David Michael Haskell (June 4, 1948 – August 30, 2000) was an American film, stage and television actor and singer best known for his performance in Godspell.

Early life

He was born in

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquired Rancho Campo de los Franceses. The city is named after R ...

. David graduated from Terra Linda High School,

San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish for " St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's popula ...

, in June 1966. He attended the

College of Marin The College of Marin is a public community college in Marin County, California, with two campuses, one in Kentfield, and the second in Novato. It is the only institution operated by the Marin Community College District. College of Marin has bee ...

before transferring to

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

. He was also a Past Master Councilor of the Mill Valley Chapter,

Order of DeMolay DeMolay International is an international fraternal organization for young men ages 12 to 21. It was founded in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1919 and named for Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar. DeMolay was incorpora ...

Career

Haskell is best remembered for his dual performance in the 1970s in the New York City, New York,

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

musical-theatre production ''

Godspell ''Godspell'' is a musical composed by Stephen Schwartz with book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set to lyrics from traditional hym ...

'' and its subsequent

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

'' Godspell: A Musical Based on the Gospel According to St. Matthew'' (1973) appearing as both

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

and

Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas bet ...

. He also appeared as Claudio in the

Joseph Papp Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American Li ...

New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare in the Park (or Free Shakespeare in the Park) is a theatrical program that stages productions of Shakespearean plays at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air theater in New York City's Central Park. The theater and the productions ar ...

off-Broadway theatre production (1976), at the Delacorte Theater, of the play ''

Measure for Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604, according to available records. It was published in the '' First Folio'' of 1623. The play's plot features its ...

'' (''circa'' 1603 or 1604) by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

.Database (undated).
"David Haskell"
. Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved April 24, 2011. He played recurring character Nick Hartley on the soap opera '' Santa Barbara'' from 1985-1986, the love interest of the character Kelly played by Robin Wright-Penn. He can also be seen as the doctor who saves the life of the dog at the end of the 1989 movie '' K-9''. Haskell also made various guest appearances on several television series from the 1970s to the 1990s. Included in these is a 1973 appearance in ''

The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. Moo ...

'' in the fourth season episode, "Cottage for Sale". He played a newlywed home buyer named David Russell.

Death

He died of brain cancer, aged 52, in Woodland Hills, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.

Partial filmography

*''

'' (1973) - John / Judas *'' Seems Like Old Times'' (1980) - Policeman *''

Deal of the Century ''Deal of the Century'' is a 1983 American comedy film directed by William Friedkin and starring Chevy Chase, Gregory Hines, and Sigourney Weaver. The film follows the adventures of several arms dealers that compete to sell weapons to a South ...

'' (1983) - Rockwell Official *''

Body Double In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes FOR another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stun ...

'' (1984) - Will the Drama Teacher *'' The Boost'' (1988) - Doctor *'' K-9'' (1989) - Doctor

References

External links