David Healy, a jovial and rotund New Yorker, spent over three decades playing every stereotype of an American in British films and television. Born to an Australian father and an American mother, he spent his youth in Texas, where he studied drama at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. During his time there, he befriended a young acting hopeful named Larry Hagman.
David's early career in the entertainment industry began as a member of the U.S. Air Force, which led him to England, where he joined a touring show written by John Briley. This show later grew into the 25-minute BBC sitcom "The Airbase" in 1965, where David played the role of Staff Sergeant Tillman Miller, taking a humorous look at British-American cultural differences at an RAF base.
Considering his job prospects to be more lucrative in Britain, David soon found himself in high demand for any part that required an affable or imperious American. His long gallery of characters included diplomats, businessmen, bureaucrats, spooks, military brass, and many more. There were rare occasions when he acted against type and played British characters, such as a likeable Dr. Watson opposite Ian Richardson as Sherlock Holmes in "The Sign of Four" in 1983.
David's comedic side was showcased in guest appearances with Dick Emery and Kenny Everett, as well as a couple of turns in "Jeeves and Wooster" in 1990. Though married and settled in Surrey, David took job offers on both sides of the Atlantic, appearing in films such as "Patton" in 1970 and "Twilight's Last Gleaming" in 1977, and playing recurring roles in TV's favorite soapie, "Dallas", in 1978.
British TV audiences saw him guesting in just about every major crime series, from "The Saint" in 1962 and "Department S" in 1969, to "The Persuaders!" in 1971. Simultaneously, from 1967, David pursued a successful career as a stage actor in classical plays with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. In 1975, he re-visited his roots, playing Falstaff at a Shakespeare festival in Dallas.
Ever versatile, David found another calling in musicals, appearing in "Kismet", "Call Me Madam", and "The Music Man". He received much praise for his interpretation of Runyonesque gambler Nicely-Nicely Johnson in "Guys and Dolls", performing show-stopping encores of "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat".
