David Warbeck

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David Warbeck (born 17 November 1941 in Christchurch, New Zealand-died 23 July 1997 in London, England) was an actor best known for his film roles throughout Europe.

1 Career and move into Italian Cinema
- 1.1 Lucio Fulci
- 1.2 Antonio Margheriti
2 Later Life & Death
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Career and move into Italian Cinema

Warbeck made his film debut as the title character in Wolfshead: The Legend of Robin Hood, a low-budget version of the legend. His good looks got him starring roles in horror films such as Trog and Twins of Evil. Thanks to these appearances, Warbeck was being seriously considered as the next James Bond, but the role was taken by Roger Moore. Warbeck claimed that for many years he was paid an amount to be a substitute or back up Bond on the conditions that he not tell anyone and be ready for filming at a moment's notice in case of Moore quitting or threatening to quit the role. One day he read about Timothy Dalton being chosen and was told by the producers that he was now "too old for the role".^[1]

Warbeck next landed a small but important role in Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dynamite. This would be his first foray into Italian cinema, which he would make his home after a few years.

[edit] Lucio Fulci

Warbeck is perhaps best known for the violent horror films he appeared in during the 1980s in film. The most noted of these is Lucio Fulci's The Beyond which propelled Warbeck to cult stardom among genre fans. However, Warbeck never made the transition to mainstream film following this succes.

[edit] Antonio Margheriti

Warbeck's most frequent work during the 1980s was with director Antonio Margheriti. The exploitation film director produced a string of films which played on the success of mainstream films such as Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Deer Hunter. Margheriti was best known for making action films, some of his noted efforts starring Warbeck were Hunters of the Golden Cobra (shot back-to-back with Ark of the Sun God) and Vietnam war film The Last Hunter.

[edit] Later Life & Death

In the 1990s Warbeck appeared in several low-budget films. He also concentrated on fan conventions in the UK and U.S. where he was popular due to his work with Lucio Fulci. In 1997, just weeks before his death, Warbeck recorded an audio commentary for the Laserdisc release of The Beyond with actress Catriona MacColl. Warbeck died of cancer in London, England on July 23rd 1997.