Leonard White (producer)
Leonard White (born 5 November 1916[1]) is (a now retired) British actor and television producer. In the latter role he was responsible for The Avengers and Armchair Theatre.
White was born in Newhaven, East Sussex.[1][2] His father was a bookmaker and racehorse owner, and his mother ran a wholesale newsagents business.[2] He was introduced to acting by the headmaster of his school, who ran a boys' Shakespearean acting troupe.[2][3]
After leaving school, he began a career as a stage actor in London.[2] In 1951 he was one of the original leads of Christopher Fry's A Sleep of Prisoners, alongside Denholm Elliott, Stanley Baker, and Hugh Pryse.[2]
From acting he turned his hand to directing, which led to his career as a television producer.[2] In 1957, he completed a training course for television producer/directors run by CBC Television.[4] In 1960, Sydney Newman, a former CBC producer who had moved on to be a producer at the Associated British Corporation, invited him to join the ABC as an associate producer.[4] 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, Armchair Theatre and ITV Playhouse.[4]
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.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "WHITE, Leonard". BFI Film & TV Database.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Horseytalk.net Special Interview: Leonard White". Horseytalk.net.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Vowles, Neil (8 January 2011). "Newhaven man cast Honor Blackman in The Avengers". The Argus.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 White, Leonard (2003). Armchair Theatre: The Lost Years. Kelly Publications. ISBN 9781903053188.