Editing David Swift (actor)

{{Short description|English actor (1931–2016)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}

{{Use British English|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = David Swift
| image       = David Swift as Henry Davenport.jpg
| caption     = Swift as Henry Davenport in ''[[Drop the Dead Donkey]]''
| birth_name   = David Bernard Swift
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1931|4|3|df=y}}
| birth_place  = [[Liverpool]], England
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|2016|4|8|1931|4|3|df=y}}
| death_place  = [[London]], England
| resting_place = [[Highgate Cemetery]]
| occupation  = Actor
| yearsactive = 1961–2004
| spouse      = {{marriage|[[Paula Jacobs]]|1953}}
| children    = 2<ref name=obit />
| relatives    = {{ubl
  | [[Clive Swift]] (brother)
  | [[Adam Swift]] (nephew)
  | [[Rebecca Swift]] (niece)
  | [[Joe Swift]] (nephew)
  | [[David Bamber]] (son-in-law)
  | [[Ethan Bamber]] (grandson) 
  }}
}}

'''David Bernard Swift''' (3 April 1931 – 8 April 2016) was an English actor known for his role as Henry Davenport in the topical comedy ''[[Drop the Dead Donkey]]''.

==Early life==
Swift was born in [[Liverpool]], the second of the four children of Abram Sampson Swift and Lily Rebecca (née Greenman), who owned a furniture shop in [[Bootle]].<ref name=obit /> His family was [[Jews|Jewish]].<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/31246/art-thou-contented-jew |title=Art Thou Contented, Jew? |first=Margaret |last=Drabble |access-date=30 July 2014 |date=20 April 2010 |journal=[[Tablet Mag]]}}</ref> He was educated at [[Clifton College]]<ref name="BOOK">{{cite book |title=Clifton College Annals and Register, 1860–1947 |first=J.A.O. |last=Muirhead |date=1948 |publisher=J. W. Arrowsmith |pages=520}}</ref> and [[Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge]], where he studied [[law]]. He then embarked on a career as a businessman with his father-in-law, J.P. Jacobs, whose company supplied all the elastic to [[Marks & Spencer]].

==Career==
Swift made his professional debut on stage after being appointed as an assistant stage manager at [[Dundee Repertory Theatre]] in 1963. He made his television debut in 1964 as Theo Clay in the soap opera ''[[Compact (TV series)|Compact]]''.<ref name=obit /> He appeared in many small-screen roles in the 1970s and 1980s, whilst in the theatre he appeared in the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]]'s 1978 production of ''[[Henry VI, Part 1]]'' at the [[Aldwych Theatre]], and won acclaim for his performance as [[Frank Doel]] in the [[Ambassadors Theatre (London)|Ambassadors Theatre]]'s 1981-2 production of ''[[84, Charing Cross Road]]''. In addition he played Montclair in the film of ''[[The Day of the Jackal (film)|The Day of the Jackal]]'' (1973).<ref name=obit /> Swift appeared as Dingley alongside [[Richard Beckinsale]] in the BBC situation comedy ''[[Bloomers (TV series)|Bloomers]]'' (1979) and also appeared in several episodes of ''[[Going Straight]]'' (1978), the sequel to ''[[Porridge (1974 TV series)|Porridge]]''. Prior to this he had made a guest appearance, again with Beckinsale, in the [[ITV Yorkshire|Yorkshire Television]] comedy ''[[Rising Damp]]'' in which he played a suicidal tenant in the episode "Good Samaritans". But it was the role of irascible newsreader Henry Davenport in the topical comedy ''[[Drop the Dead Donkey]]'', written by [[Andy Hamilton]] and [[Guy Jenkin]], for which Swift became best known. He also made occasional appearances as God in the [[BBC Radio 4|Radio 4]] comedy ''[[Old Harry's Game]]'', also written by Hamilton.

Alongside his acting career, Swift had an active interest in the behind-the-scenes aspects of media production, running the sound recording and post-production businesses Preview 1 and Preview 2 in the 1960s, before co-founding and managing Tempest Films in 1969 along with film-makers [[Charles Denton (television and film producer)|Charles Denton]], [[Richard Marquand]], Paul Watson and [[John Pilger]]. The company also produced documentaries by actor-director [[Kenneth Griffith]].<ref name=obit>{{cite web |last=Hayward|first=Anthony|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/apr/18/david-swift-obituary |title=David Swift obituary|work=The Guardian|date=18 April 2016 |access-date=18 April 2016}}</ref>

==Personal life and death==
[[File:Swift, David 2016.jpg|thumb|150px|Grave of David Swift and Paula Jacobs in [[Highgate Cemetery]]]]
Swift was the elder brother of the actor [[Clive Swift]], known for his role in ''[[Keeping Up Appearances]]'', with whom he sometimes performed.  He was the uncle of the academic [[Adam Swift]] and the television personality [[Joe Swift]] and their sister Rebecca. He was married to the actress [[Paula Jacobs]], was the father of actress Julia Swift and [[father-in-law]] of actor [[David Bamber]].

He died from complications of [[Alzheimer's disease]] on 8 April 2016, aged 85.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://david.swift.muchloved.com |title = Memorial to David Bernard Swift, 1931 - 2016}}</ref>

He is buried on the eastern side of [[Highgate Cemetery]] with his wife Paula.

==Selected filmography==

===Film===
* ''[[Travels with My Aunt (film)|Travels with My Aunt]]'' (1972) - Detective
* ''[[The Day of the Jackal (film)|The Day of the Jackal]]'' (1973) - Montclair
* ''[[No Sex Please, We're British (film)|No Sex Please, We're British]]'' (1973) - Inspector Paul 
* ''[[Who Killed Lamb?]]'' (1974, TV film) - Inspector Havelock
* ''[[The Internecine Project]]'' (1974) - Chester Drake
* ''[[The Assignment (1977 film)|The Assignment]]'' (1977) - Zaforteza
* ''[[The Black Panther (1977 film)|The Black Panther]]'' (1977) - Detective Chief Superintendent
* ''We Think the World of You'' (1988) - Bill
* ''[[Jack & Sarah]]'' (1995) - Michael

===Television===
* ''[[Hamlet at Elsinore]]'' (1964) - Player King
* ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]'' (1966) - Barber 
* ''[[Budgie (TV series)|Budgie]]'' (1971) - Sergeant Oxley
* ''[[Another Sunday and Sweet F.A.]]'' (1972) - Eric Armitstead
* ''[[War and Peace (1972 TV series)|War and Peace]]'' (1972) - [[Napoleon Bonaparte]]
* ''[[Fall of Eagles]]'' (1974) - [[Dmitri Feodorovich Trepov|Trepov]]
* ''[[Father Brown (1974 TV series)|Father Brown]]'' (1974) - Stephen Aylmer 
* ''[[The New Avengers (TV series)|The New Avengers]]'' (1976) - Turner 
* ''[[BBC Television Shakespeare#King Richard the Second|Richard II]]'' (1978) - [[Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland|Duke of Northumberland]]
* ''[[Les Misérables (1978 film)|Les Misérables]]'' (1978) - Troufiat 
* ''[[Going Straight]]'' (1978) - Mr. McEwan
* ''[[Bloomers (TV series)|Bloomers]]'' (1979) - Dingley
* ''[[Turtle's Progress]]'' (1980) (Series 2 only) - Superintendent Rafferty 
* ''[[The Bunker (1981 film)|The Bunker]]'' (1981) - [[Johann Rattenhuber]]
* ''[[The Day of the Triffids (1981 TV series)|The Day of the Triffids]]'' (1981) - Beadley
* ''[[Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years]]'' (1981) - [[Frederick Lindemann, 1st Viscount Cherwell|Professor Lindemann]] 
* ''[[Freud (miniseries)|Freud]]'' (1984) - Joseph Breuer 
* ''[[Bergerac (TV series)|Bergerac]]'' (1987) - Dr. Barnard
* ''[[The Storyteller (TV series)|The Storyteller]]'' (1987) - King
* ''[[Vanity Fair (1987 TV serial)|Vanity Fair]]'' (1987) - Mr. Sedley
* ''[[Jack the Ripper (miniseries)|Jack the Ripper]]'' (1988) - [[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury|Lord Salisbury]]
* ''[[Agatha Christie's Poirot]]'' (1989) - Henry Reedburn
* ''[[Countdown to War]]'' (1989) - [[Édouard Daladier]]
* ''[[Drop the Dead Donkey]]'' (1990–1998) - Henry Davenport 
* ''[[Holby City]]'' (2002) - Bill Hoskins 
* ''[[Born and Bred]]'' (2004) - Euphrates

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|842581|David Swift}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swift, David}}
[[Category:1931 births]]
[[Category:2016 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Burials at Highgate Cemetery]]
[[Category:English male film actors]]
[[Category:English male television actors]]
[[Category:Jewish English male actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from Liverpool]]
[[Category:People educated at Clifton College]]
[[Category:Swift family|David]]