ''Theatre 625: The World of George Orwell: 1984'' (1965), a remake of

Nigel Kneale Thomas Nigel Kneale (28 April 1922 – 29 October 2006) was a Manx screenwriter who wrote professionally for more than 50 years, was a winner of the Somerset Maugham Award, and was twice nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British S ...

's adaptation of the novel. In the first two series of the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

horror and supernatural anthology series ''

Mystery and Imagination ''Mystery and Imagination'' is a British television anthology series of classic horror and supernatural dramas. Five series were broadcast from 1966 to 1970 by the ITV network and produced by ABC and (later) Thames Television. Outline The se ...

'' (1966–68) he played the series narrator Richard Beckett (from Sheridan Le Fanu's story "The Flying Dragon") whose character also became involved in some of the other stories adapted. His film career included roles in '' Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow'' (1963), '' The Sandwich Man'' (1966), the Hammer film ''

The Mummy's Shroud ''The Mummy's Shroud'' is a 1967 British DeLuxe colour horror film made by Hammer Film Productions which was directed by John Gilling. It stars André Morell and David Buck as explorers who uncover the tomb of an ancient Egyptian mummy. It als ...

'' (1967), '' Deadfall'' (1968) and ''

Taste of Excitement ''Taste of Excitement'' is a 1970 British mystery thriller film directed by Don Sharp and starring Eva Renzi, David Buck and Peter Vaughan. It was shot during 1968 on location around Nice on the French Riviera, but not given a general release ...

'' (1970). He also had a role as

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is als ...

David "Scotty" Scott in the film ''

Mosquito Squadron ''Mosquito Squadron'' is a 1969 British war film made by Oakmont Productions, directed by Boris Sagal and starring David McCallum. The raid echoes Operation Jericho, a combined RAF– Maquis raid which freed French prisoners from Amiens jail ...

'' (1969), with

David McCallum David Keith McCallum Jr. (born 19 September 1933) is a Scottish actor and musician. He first gained recognition in the 1960s for playing secret agent Illya Kuryakin in the television series '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E''. In recent years, McCall ...

, in which his character is shot down during a low-level bombing raid over Northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1944 and assumed killed. Later, he was a voice actor for the films ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...

'' (1978), for which he provided the voice of Gimli, and ''

The Dark Crystal ''The Dark Crystal'' is a 1982 dark fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. It stars the voices of Stephen Garlick, Lisa Maxwell, Billie Whitelaw, Percy Edwards, and Barry Dennen. The film was produced by ITC Entertainment and The ...

'' (1982),The New York Times
/ref> where he voiced SkekNa the Slave Master. Buck portrayed

Dr. Watson John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle f ...

in the 1978

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

series of 13 Sherlock Holmes short storie

Buck died of cancer in 1989. At the time of his death, he was married to the actress

Madeline Smith Madeline Smith (born 2 August 1949) is an English actress. After working as a model in the late 1960s, she went on to appear in many television series and stage productions, plus comedy and horror films, in the 1970s and 1980s. She is perhaps ...

, who featured in the film version of ''

Up Pompeii ''Up Pompeii!'' is a British television comedy series 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 second series by Rothwell and S ...

'' (1971) and numerous comedy programmes in the 1970s.

Filmography

References

External links

* 1936 births 1989 deaths Deaths from cancer in England English male film actors English male television actors English male voice actors People educated at Mill Hill School 20th-century English male actors {{UK-voice-actor-stub