David Horovitch (born 11 August 1945) is an English actor, perhaps best known for playing the character of Inspector Slack in ''
Miss Marple
Miss Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Jane Marple lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterized as an elderly spinster, she is one of Ch ...
''. He stars in the ''
Game of Thrones'' prequel series ''
House of the Dragon
''House of the Dragon'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by George R. R. Martin and Ryan Condal for HBO. A prequel to '' Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), it is the second TV show in the '' A Song of Ice and Fire'' franch ...
'' as Grand Maester Mellos.
Early life
Horovitch was born in London, the son of Alice Mary, a teacher, and Morris Horovitch, a child care worker. He was educated at
St Christopher School
St Christopher School is a boarding and day co-educational independent school in Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire, England.
Established in 1915, shortly after Ebenezer Howard founded Letchworth Garden City, the school is a long-time pr ...
, a boarding
independent school in the town of
Letchworth Garden City
Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 33,249.
Letchworth ...
in
Hertfordshire, followed by the
Central School of Speech and Drama
The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...
in London.
Horovitch's father was
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
but atheist and married a non-Jew, and Horovitch was not brought up in the faith.
He was in his 40s when he was given a string of Jewish roles and started learning about the religion.
Career
Horovitch has played many roles on popular British TV shows in the past 40 years including: ''
Thriller'', ''
The New Avengers'', ''
Prince Regent
A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness ...
'', ''
Piece of Cake'', ''
Bulman'', ''
Hold the Back Page'', ''
Boon
Boon may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Boon (game), a trick-taking card game
* ''Boon'' (novel), a 1915 satirical work by H. G. Wells
* ''Boon'' (TV series), a British television series starring Michael Elphick
* The Ultimate Boo ...
'', ''
Love Hurts
"Love Hurts" is a song written and composed by the American songwriter Boudleaux Bryant. First recorded by the Everly Brothers in July 1960, the song is most well known from the 1974 international hit version by Scottish hard rock band Nazare ...
'', ''
Westbeach'', ''
Just William'', ''
Drop the Dead Donkey
''Drop the Dead Donkey'' is a British television sitcom that was first shown on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom between 1990 and 1998. It is set in the offices of "GlobeLink News", a fictional TV news company. Recorded close to transmission, it ...
'', ''
Peak Practice
''Peak Practice'' is a British drama television series, series about a General Practice, GP surgery in Cardale—a small List of fictional towns in television, fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District—and the Physician, doctors who wor ...
'', ''
Foyle's War
''Foyle's War'' is a British detective drama television series set during and shortly after the Second World War, created by '' Midsomer Murders'' screenwriter and author Anthony Horowitz and commissioned by ITV after the long-running series ...
'', ''
The Second Coming'', ''
Deceit
Deception or falsehood is an act or statement that misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not true. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda and sleight o ...
'' and ''
Casualty
Casualty may refer to:
*Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster
**Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare
* The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...
'' as well as starring in the little-remembered ITV detective show ''
Bognor''.
In 1984 he played the role of Detective Inspector Slack for the first BBC
Miss Marple
Miss Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Jane Marple lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterized as an elderly spinster, she is one of Ch ...
adaptation, ''
The Body in the Library
''The Body in the Library'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1942 and in UK by the Collins Crime Club in May of the same year. The US edition retailed at $2.0 ...
''. He returned for four Miss Marple Christmas specials (''
The Murder at the Vicarage'', ''
4.50 from Paddington
''4.50 from Paddington'' is a detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie, first published in November 1957 by Collins Crime Club. This work was published in the United States at the same time as ''What Mrs McGillicuddy Saw!'', by Dodd, Mead. Th ...
'', ''
They Do It With Mirrors'' and ''
The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side
''The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side'', a novel by Agatha Christie, was published in the UK in 1962 and a year later in the US under the title ''The Mirror Crack'd''. The story features amateur detective Miss Marple solving a mystery in St. ...
''). In 1990 he played the role of Commander Daniels in Agatha Christie's Poirot ''
The Kidnapped Prime Minister''.
In 2022, he played Grand Maester Mellos in the ''
Game of Thrones'' prequel series ''
House of the Dragon
''House of the Dragon'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by George R. R. Martin and Ryan Condal for HBO. A prequel to '' Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), it is the second TV show in the '' A Song of Ice and Fire'' franch ...
.
''
He has also made a number of film appearances, including Sergeant Maskell in ''
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman
''An Unsuitable Job for a Woman'' is the title of a detective novel by P. D. James and of a TV series of four dramas developed from that novel. It was published by Faber and Faber in the UK in 1972 and by Charles Scribner's Sons in the US.
The ...
'' (1982), a French scientist in ''
The Dirty Dozen: The Deadly Mission'' (1987), a
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...
-speaking character in ''
Solomon and Gaenor
''Solomon & Gaenor'' ( cy, Solomon a Gaenor) is a 1999 Welsh film written and directed by Paul Morrison. It stars Ioan Gruffudd as an Orthodox Jewish man named Solomon Levinsky who falls in love with a gentile woman named Gaenor Rees, played by ...
'' (1999), and Dr. Pavlov in Disney's ''
102 Dalmatians'' (2000).
In 2008, Horovitch guest-starred in the ''
Sapphire and Steel
''Sapphire & Steel'' is a British television supernatural sci-fi/fantasy series starring David McCallum as Steel and Joanna Lumley as Sapphire. Produced by ATV, it ran from 1979 to 1982 on the ITV network. The series was created by Peter J ...
'' audio drama ''Remember Me''. He played Dr. Price in
Mike Leigh's 2014 film ''
Mr. Turner''. In 2019 he played Corporal-Colonel Square in ''
Dad's Army: The Lost Episodes'', a recreation of three missing episodes of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
''.
Horovitch has also made numerous audiobooks, including the 2008 production of
.
. European premiere directed by
. Directed by
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''. Directed by
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. World premiere directed by
. Directed by
. Directed by