Leon Thau
Encyclopedia
Leon Thau is a British actor, TV producer and director. He played the part of Frankie Wing in the 1960 London production of the musical Flower Drum Song
. As an actor he became known in the 1960s BBC TV comedy series It's a Square World
, and also appeared in Comedy Playhouse
, The Gnomes of Dulwich
, Z Cars, Up Pompeii and The Avengers
. He had parts in the films The Magic Christian
, Carry On Up The Khyber
, The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery
and The Sandwich Man
.
Having worked with Michael Bentine
in It's a Square World and The Sandwich Man, he produced and directed Michael Bentine's Potty Time
.
As a director he was responsible for Prisoner Cell Block H, The Tomorrow People
, and the children's series T-Bag
of which he was also a producer. He produced the 1971 situation comedy It's Awfully Bad For Your Eyes, Darling
.
Flower Drum Song
Flower Drum Song was the eighth stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. It was based on the 1957 novel, The Flower Drum Song, by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. The piece opened in 1958 on Broadway and was afterwards presented in the West End and on tour...
. As an actor he became known in the 1960s BBC TV comedy series It's a Square World
It's a Square World
It's a Square World was a groundbreaking British comedy show starring Michael Bentine and was produced by the BBC. It ran from 1960 till 1964. The series led Bentine to a BAFTA award in 1962 for Light Entertainment and a compilation show, screened by the BBC in 1963, won that year's Press Prize at...
, and also appeared in Comedy Playhouse
Comedy Playhouse
Comedy Playhouse was a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 120 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including Steptoe and Son, Till Death Us Do Part, All Gas and Gaiters, The Liver Birds, Are You Being Served?...
, The Gnomes of Dulwich
The Gnomes of Dulwich
The Gnomes of Dulwich is a United Kingdom television sitcom originally shown in six episodes from 12 May 1969 to 16 June 1969. Written by Jimmy Perry, the show starred Terry Scott, Hugh Lloyd, John Clive, Leon Thau, Anne de Vigier and Lynn Dalby as garden gnomes living at 25 Telegraph Road,...
, Z Cars, Up Pompeii and The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
. He had parts in the films The Magic Christian
The Magic Christian (film)
The Magic Christian is a 1969 British comedy film directed by Joseph McGrath and starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr, with noteworthy appearances by John Cleese, Raquel Welch, Christopher Lee, Richard Attenborough and Roman Polanski. It was loosely adapted from the 1959 comic novel of the same...
, Carry On Up The Khyber
Carry On up the Khyber
Carry On Up the Khyber is the sixteenth Carry On film, released in 1968. It stars Carry On regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Bernard Bresslaw and Peter Butterworth. Roy Castle makes his only Carry On appearance in the "romantic male lead" part usually played by Jim...
, The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery
The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery
The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery is a British comedy film set in the fictional St Trinian's School, released in 1966, three years after the Great Train Robbery had taken place...
and The Sandwich Man
The Sandwich Man
The Sandwich Man is a 1966 British comedy film starring Michael Bentine, Dora Bryan, Harry H. Corbett, Bernard Cribbins, Diana Dors, Norman Wisdom, Terry-Thomas and Ian Hendry. It was written by Bentine in conjunction with Robert Hartford-Davis...
.
Having worked with Michael Bentine
Michael Bentine
Michael Bentine CBE was a British comedian, comic actor and founding member of the Goons. A Peruvian Briton by heritage as a result of his father's nationality, In 1971 Bentine received the Order of Merit of Peru because of his fund-raising work for the 1970 Great Peruvian...
in It's a Square World and The Sandwich Man, he produced and directed Michael Bentine's Potty Time
Michael Bentine's Potty Time
Michael Bentine's Potty Time was a long-running British children's show, starring Michael Bentine, directed and produced by Leon Thau for Thames Television on ITV...
.
As a director he was responsible for Prisoner Cell Block H, The Tomorrow People
The Tomorrow People
The Tomorrow People is a British children's science fiction television series, devised by Roger Price. Produced by Thames Television for the ITV Network, the series first ran between 1973 and 1979. The series was re-imagined in 1992, Roger Price acting as executive producer...
, and the children's series T-Bag
T-Bag
T-Bag is a witch-like character who appears in a number of television programmes which ran from the mid-80s to early 90s on Children's ITV. Written by Grant Cathro and Lee Pressman, each series has a different title and features a single story told over several episodes.-History:The programme was...
of which he was also a producer. He produced the 1971 situation comedy It's Awfully Bad For Your Eyes, Darling
It's Awfully Bad For Your Eyes, Darling
It's Awfully Bad For Your Eyes, Darling was a BBC television situation comedy which ran in 1971 for a single series of seven episodes.It was written by Jilly Cooper, and was about four posh young women sharing a flat in London. The cast included Jane Carr and Joanna Lumley, who went on to become...
.
External links
- theavengers.tv includes image