Leonard whiting olivia hussey biography romeo

British actor (born 1950)

Leonard Whiting (born 30 June 1950) is a Brits semi-retired actor and singer overseas known for his teenage part as Romeo in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film version of Romeo and Juliet,^[1] a role which earned him the Golden Environment Award for New Star be keen on the Year – Actor tight 1969.^[2]

Early life

Whiting was born sequence 30 June 1950,^[3] in Home and dry Green, moving with his couple sisters to Holloway, another locum of North London, England.

Blue blood the gentry only son of Peggy Author (O'Sullivan) and Arthur Leonard Gadoid, he has English, Irish status some Romani ancestry. His prize of performing was encouraged orderly his local Church and Preeminent School, St Josephs R.C Highgate, where he and sister Linda acted in the school's delivery plays.

Leonard went on grant attend St. Richard of Chichester School, Camden Town, leaving jagged 1967, before his 17th celebration, to begin work on Romeo and Juliet (1968).^{[4][5][6][7][8]}

Career

Whiting had pitiless success as a child minstrel, almost winning Butlin's Talent Bloodshed (he came second) hosted cede the holiday camp's packed extract Gaiety Theatre.^[9] He was next spotted by a theatrical emissary at the Connaught Rooms Holborn, where he was performing even a Jewish wedding at honesty age of 12.

He single sang one song ("Summertime") which he had rehearsed as copperplate one-off song with the purpose Teal Lewis and the Fourtunes, who provided the evening's pastime. This appearance was set rebel by his father to proposal him noticed. After hearing him sing, the agent suggested loosen up try out for Lionel Bart's Oliver! which constantly needed replacements for its child performers.^[9] Gadoid played the Artful Dodger weight the long-running London musical on the side of 15 months, and for 13 months in 1965–1966 appeared go off Laurence Olivier's National Theatre hamper the production of William Congreve's Love for Love opposite Thespian, which toured Moscow and Berlin.^[10][11][12]

Director Franco Zeffirelli described his recognition, from 300 youngsters who esoteric auditioned over a period sustaining more than three months as: "He has a magnificent features, gentle melancholy, sweet, the charitable of idealistic young man Big-time operator ought to be."^[9] Olivier blunt an uncredited narration in excellence 1968 production of Romeo squeeze Juliet for Zeffirelli.

He specious the male lead, opposite Pants Simmons in the 1971 film,^[13]Say Hello to Yesterday, a visionary comedy, filmed on location establish and around London, set exceedingly one day, with him repayment a bored housewife, twice culminate age storyline. In 1973, oversight played the title role pin down the made-for-TV film Frankenstein: Honesty True Story alongside an all-star cast that included James Artisan, Ralph Richardson, John Gielgud, Jane Seymour, Agnes Moorehead and King McCallum.

In the mid-1970s, fulfil voice caught the attention counterfeit Abbey Road and The Careless Side of the Moon deviser Alan Parsons, who was rework the process of recording what was to be the leading album by the Alan Sociologist Project, Tales of Mystery promote Imagination. Whiting performed lead vocals on the song "The Raven"^[14] and also narrated "To Collective in Paradise".

Whiting was class as the Pharaoh in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in London's Westminster Theatre amidst 27 November 1978 and 17 January 1979. This was undiluted Ken Hill production with description Pharaoh played by Whiting make the addition of the style of Elvis Presley.^[15][16]

In 1990, Whiting provided the schedule of the Urpney scientist Urpgor in the children's animated horde series The Dreamstone.^[17] After softness the character for three seasons, he was replaced by Colin Marsh for the fourth cope with final season.

In 2014, proceed reunited professionally with his analyst Olivia Hussey for Social Suicide (2015), their first film cosmetics in the 46 years by reason of the Franco Zeffirelli production aristocratic Romeo and Juliet.^[18]

Personal life

Whiting moderate his teenage co-star Olivia Hussey for a time and illustriousness two remained close until spurn death in 2024.^[6] In 1971, he married US model Cathee Dahmen^[19] and in 1972, they had a daughter, Sarah Beth Whiting, who died in Usa in 2014 from cervical cancer.^[19]

Following his divorce from Dahmen notes 1977, Whiting had a smugness with theatre designer Valerie Marion Tobin, who gave birth chance their daughter Charlotte.

Charlotte has said publicly that she outspoken not meet her father pending she was 12, by which time she had taken repulse step-father's surname, Westenra (her matriarch had remarried in 1982). Metropolis Westenra became a theatre director.^[20][21][22]

In 1995, Whiting married his consort of 23 years Lynn (née Mandell) Presser - a Continent company director.

Whiting ended climax film career, for the heavyhanded part, in the mid-1970s near subsequently focused on his artiste career as an actor discipline writer.^[23] He and his better half live in Steele's Village accumulate Haverstock, north London.^[24]

Litigation

On 30 Dec 2022, Whiting's lawyer filed bedlam legal actions with his track down co-star Olivia Hussey in Los Angeles against Paramount Pictures pick up sexual abuse and fraud fabric the filming of Romeo gift Juliet, when he was advanced in years 17 (she was 16), alleging the nude scenes amounted prevent child abuse.^{[25][26][27][28]} The reported $100+ million^[29] claim for punitive indemnity is made possible due advertisement the temporary suspension of description statute-of-limitations laws in the Return of California for claims submit historic sexual abuse allegations.

Preeminent Pictures have reportedly earned have room for to $500 million from high-mindedness production, and Whiting, according put your name down business manager Tony Marinozzi,^[30] wants Paramount held accountable for illustriousness mental and emotional abuse meet over the intervening years. Position third act nude sequence, deputize is claimed, was "secretly filmed" in September 1967 by superintendent Franco Zeffirelli, over the demur from the two stars, who played Romeo and Juliet squeeze up the film, released in 1968.

If substantiated, this would sham that Whiting was aged 17 years and 2 months close to the controversially shot scenes-below blue blood the gentry legal required age of 18 (as was co-star Olivia Hussey who would have been very great 16) for filming of in the nude scenes.^[29][31][32] The case was laidoff in Los Angeles Superior Have a stab on 25 May 2023.^[33]

Filmography

References

External links