David Firth (actor)
David Firth is an English actor, writer and singer. Firth created the role of Monsieur André in the original cast of Phantom of the Opera, among other roles in the West End, and originated the role of John Wilkes Booth in the first London production of Assassins, in a career spanning more than 40 years.
Early life
Firth was born David Firth Coleman in Bedford on 15 March 1945, the son of Ivor Firth Coleman and Beatrice Jenkins. He was educated at Bedford Modern School, the University of Sussex and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In 1969 he married Julia Elizabeth Gould, and the couple have two sons.Career
Firth was with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. His first West End role was The Courier in 1776, for which he was nominated as Most Promising Actor in the Plays and Players Awards. He created the role of Monsieur André in the original cast of The Phantom of the Opera.During his stage career, Firth appeared in the revue Side by Side by Sondheim, played Algernon in a musical version of The Importance of Being Earnest, originated the role of Sir Alastair in The Metropolitan Mikado, and played roles in King Lear, The Hunting of the Snark, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Jubilee. In the original London production of Assassins, he played John Wilkes Booth "with mesmerising power". He followed this with roles in Knickerbocker Holiday, Follies and Forty Years On, and sang in Manfred at the Royal Festival Hall in 1994. He next appeared in Love Life and as Colonel Ricci in the original West End production of Passion. He created the role of Reed Chandler in The Fix, and appeared in Die Fledermaus, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Good Grief, H.M.S. Pinafore, Susanna's Secret and Jubilee.
In recent decades, he appeared in Der Kuhandel, Journey's End, Alidoro in Cenerentola, Reverend Tooker in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Relatively Speaking, Our Song, Coward and Others, The Man Who..., The Shell Seekers, Alan Sugar in Yellow Lines, Park Avenue, Dirty Dancing and Phantom of the Opera. He played Phileas Fogg in Around the World in Eighty Days in 2013.
Alongside his stage career, Firth has performed in a number of television series and on film, and is credited as a writer on The Return of Shelley, Home James! and Sorry, I'm a Stranger Here Myself.
Filmography
Actor
The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall Casualty Doctors Midsomer Murders The Upside of Anger – David SeniorWaking the Dead The Bill Swallow Holby City Wycliffe Agatha Christie: Poirot Stay Lucky Screen One Singles Drummonds Yes Minister The New Adventures of Lucky Jim Troilus & Cressida Sorry, I'm a Stranger Here Myself Love for Lydia Jubilee Raffles Wings Village Hall Armchair Theatre Jason King Spyder's Web Love Story The Search for the Nile- ''Eyeless in Gaza''