Leon Thau (8 April 1926 in Palestine – 16 May 2010 in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

)"Leon Thau"
BFI Film Forever was a British actor, TV producer and director. He played the part of Frankie Wing in the 1960 London production of the musical ''

Flower Drum Song ''Flower Drum Song'' was the eighth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on the 1957 novel, '' The Flower Drum Song'', by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. It premiered on Broadway in 1958 and was then performed in the ...

''. As an actor, he became known in the BBC TV comedy series ''

It's a Square World ''It's a Square World'' is a British comedy television series starring Michael Bentine and produced by the BBC. It ran from 1960 until 1964, each episode being of 30 minutes duration. The series gained Bentine a BAFTA award in 1962 for Light E ...

'' (1960–64), and also appeared in ''

Comedy Playhouse ''Comedy Playhouse'' is a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 120 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including ''Steptoe and Son'', '' Meet the Wife'', ' ...

'', ''

The Gnomes of Dulwich ''The Gnomes of Dulwich'' is a United Kingdom television sitcom originally shown in six episodes from 12 May 1969 to 16 June 1969. Written by Jimmy Perry, the show starred Terry Scott, Hugh Lloyd, John Clive, Leon Thau, Anne de Vigier and L ...

'', ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debut ...

'', ''

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 ...

'' and '' The Avengers''. He had parts in the films '' The Magic Christian'', ''

Carry On Up the Khyber ''Carry On Up the Khyber'' is a 1968 British comedy film, the 16th in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). It stars ''Carry On'' regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Bernard Bresslaw and Peter Butt ...

'', ''

The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery ''The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery'' is a British comedy film, directed by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, written by Sidney and Leslie Gilliat, and released on 4 April 1966. It is the last of the original series of films based on the ...

'' and '' The Sandwich Man''. Having worked with

Michael Bentine Michael Bentine, (born Michael James Bentin; 26 January 1922General Register Office for England and Wales – Birth Register for the March Quarter of 1922, Watford Registration District, Reference 3a 1478, listed as "Michael J. Bentin", mother ...

in ''It's a Square World'' and ''The Sandwich Man'', he produced and directed '' Michael Bentine's Potty Time'' for

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

.www.thechestnut.com/potty.htm
/ref> As a director he was responsible for ''

Prisoner Cell Block H ''Prisoner'' (known in the UK and the US as ''Prisoner: Cell Block H'') is an Australian television soap opera, which broadcast on Network Ten (originally The 0-10 Network) from February 27 (Melbourne) February 26 (Sydney) 1979 to December 1 ...

'', ''

The Tomorrow People ''The Tomorrow People'' is a British children's science fiction television series created by Roger Price. Produced by Thames Television for the ITV Network, the series first ran from 30 April 1973 to 19 February 1979. The theme music was ...

'', and the children's series ''

T-Bag ''T-Bag'' is a British television series about the eponymous witch-like character and her assistant, T-Shirt. The series ran from 1985 to 1992 on ''Children's ITV''. Written by Grant Cathro and Lee Pressman, each series adopted a different tit ...

'' of which he was also a producer. He produced the situation comedy '' It's Awfully Bad For Your Eyes, Darling'' (1971).TV Comedy Resources
/ref>

Filmography

*''

'' (1966) - Pakistani Porter *'' The Sandwich Man'' (1966) - Ram *'' Casino Royale'' (1967) - Soldier Johnson (uncredited) *''

'' (1968) - Stinghi *'' The Magic Christian'' (1969) - Engine Room Toff (uncredited)

References

Search at Ancestry.co.uk

External links

includes image *, 1926 births 2010 deaths British television directors British people in Mandatory Palestine {{UK-tv-actor-1920s-stub