Leonard Meyer Sachs (26 September 1909 – 15 June 1990) was a South African-born British actor.

Life and career

Sachs was born in the town of Roodepoort, in the then Transvaal Colony, present day South Africa. He was Jewish. He emigrated to the

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 continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

in 1929 and had many television and film roles from the 1930s to the 1980s, including Mowbray in the 1950 BBC Television version of '' Richard II'',

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, theologian, and evangelist who was a leader of a revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies he founded became the dominant form of the independent Me ...

in the 1954 film of the same name and Lord Mount Severn in '' East Lynne'' from 1976. He founded an Old Time Music Hall, named the Players' Theatre, in Villiers Street, Charing Cross, London. He appeared as the Chairman of the Leeds City Varieties in the long-running BBC television series '' The Good Old Days'', which ran from 1953 to 1983, and became known for his elaborate, sesquipedalian introductions of the performers. Sachs was honoured in a 1977 episode of '' This Is Your Life''. Sachs appeared in '' Danger Man'' with Patrick McGoohan. He had two appearances in the science fiction series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

'': as Admiral Gaspard de Coligny in '' The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve'' in 1966 and as Lord President Borusa in '' Arc of Infinity'' in 1983. He also appeared in the 1985

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal ...

in a tribute to ''The Good Old Days''.

Personal life

Sachs married the actress

Eleanor Summerfield Eleanor Audrey Summerfield (7 March 1921 – 13 July 2001) was an English actress who appeared in many plays, films and television series. She is known for her roles in '' Laughter in Paradise'' (1951), '' Final Appointment'' (1954), ''Odongo'' ...

in 1947. The couple had two sons, the actor Robin Sachs and Toby Sachs. In January 1984, he was fined £75 for " importuning men for an immoral purpose" at Notting Hill Gate tube station. Sachs died from kidney failure in on 15 June 1990 in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buc ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a maj ...

, at the age of 80.Death of 'Good Old Days' Star
The Courier, 16 June 1990, p. 3

Selected filmography

* '' The Secret of Stamboul'' (1936) – Arif * '' State Secret'' (1950) – Dr. Poldoi * '' The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan'' (1953) – Smythe * ''

'' (1954) – John Wesley * '' Malaga'' (1954) – Paul Dupont * '' The Men of Sherwood Forest'' (1954) – Sheriff of Nottingham * '' Gentlemen Marry Brunettes'' (1955) – M. Dufy * ''Count of Twelve'' (1955) – Mark Dyson (episode "Blind Man's Bluff") * '' The Gamma People'' (1956) – Telegraph Clerk * ''

Odongo ''Odongo'' or ''Odongo Adventure on the African Frontier'' is a 1956 British Warwick Films CinemaScope African adventure drama film directed by John Gilling and starring Rhonda Fleming, Macdonald Carey and Juma. The screenplay concerns a wh ...

'' (1956) – Game Warden * '' Face in the Night'' (1957) – Victor * '' After the Ball'' (1957) – Richard Warner * '' Seven Thunders'' (1957) – German Officer (uncredited) * '' Man from Tangier'' (1957) – Heinrich * '' The Man Who Wouldn't Talk'' (1958) – Professor Horvard * '' Behemoth the Sea Monster'' (1959) – Scientist * '' The Dover Road Mystery'' (1960) – Herbert Roberts * '' Beyond the Curtain'' (1960) – Waiter * ''

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

'' (1960) – Richard Legallienne * '' The Siege of Sidney Street'' (1960) – Svaars (uncredited) * '' The Bulldog Breed'' (1960) – Yachtsman (uncredited) * '' Five Golden Hours'' (1961) – Mr. Morini * ''

Konga Konga () is a locality situated in Tingsryd Municipality, Kronoberg County Kronoberg County (; sv, Kronobergs län) is a county or ''län'' in southern Sweden. Kronoberg is one of three counties in the province of Småland. It borders the c ...

'' (1961) – Bob's Father * '' Taste of Fear'' (1961) – Mr. Spratt * '' Pit of Darkness'' (1961) – Clifton Conrad * ''

Bomb in the High Street ''Bomb in the High Street'' is a 1963 British drama film directed by Peter Bezencenet and Terry Bishop. It stars Ronald Howard, Terry Palmer, and Suzanna Leigh. Premise A gang of villains carry out a bank robbery disguised as soldiers, creat ...

'' (1961) – Freeling * '' Locker Sixty-Nine'' (1962) – Spencer * '' She Knows Y'Know'' (1962) – John Dawson * '' Freud: The Secret Passion'' (1962) – Brouhardier * '' Stranglehold'' (1963) – The Dutchman * ''

Panic Panic is a sudden sensation of fear, which is so strong as to dominate or prevent reason and logical thinking, replacing it with overwhelming feelings of anxiety and frantic agitation consistent with an animalistic fight-or-flight reactio ...

'' (1963) – Len Collier * '' The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders'' (1965) – Prison Doctor * '' Thunderball'' (1965) – Group Captain Pritchard * '' Once Is Not Enough'' (1975) – Dr. Peterson

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sachs, Leonard 1909 births 1990 deaths British male television actors British male film actors South African male television actors South African male film actors South African Jews South African emigrants to the United Kingdom Bisexual male actors LGBT entertainers from South Africa LGBT actors from England LGBT Jews People from Roodepoort People prosecuted under anti-homosexuality laws Jewish British male actors 20th-century British male actors 20th-century LGBT people