Leonard White (5 November 1916 – 2 January 2016) was a British actor and television producer. In the latter role he was responsible for '' The Avengers'' and ''

Armchair Theatre ''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968. The Canad ...

''.

Early life

White was born in Newhaven, East Sussex. His father was a bookmaker and racehorse owner, and his mother ran a wholesale newsagents business. He was introduced to acting by the headmaster of his school, who ran a boys' Shakespearean acting troupe.

Career

After leaving school, White pursued a career as a stage actor in London. Initially, he supported himself with a clerical job while performing with the Tavistock Repertory Company (now the Tower Theatre Company). During

World War II 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 opposing ...

, he served in the British Army in

Signals In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...

; following the end of World War II in Europe, he did the remainder of his service acting in plays produced by the

Army Bureau of Current Affairs The Army Bureau of Current Affairs (ABCA) was an organisation within the British Army during World War II to promote discussion among soldiers about current events, citizenship, and post-war reconstruction. In August 1940, Lord Croft, Under-Sec ...

. On being

demobilised Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milita ...

in 1946, he made the transition to full-time professional acting. In 1951 he was one of the original leads of Christopher Fry's '' A Sleep of Prisoners'', alongside

Denholm Elliott Denholm Mitchell Elliott, (31 May 1922 – 6 October 1992) was an English actor, with more than 125 film and television credits. His well-known roles include the abortionist in '' Alfie'' (1966), Marcus Brody in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (19 ...

Stanley Baker Sir William Stanley Baker (28 February 192828 June 1976) was a Welsh actor and film producer. Known for his rugged appearance and intense, grounded screen persona, he was one of the top British male film stars of the late 1950s, and later a pro ...

, and

Hugh Pryse Hugh Pryse (1910–1955) was a British character actor. He was born on 11 November 1910 with the name John Hwfa Pryse, and was billed as Hwfa Pryse in the films ''Penn of Pennsylvania'' and ''"Pimpernel" Smith. His stage work included Peter Bro ...

. From acting he turned his hand to directing, which led to his career as a television producer. In 1957, he completed a training course for television producer/directors run by the Canadian CBC Television. In 1960,

Sydney Newman Sydney Cecil Newman (April 1, 1917 – October 30, 1997) was a Canadian film and television producer, who played a pioneering role in British television drama from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. After his return to Canada in 1970, Newman w ...

, a former CBC producer who had moved to Britain to work for the ITV contractor

ABC Weekend TV ABC Weekend TV was the popular name of the British broadcaster ABC Television Limited, which provided the weekend service in the Midlands and Northern England regions of the Independent Television (ITV) network from 1956 to 1968. It was one ...

, invited him to join the company as an associate producer. White's credits include '' Police Surgeon'' and its spin-off '' The Avengers'', which he co-created with Newman, as well as many episodes of the anthology series '' Out of This World'', ''

'' and ''

ITV Playhouse ''Playhouse'' is a British television anthology series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour ...

''.

Memoirs

He published a memoir, ''Armchair Theatre: The Lost Years'', in 2003, and the first volume of his autobiography, ''Many Moons and a Few Stars'', in 2010.

Death

White died in the Abundant Grace nursing home in Seaford, East Sussex on 2 January 2016. He was survived by a niece and five grandchildren, and one great-grandson.

References

External links

*
Leonard White
Filmography at BFI website * Obituary/ Funeral tributes

http://www.horseytalk.net/HorseyInterviews/LeonardWhite.html , HorseyTalk]
Big FinishThe Brighton ArgosHerald ScotlandSussex Express

Leonard talks about the influence of his Headmaster, Ernest J. Coker (2009)

Leonard reads an extract of a letter from Patrick Macnee, reflecting on the years at ABC
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Leonard 1916 births 2016 deaths English television producers English male film actors English male television actors English male stage actors British Army personnel of World War II People from Newhaven, East Sussex The Avengers (TV series)