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Milo Sperber (20 March 1911 – 22 December 1992) was a British actor, director and writer, who was born in Poland.


Early life

Sperber was born in 1911 into a family of Polish
Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...
Jews who fled anti-Semitism during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. His older brother was activist, author and intellectual
Manès Sperber Manès Sperber (12 December 1905 – 5 February 1984) was an Austrian- French novelist, essayist and psychologist. He also wrote under the pseudonyms ''Jan Heger'' and ''N.A. Menlos''. Early life Sperber was born on 12 December 1905 in Zabłotó ...
. The younger Sperber trained as a lawyer in Vienna before joining
Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he i ...
's
school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...
; there he played roles in ''
Six Characters in Search of an Author ''Six Characters in Search of an Author'' ( it, Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore, link=no ) is an Italian play by Luigi Pirandello, written and first performed in 1921. An absurdist fiction, absurdist metatheatrical, metatheatric play about th ...
'' and ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...
'', among other plays.
Martin Esslin , birth_date = , birth_place = Budapest, Austria-Hungary , death_date = , death_place = London, England, UK , education = University of ViennaMax Reinhardt Seminar, ...
was a classmate during this time. While on the rise as an actor, in 1939 he fled Germany and the
Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
with his family, eventually landing in Britain as refugees.


Career

Early in the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Sperber joined the Oxford Pilgrim Players; he gained experience directing the company on tour in ''Case 27 VC'' and spending a season in London even during the
Blitz Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to: Military uses *Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign *The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War *, an Imperial German Navy light cruiser b ...
. He also was involved in producing anti-Nazi propaganda for 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. ...
...
before the end of the war. His later career included stints in
cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...
, theatre and television; in the last capacity, he performed as shoe salesman Mr. Grossman in four episodes of ''
Are You Being Served? ''Are You Being Served?'' is a British sitcom created and written by executive producer David Croft (Croft also directed some episodes) and Jeremy Lloyd, with contributions from Michael Knowles and John Chapman, for the BBC. Set in London, t ...
''. In 1990, at the age of 79, he appeared in Series 2, Episode 7 of ''
Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more ...
'', "The Kidnapped Prime Minister," as Mr. Fingler, Poirot's '' kvetching'' tailor. His big-screen career included performances in minor roles in such films as ''
Foreign Intrigue ''Foreign Intrigue'' (also known as ''Foreign Assignment'') is a syndicated espionage drama television series produced in Europe by Sheldon Reynolds. The 30-minute series ran for four seasons from 1951 to 1955, producing 156 episodes. It was th ...
'', '' The Spy Who Loved Me'', ''
Operation Crossbow ''Crossbow'' was the code name in World War II for Anglo-American operations against the German V-weapons, long range reprisal weapons (V-weapons) programme. The main V-weapons were the V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket – these were launched aga ...
'', ''
In Search of the Castaways ''In Search of the Castaways'' (french: Les Enfants du capitaine Grant, lit=The Children of Captain Grant) is a novel by the French writer Jules Verne, published in 1867–68. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains a number of ill ...
'' and ''
Billion Dollar Brain ''Billion Dollar Brain'' is a 1967 British espionage film directed by Ken Russell and based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Len Deighton. The film features Michael Caine as secret agent Harry Palmer, the anti-hero protagonist. The "brai ...
''. He taught for some time at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...
, and served as a scriptwriter for the BBC's German language service. Many of his students at RADA went on to succeed in the arts, including
Glenda Jackson Glenda May Jackson (born 9 May 1936) is an English actress and former Member of Parliament (MP). She has won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice: for her role as Gudrun Brangwen in the romantic drama ''Women in Love'' (1970); and again for ...
. Sperber's last appearance in the West End was in a 1984 production of ''
The Clandestine Marriage ''The Clandestine Marriage'' is a comedy by George Colman the Elder and David Garrick, first performed in 1766 at Drury Lane. It is both a comedy of manners and a comedy of errors. The idea came from a series of pictures by William Hogarth entit ...
'' at the
Albany Theatre The Albany is a multi-purpose arts centre in Deptford, south-east London. Facilities include a flexible performance space holding up to 300 seated or 500 standing and a bar, two studio theatres, a performance cafe and rehearsal / meeting rooms. T ...
; he spent his last years travelling Britain, giving readings from the works of his brother, writer
Manès Sperber Manès Sperber (12 December 1905 – 5 February 1984) was an Austrian- French novelist, essayist and psychologist. He also wrote under the pseudonyms ''Jan Heger'' and ''N.A. Menlos''. Early life Sperber was born on 12 December 1905 in Zabłotó ...
. Sperber died on 22 December 1992, aged 81 in London, United Kingdom.


Filmography


References


Further reading

* *''Are You Being Served? A Celebration of Twenty-Five Years''. Richard Webber with David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. New York; Welcome Rain, 1998. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sperber, Milo 1911 births 1992 deaths Jews who immigrated to the United Kingdom to escape Nazism Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom BBC people Academics of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art English male stage actors English male television actors English male film actors Jewish English male actors English Ashkenazi Jews 20th-century English male actors