David Langton, British Actor, Is Dead at 82 - NYTimes.com
David Langton, British Actor, Is Dead at 82
Published: April 30, 1994
LONDON, April 29— The actor David Langton, who is best remembered for his role as Lord Bellamy in the acclaimed British television series "Upstairs, Downstairs," died at Stratford-on-Avon on Monday. He was 82.
The cause was a heart attack, his family said.
"Upstairs, Downstairs," about life in a grand London house between 1903 and 1930, propelled Mr. Langton, as the ambitious politician Lord Bellamy, to television stardom when the series began in 1971. It became one of the most successful drama series in television history, attracting large audiences in Britain, the United States and other countries. It won five Emmy awards.
In addition to Mr. Langton, the series, which alternated scenes below stairs in the servants' quarter with life upstairs with the Bellamy family, featured Angela Baddeley as Mrs. Bridges, the cook; Gordon Jackson as Hudson, the butler, and Jean Marsh as Rose Buck, the parlormaid.
Events reflected in the 68 weekly episodes, the last made in 1976, included World War I; the suffragette movement, started in 1906 to win British women the right to vote; the General Strike of 1926, and the Wall Street crash of 1929.
After his success in "Upstairs, Downstairs," Mr. Langton appeared on television as a Cabinet minister in "Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years" in 1981, as Prime Minister Lord Asquith in "Number 10" in 1983, and as Lord Mountbatten in the television film "Charles and Diana: A Royal Love Story" in 1982.
Before "Upstairs, Downstairs," the Scottish-born Mr. Langton spent most of his acting career in the theater, playing supporting roles in London's West End, but he also did some film work. Movies in which he appeared included Richard Lester's Beatles film, "A Hard Day's Night," in 1964, "The Pumpkin Eater" in 1964 and "The Whistle Blower," with Michael Caine, in 1986.
"The Whistle Blower" was directed by Mr. Langton's son Simon, whose work as a television director includes "Smiley's People," the acclaimed adaptation of the John le Carre novel.
In addition to his son Simon, Mr. Langton is survived by his second wife, Claire, whom he married in 1975, and two other sons from his first marriage, which ended in divorce in 1966, Andrew and Robin.
Photo: David Langton (1994)