Milo Sperber
Milo Sperber (20 March 1911 – 22 December 1992) was a British actor, director and writer, who was born in Poland.[1]
Early life
Sperber was born in 1911 into a family of Polish Hasidic Jews who fled anti-Semitism during the Second World War. His older brother was activist, author and intellectual Manès Sperber. The younger Sperber trained as a lawyer in Vienna before joining Max Reinhardt's school; there he played roles in Six Characters in Search of an Author and A Midsummer Night's Dream, among other plays. Martin Esslin was a classmate during this time.[1] While on the rise as an actor in Germany, in 1939 he fled Germany and the Nazis with his family, eventually landing in Britain as refugees.[1]
Career
Early in the Second World War Sperber joined the Oxford Pilgrim Players; he gained experience directing the company on tour in Case 27 VC and spending a season in London even during the Blitz. He also was involved in producing anti-Nazi propaganda for the BBC before the end of the war. His later career included stints in cabaret, theatre and television; in the last capacity, he performed as shoe salesman Mr. Grossman in four episodes of Are You Being Served?.[2] In 1990, at the age of 79, he appeared in Series 2, Episode 7 of Poirot, "The Kidnapped Prime Minister," as Mr. Fingler, Poirot's kvetching tailor.[3]
His big-screen career included performances in minor roles in such films as Foreign Intrigue, The Spy Who Loved Me, Operation Crossbow, In Search of the Castaways and Billion Dollar Brain.[4] He taught for some time at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, and served as a scriptwriter for the BBC's German language service. Many of his students at RADA went on to succeed in the arts, including Glenda Jackson.[1]
Sperber's last appearance in the West End was in a 1984 production of The Clandestine Marriage at the Albany Theatre; he spent his last years travelling Britain, giving readings from the works of his brother, writer Manès Sperber.[5]
Sperber died on 22 December 1992, aged 81 in London, United Kingdom[1]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | Thunder Rock | Mr. Hirohiti | Uncredited |
| 1944 | Mr. Emmanuel | Student | |
| 1948 | Noose | Taschlik | Uncredited |
| 1949 | Golden Arrow | Black Marketeer | |
| 1954 | The End of the Road | Uncredited | |
| 1956 | Foreign Intrigue | Baum | |
| 1960 | Bluebeard's Ten Honeymoons | Librarian | Uncredited |
| 1962 | In Search of the Castaways | Crooked Sailor | |
| 1963 | The Victors | Concentration Camp Prisoner | |
| 1965 | Operation Crossbow | German Hotel Porter | |
| 1967 | Billion Dollar Brain | Basil | |
| 1976 | Voyage of the Damned | Rabbi | |
| 1977 | Providence | Mr. Jenner | |
| 1977 | The Spy Who Loved Me | Prof. Markovitz | |
| 1978 | The Stud | Kamara | Uncredited |
References
- Spalding, Ruth (2 January 1993). "Obituary: Milo Sperber". The Independent. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
- "BBC One - Are You Being Served?, Series 8, Sit Out". BBC.
- "Milo Sperber". BFI.
- "Milo Sperber | Movies and Filmography". AllMovie.
- "Milo Sperber | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
Further reading
- Milo Sperber at IMDb
- Are You Being Served? A Celebration of Twenty-Five Years. Richard Webber with David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. New York; Welcome Rain, 1998.
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