David Burke (British actor)

For other people named David Burke, see David Burke.

David Burke (born 25 May 1934)^[1] is an English actor, known for playing Dr. John Watson in the initial series of Granada Television's 1980s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, which starred Jeremy Brett in the title role.^[2] He also starred as Joseph Stalin in the last two episodes of Reilly, Ace of Spies.^[3]

David Burke
Born	(1934-05-25) 25 May 1934 (age 90) Liverpool, Lancashire, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1963–present
Spouse	Anna Calder-Marshall
Children	Tom Burke

Early life

Burke was born on 25 May 1934 in Liverpool, England, and trained at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.^[4]

Career

In the theatre, Burke originated the part of Niels Bohr in Michael Frayn's Copenhagen.^[5]

Burke played Dr. Watson in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes for the initial series and then left the programme after receiving an invitation to join the Royal Shakespeare Company along with his wife, Anna.^[6] They both considered the joint work to be the best idea for their young son, Tom, who was around 3 years old at the time.^[7][8] He was thought by many to portray Dr. Watson with an excellent style.^[9][10] He was replaced by Edward Hardwicke, whom he had recommended as his successor.^[11] Burke had earlier experience with Holmes having played the villain in an adaptation of "The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet" for the 1965 BBC series^[12] starring Douglas Wilmer and Nigel Stock.

Other notable TV appearances include his turn as Joseph Stalin in the British serial Reilly, Ace of Spies and the John Wyndham science fiction story Random Quest.^[13] He also played William Morris in the 1975 series The Love School.^[14] Burke frequently portrays Johannes Coenradus Klene in the Dutch commercials for Klene liquorice. He appeared with his son, Tom Burke, in the 2006 BBC adaptation of the M.R. James ghost story, Number 13. He appeared with his wife, Anna Calder-Marshall, in the 2018 short film Only the Lonely. He was also in an episode of Midsomer Murders

Personal life

Burke is married to Anna Calder-Marshall.^[15] Their son Tom Burke is also an actor.^[16] Burke is an Everton supporter.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1964	Rattle of a Simple Man	Jack	Uncredited
2005	The Trial of the King Killers	Hugh Peters
2009	The Summer House	Freddie	Short
2010	Love & Distrust	Freddie	Video
2012	The Woman in Black	PC Collins
2016	The Young Messiah	The Blind Rabbi
2018	Only the Lonely	George	Short

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1963–1966	Coronation Street	John Benjamin / Schoolmaster	5 episodes
1963–1969	Z Cars	Ernie Franks / Dannyboy / Johnny Oulton	5 episodes
1965	Sherlock Holmes	Sir George Burnwell	1 episode, "The Beryl Coronet"
1968	Dr. Finlay's Casebook	Dr. Rawlings	1 episode
1970	The Woodlanders	Giles Winterborne	4 episodes
1971	The Guardians	Dr. Frank Benedict	8 episodes
1975	The Love School	William Morris	4 episodes
	Rooms	Alan	2 episodes
	Crown Court	Dr Boyd	1 episode
1977	Esther Waters	Fred Parsons	2 episodes
1983	Reilly, Ace of Spies	Joseph Stalin	2 episodes
1984–1985	The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes	Dr John Watson	13 episodes
1993–2002	Casualty	James / Ron Fisher	2 episodes
1995	Agatha Christie’s Poirot - Hickory Dickory Dock	Sir Arthur Stanley	1 episode
1998	The Bill	Ch.Supt.Golding / Chief Supt. Golding	2 episodes
2002	Bertie and Elizabeth	Lord Reith	TV movie
	Waking the Dead	Philip Bryant	2 episodes
2003	Doctors	Martin Shepley	1 episode
2004	The Inspector Lynley Mysteries	DSI Webberley	2 episodes
2005	The Afternoon Play	Judge	1 episode
	A View from a Hill	Patten	TV movie
	Dalziel and Pascoe	Paul Boddison	2 episodes
	MI-5	Fiona's Father	1 episode
2005–2016	Midsomer Murders	John “Hedge” Farrow / Fred Messenger	2 episodes
2006	Number 13	Gunton, Hotel Landlord	TV movie
2007	Holby City	Bernie Moore	1 episode
2014	The Musketeers	Father Duval	1 episode
2015	Harry Price: Ghost Hunter	Leonard Thornton	TV movie
2016	Heartbeat		2 episodes

References

1. Redmond 2011, p. 249.
2. "Obituary - Edward Hardwicke". The Daily Telegraph. 17 May 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
3. Angelini, Sergio. "Reilly, Ace of Spies (1983)". BFI Screenonline. British Film Institute. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
4. McMullen 2012.
5. Law 2011, p. 126.
6. Davies 2007.
7. Haining 1994, p. 172.
8. Barnes 2002, p. 118.
9. Haining 1994, p. 169.
10. Hulse, Stephen R. (2000). "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984)". Television Heaven. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
11. Barnes 2002.
12. Smith 2009, pp. 81, 108.
13. "BBC Four - Random Quest". BBC. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
14. "The Love School: The Artisan". BBC Genome Project. BBC. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
15. Cotter 2013, p. 36.
16. Amer, Matthew (26 July 2012). "My Place: Tom Burke". Official London Theatre. Retrieved 22 December 2015.

Bibliography

• Barnes, Alan (2002). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. ISBN 978-1903111048.
• Cotter, Robert Michael (2013). The Women of Hammer Horror: A Biographical Dictionary and Filmography. McFarland & Company. ISBN 9780786472086.
• Davies, David Stuart (2007). Starring Sherlock Holmes. Titan Books. ISBN 9781845765378.
• Haining, Peter (1994). The Television Sherlock Holmes. Virgin Books. ISBN 978-0863697937.
• Law, Jonathan (2011). The Methuen Drama Dictionary of the Theatre. Methuen Drama. ISBN 9781408131473.
• McMullen, Kieran (2012). The Many Watsons. MX Publishing. ISBN 9781780923031.
• Redmond, Christopher (2011). Sherlock Holmes Handbook (2nd ed.). Dundurn Group Ltd. ISBN 9781554884469.
• Smith, Daniel (2009). The Sherlock Holmes Companion: An Elementary Guide. Castle Books. ISBN 9780785827849.

External links

• David Burke at IMDb