David Hurst

For the Mississippi justice, see David W. Hurst. For those of a similar name, see David Hirst (disambiguation).

David Hurst (born Heinrich Theodor Hirsch; 8 May 1926 – 15 September 2019) was a German actor, best known for his role in the film Hello, Dolly as Rudolph the headwaiter.

David Hurst
David Hurst in Kelly's Heroes 1970
Born	Heinrich Theodor Hirsch 8 May 1926 Berlin, Germany
Died	15 September 2019(2019-09-15) (aged 93) Berlin, Germany
Occupation(s)	Actor, theatre producer
Years active	1948–2000

Biography

Early life and career

Hurst grew up in a family of actors. As a Jewish child living in 1930s Germany, he faced persecution from the Nazi regime. After the pogroms of Kristallnacht, the British government allowed for the rescue of Jewish children from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland and the Free City of Danzig. He was one of the nearly 10,000 children in 1938–1939 moved with the Kindertransport to the United Kingdom. He was separated from his mother at 12 years old, and never saw her again.

Housed in a manor in Northern Ireland, he lived with other young emigrants in the care of the family of an estate manager. His first stage experience was in Belfast at a repertory theatre, where he also changed his name from Heinrich Hirsch to David Hurst. During the Second World War he joined the British army, but because of his German background he was assigned to Entertainments National Service Association, where he performed as an actor and a comedian.

His first film role was as Wolfgang Winkel in The Perfect Woman (1949), a role Hurst had previously played in the West End to critical praise. He went on to appear in many British films of the 1950s.

United States

In 1957, Hurst moved to the United States. He spent most of his time in California, but often performed on Broadway. In 1960, he created the role of Merlyn in the original Broadway production of Camelot opposite Richard Burton.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s he played in film, television and theatre. In 1959 he received the Clarence Derwent Award and in 1964, he was awarded the Obie Award from The Village Voice for his off-Broadway performance in A Month in the Country.

He performed in the film version of Hello, Dolly (1969) as Rudolph the headwaiter alongside Barbra Streisand and Walter Matthau. This was his most notable role in America. He also had roles in the films Kelly's Heroes (1970) and The Boys From Brazil (1978). Hurst also appeared in numerous TV series including Mission: Impossible, Serpico and Star Trek.

Throughout his career he worked as a visiting professor at Yale, Boston University and Carnegie Mellon.

Return to Germany

In the 1980s he appeared in several German-American co-productions, and visited his half-brother Wolfgang Heinz in East Berlin. Hurst decided to remain in Germany, and worked in Vienna and Berlin with a fellow erstwhile emigrant (and Actors Studio colleague), theatre director George Tabori. From 1991 Hurst worked at the Burgtheater, Vienna, eventually returning to live in Berlin in 2000, when he retired from acting. He died there on 15 September 2019 after suffering a stroke and pneumonia.

Appearances

Theatre

Play	Role	Theatre	Dates
A Midsummer Night's Dream	Ensemble	Broadway	21 September – 17 October 1954
Look After Lulu!	The Policeman	Broadway	3 March – 4 April 1959
Under The Sycamore Tree	The Scientist	Cricket Theatre	7 March – 10 April 1960 41 performances
Camelot	Merlyn	Broadway	3 December 1960 – 5 January 1963
The Lunatic View	Young Man	Lucille Lortel Theatre	November 1962
A Month in the Country	Ignaty Ilyitch Shpigelsky	Maidman Playhouse	1963 – 1964 48 performances
Electra	Paedagogus	Delacorte Theater	5 – 29 August 1964 22 performances (New York Shakespeare Festival)
Henry IV	Dr. Dionysius Genoni	Broadway	28 April – 28 May 1973
Dracula	Abraham Van Helsing	Broadway	20 October 1977 – 6 January 1980
The Faithful Brethren of Pitt Street	Joseph Knaitsch	Orpheum Theatre	5 – 20 November 1988 20 performances

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1949	The Perfect Woman	Wolfgang Winkel
1950	Tony Draws a Horse	Ivan
	Soho Conspiracy	Franco
1951	Smart Alec	Poppi
1952	So Little Time	Blumel / Baumann
	Old Mother Riley Meets the Vampire	Mugsy
	Venetian Bird	Minelli
	Top Secret	Professor Deutsch
1953	Rough Shoot	Lex
	Always a Bride	Beckstein
1954	River Beat	Paddy McClure
	Mad About Men	Signor Mantalini
1955	One Good Turn	Professor Dofee
	As Long as They're Happy	Dr. Hermann Schneider
	All for Mary	M. Victor
1956	The Intimate Stranger	Dave Pearson	Uncredited
1957	After the Ball	Perelli
1964	The Confession	Gustave
1968	How to Steal the World	Dr. Jan Vanovech	(archive footage)
1969	The Maltese Bippy	Dr. Charles Strauss
	Hello, Dolly!	Rudolph Reizenweber
1970	Kelly's Heroes	Col. Dankhopf
1973	Orville and Wilbur	Chanute
1978	The Boys from Brazil	Strasser

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1956	The Adventures of Aggie	Lazareff	Episode: "Snap Judgment"
1957	Armstrong Circle Theatre	Government official	Episode: "The Shepherd of Paris"
1958	DuPont Show of the Month	Mr. Stryver	Episode: "A Tale of Two Cities"
	Kraft Television Theatre		2 Episodes: "Riddle of a Lady" and "Next Door to Death"
1960	Play of the Week		2 Episodes: "Tiger at the Gates" and "The Emperor's Clothes"
	Dow Hour of Great Mysteries	Baron	Episode: "The Dachet Diamonds"
1962	Car 54, Where Are You?	Robin Stuart, playwright	Episode: "That's Show Business"
1964	The Defenders	Dr. Schaeffer	Episode: "Drink Like a Lady"
1965	Look Up and Live		2 Episodes: "The Initiation" and "The Judgment"
	The Man from U.N.C.L.E.	Dr. Leland Mayes Elmont	Episode: "The Brain-Killer Affair"
	The Patty Duke Show	Dennis Latouche	Episode: "It Takes a Heap of Livin'"
1966	Hawk	Louis Anselmi	Episode: "The Longleat Chronicles"
	The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.	Matthew Brecker	Episode: "The Mata Hari Affair"
1967	Hallmark Hall of Fame	Petrovini	Episode: "Anastasia"
	Mission: Impossible	Victor Grigov	Episode: "The Astrologer"
	Mannix	Vladek	Episode: "The Many Deaths of Saint Christopher"
1968	To Die in Paris	Pirot	TV movie
	The Man from U.N.C.L.E.	Dr. Jan Vanovech	Episode: "The Seven Wonders of the World Affair"
	It Takes a Thief	Captain Kovich	Episode: "When Boy Meets Girl"
	The Monkees	The Baron	Episode: "Monkees Race Again"
	The Flying Nun	Gus Mendoza – Sister Sixto's Uncle	Episode: "A Fish Story"
	Run for Your Life	Heinrich Kleist	Episode: "The Exchange"
1969	Star Trek	Hodin	Episode: "The Mark of Gideon"
	Mission: Impossible	Dr. Oswald Beck	Episode: "The Test Case"
	The Flying Nun	Benito Gomez	Episode: "The Lottery"
1970	The Mod Squad	Consulate General Fohgib	Episode: "The Exile"
	The F.B.I.	Alex Keeler	Episode: "The Traitor"
1971	Dark Shadows	Justin Collins	3 episodes
	NET Playhouse	Chanute	Episode: "The Wright Brothers"
1976	Serpico	Ducek	Episode: "The Indian"
1977	Nero Wolfe	Fritz	TV film broadcast 1979
	McCloud	Colonel Andrei Krasnavian	Episode: "The Moscow Connection"
	Insight		Episode: "Arnstein's Miracle"
1978	Child of Glass	Jacques Dumaine	TV film
	Eight Is Enough		Episode : "The Hipbone's Connected to the Thighbone"
	Quincy, M.E.	Dr. Fred Webber	Episode: "Dead and Alive"
1979	Ryan's Hope	Dr. Nelson	Uncredited, 1 episode
1980	Charlie's Angels	Stovich	Episode: "Angel in Hiding"
1981	Skokie	Sol Goldstein	TV film, (final film role)

External links

• David Hurst at IMDb
• David Hurst at the Internet Broadway Database
• David Hurst at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• David Hurst at the University of Wisconsin's Actors Studio audio collection