Donovan Jerome Leitch''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born August 16, 1967) is an English-born American actor, singer and former model. He is the son of the singer-songwriter

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...

and the brother of actress

Ione Skye Ione Skye Lee ( ; Ione Skye Leitch; born September 4, 1970) is a British-born American actress and the daughter of singer Donovan. She made her film debut in the thriller '' River's Edge'' (1986) before gaining mainstream exposure for her sta ...

. He was a member of the hard rock band

Camp Freddy Camp Freddy was an American hard rock supergroup consisting of established musicians who played rock covers at various shows around the United States from 2002 through 2014. The band consisted of core members Matt Sorum on drums, Dave Navarro a ...

, and was a founding member of neo-glam group Nancy Boy along with Jason Nesmith, the son of

Michael Nesmith Robert Michael Nesmith or Mike Nesmith, (December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the pop rock band the Monkees and co-star of the TV series ''The Monkees'' (1966� ...

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...

. As an actor, he is best known for portraying Paul Taylor in the 1988 remake of ''

The Blob ''The Blob'' is a 1958 American science fiction horror film directed by Irvin Yeaworth, and written by Kay Linaker and Theodore Simonson. It stars Steve McQueen (in his first feature film leading role) and Aneta Corsaut and co-stars Earl Rowe ...

''.

Career

Leitch appeared in the films '' Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo'' (1985), '' The In Crowd'' (1988), '' ...And God Created Woman'' (1988), ''

'' (1988), '' Glory'' (1989, portraying

Charles Fessenden Morse Charles Fessenden Morse (September 22, 1839 – December 11, 1926) was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War and, afterward, an influential businessman and civic leader in Kansas City, Missouri. Early life Morse ...

), ''

Cutting Class ''Cutting Class'' is a 1989 American black comedy slasher film directed by Rospo Pallenberg in his directorial debut, written by Steve Slavkin, and starring Donovan Leitch, Jill Schoelen, Brad Pitt, Roddy McDowall, and Martin Mull. It was Pit ...

'' (1989), '' Gas, Food Lodging'' (1992), ''

Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...

'' (1992), ''

Jack the Bear ''Jack the Bear'' is a 1993 American drama film directed by Marshall Herskovitz, written by Steven Zaillian based on the novel by Dan McCall, and starring Danny DeVito, Robert J. Steinmiller Jr., Miko Hughes, and Gary Sinise. Plot Jack Leary ...

'' (1993), ''Cityscrapes: Los Angeles'' (1994), '' I Shot Andy Warhol'' (1996), ''

One Night Stand A one-night stand or one-night sex is a single sexual encounter in which there is an expectation that there shall be no further relations between the sexual participants. It draws its name from the common practice of a one-night stand, a single ...

'' (1997) and '' Love Kills'' (1998). Leitch was featured as the villain of the week, Malcolm Lagg, an underground fight club coordinator for metahumans in the ''

Birds of Prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predat ...

'' episode "

Gladiatrix The gladiatrix (plural ''gladiatrices'') is the female equivalent of the gladiator of ancient Rome. Like their male counterparts, gladiatrices fought each other, or wild animals, to entertain audiences at various games and festivals. Very little ...

". In 1986, he auditioned for the role of "Bill S. Preston Esquire" in '' Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'' being one of the final picks along with

Keanu Reeves Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor. Born in Beirut and raised in Toronto, Reeves began acting in theatre productions and in television films before making his feature film debut in '' Youngblood'' (1986). ...

, Gary Riley and

Matt Adler Matthew D. Adler (born December 8, 1966) is an American film actor. He is best known for his supporting roles in the 1980s teenage films: ''Teen Wolf'', '' White Water Summer'', '' North Shore'', and '' Dream a Little Dream''. He currently works ...

. The role ultimately went to Alex Winter, who initially read for the part of Ted "Theodore" Logan. In the early 1990s, Leitch formed Nancy Boy, an

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

band with

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

and

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...

influences. The band also featured guitarist Jason Nesmith, son of

. The band released two albums, ''Promosexual'' in 1995 and ''

Nancy Boy "Nancy Boy" is a song by British alternative rock band Placebo, released on 20 January 1997, as the fourth single from their debut self-titled album, released on Hut Records. As with their first single " Come Home", the single edit is a re-re ...

'' in 1996. Although their second album was issued on major label

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

, it was not a success, and the band fell inactive after Nesmith left the lineup a few years later.

Personal life

Leitch was born in London, the son of singer/songwriter

and model Enid Karl (née Stulberger). He is the brother of actress

. His parents separated when he was three and he was raised by his mother in the Hollywood Hills of California. His father is Scottish, of partial Irish descent. His mother was raised in

The Bronx, New York City The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New York ...

and is

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 ...

. He married Scottish model

Kirsty Hume Kirsty Hume (born 4 September 1976) is a Scottish model who came to prominence in the 1990s. Modeling Hume modelled for Dior, Givenchy, Chanel, Lanvin, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Lacroix, Gianfranco Ferré, Claude Montana, Alexander M ...

on September 23, 1997. Their daughter, Violet Jean Leitch, was born March 21, 2004, at home in Los Angeles. Leitch and Hume separated in 2011, and Hume filed for divorce in summer 2014. Leitch proposed to actress Libby Mintz two months after Hume filed for divorce. He and Mintz had a son, Donovan Evers Leitch, on April 14, 2015, and were married in a ceremony in Los Angeles on October 3, 2015.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leitch, Donovan Jr. 1967 births Living people English male film actors English rock singers English people of Irish descent English people of Scottish descent English male television actors American male film actors American male musicians American rock singers American people of Scottish descent American male television actors Male actors from London Musicians from London British emigrants to the United States Musicians from Los Angeles Male actors from Los Angeles 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Camp Freddy members Romo