Clifford David

Clifford David (June 30, 1928 – November 30, 2017) was an American actor, singer, and coach born in Toledo, Ohio, the youngest son of Farris and Lily (née Abdow). His uncle was Syrian Orthodox Metropolitan Samuel David of Toledo. David's career spanned from the 1950s through the 1990s and encompassed Broadway, Off-Broadway, film, and television.

A protégé of Lee Strasberg, David made his Broadway debut in the role of Scipio in Albert Camus' Caligula, directed by Sidney Lumet. He went on to appear in the principal casts of several Broadway musicals, including Wildcat with Lucille Ball, 1776 alongside William Daniels, Alan Jay Lerner's On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. His Broadway career extended from 1960 to 1993. David also appeared on original studio cast albums for several of these productions. Beyond Broadway, he played Pasquale in The Aspern Papers directed by Margaret Webster, and took on the role of Antipholus in the 1963 Off-Broadway revival of The Boys from Syracuse. He portrayed Laertes in Joseph Papp's Hamlet and played Lord Byron in the Lincoln Center production of Tennessee Williams' Camino Real, which featured Al Pacino.

David became a member of the Actors Studio in 1962, where he worked alongside many prominent figures in American theater, film, and television. He was working with Marilyn Monroe on a stage adaptation of a Colette novel entitled The Cat, written by Arthur Miller, at the time of her death. He also recounted personal encounters with Richard Burton during this period of his career.

His film work began with The Last Mile in 1959 and continued across several decades. His screen credits include Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964), The Party's Over (1965) with Oliver Reed, Riot (1969), The Betsy (1978) with Laurence Olivier, Fort Apache, The Bronx (1981) with Paul Newman, Resurrection, and The Exorcist III (1990). An accomplished pianist, David was cast as Beethoven in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989). He later appeared in M. Night Shyamalan's Signs (2002). David was a member of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences.

On television, David appeared in the miniseries Blind Ambition and in political dramas including Fear on Trial and Missiles of October, the latter featuring Martin Sheen. His episodic television credits include Bonanza, The Big Valley, Charlie's Angels, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Murphy Brown, Party of Five, Murder She Wrote, Will & Grace, and Law & Order.