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Leigh Wharton (October 1, 1924 – November 7, 2017) was a Broadway and Off Broadway actor and director of 33 documentaries on humanitarian subjects in third-world countries, born in West Derby, Bootie, Lancashire England.[1]
During World War II, Wharton joined the Royal Air Force and flew combat missions over Germany, France and The Netherlands He was shot down flying a Spitfire in the English Channel May 1944 off the coast of France and again shot down over North West Germany, crashing on a beach January 1945 for four days, making his way to Denmark before being rescued.[2] He was awarded R.A.F. Pilot's “Wings” and U.S. Navy “Wings” (1944).[3]
After graduating from London University with a First Class Honors degree in economics, Wharton moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1953, where he ran the first vegetarian health food restaurant "The Salad Man". He moved to New York in 1955 and studied acting with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio, New York, appearing in four Broadway productions: Marat Sade as Marat, The Hostage as Pat, Beyond the Fringe 12 roles and Lorenzo as Ricardo,[4] nine Off-Broadway productions: Camino Real as Lord Byron, Waltz of the Toreadors as General St. Pe, John Gabriel Borkman as John Gabriel Borkman, Design for Living as Otto, Sgt. Musgrave's Dance as Gunner Attercliffe, Death of Satan as George Bernard Shaw, The Merry Wives of Windsor as Ford, The French Way as Performer, [5][6][7] Beyond the Fringe in Birmingham Repertory, Julius Caesar as Julius Caesar, Othello as Iago, Good Women of Setzuan as Wong and A Doll's House as Torvald Helmer He was in fourteen television productions.[8] He appeared in The Crucible in 1967 starring opposite Ingrid Bergman, George C. Scott, and Melvyn Douglas.[citation needed] He was in three movies, Roses in December playing Larry Turner the lead, Season of Angels playing F/Lt Carter, and Semmelweis.[9] He became a US citizen in 1965.[citation needed]
Wharton was director of more than 33 documentaries.[10] His production Edge of Survival, which he directed, wrote and photographed, won the World Hunger Media Award[11][12][13] and was a finalist in the American Film Festival, and aired four times as a PBS-TV Prime-Time Special Program 1979. The film was also honored at the Museum of Modern Art[14]
References
edit- ^ "WWII pilot Leigh Wharton, 93". The River Dale Press. 17 November 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
- ^ WWII Escapers & Evaders Sergeant Unit : 44 Sqn RAF Series Name:POW - Escape report TNA series:WO208TNA piece number : 3323 Report Prefix:(-)report no:2367
- ^ "Supplement to the London Gazette" (PDF). Thegazette.co.uk. 8 August 1944. p. 3669. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
- ^ "Watch Naked City Episodes | Season 4". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
- ^ "Leigh Wharton". Playbill. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
- ^ "Leigh Wharton Theatre Credits". Broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
- ^ Katz, Allan. "The Waltz of the Toreadors | News | The Harvard Crimson". Thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
- ^ "Naked City, 1962-63". Scc.net. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
- ^ "Watch Semmelweis 2001 Online Free - MovieWatcher". Moviewatcher.to. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
- ^ "Leigh Wharton". BFI.org.uk. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
- ^ "Hunger Articles Win Prizes". The New York Times. 1982-12-01. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
- ^ "Winners of 1982 World Hunger Media Awards - UPI Archives". Upi.com. 1982-11-23. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
- ^ "Singer Kenny Rogers picks up crusade against world hunger - UPI Archives". Upi.com. 1982-11-23. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
- ^ [1][dead link]