Leonard Whiting
Biography
Leonard Whiting is a British actor who became widely known as a teenager for playing Romeo in Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet (1968), a role that earned him a Golden Globe as New Star of the Year, Actor, in 1969. Born in London, he had some success as a child singer and played the Artful Dodger in Lionel Bart's Oliver! in London before appearing in a National Theatre production of Love for Love from 1965 to 1966. His later screen work included the romantic comedy Say Hello to Yesterday (1971) and the television film Frankenstein: The True Story (1973). He sang lead vocals on The Raven and narrated To One in Paradise for the Alan Parsons Project, played the Pharaoh in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in the late 1970s, and voiced Urpgor in the animated series The Dreamstone.
76years old
Turns 77 on June 30in 260 days
- Born London
- Star sign: CancerThe sign runs June 21 to July 22
Movie Career
- Films
- 4
- Career span
- 5 years1968 to 1973
Every film, newest first
- 1973Frankenstein: The True StoryIMDb rating 7.1
- 1971Say Hello to YesterdayIMDb rating 5.8
- 1969The Royal Hunt of the SunIMDb rating 6.0
- 1968Romeo and JulietIMDb rating 7.6
Genres
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First role
Whiting played the Artful Dodger for 15 months in the long-running London musical Oliver! He then spent 13 months in 1965-1966 at Laurence Olivier's National Theatre, appearing opposite Olivier in William Congreve's Love for Love.
Big break
Franco Zeffirelli chose Whiting as Romeo from 300 young actors who had auditioned over more than three months, saying he had a magnificent face and gentle melancholy.
Beyond film
Whiting performed lead vocals on "The Raven" and narrated "To One in Paradise" for the Alan Parsons Project's first album, Tales of Mystery and Imagination, after catching the attention of engineer Alan Parsons.
Beyond film
Whiting played the Pharaoh in a Ken Hill production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at London's Westminster Theatre, performing the role in the style of Elvis Presley.
Leonard Whiting movies on Netflix
Worked with
Leonard Whiting made one film with each of them. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Christopher Plummer's page
James Mason's page
John Gielgud's page
Agnes Moorehead's page
Jane Seymour's page
Ralph Richardson's page
All films by Franco Zeffirelli
Jack SmightDirector, 1 film, 1973
All films by Jack Smight
Irving LernerDirector, 1 film, 1969
All films by Irving Lerner
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.