"Bewitched" Actor David White 1990 Hollywood Forever Cemetery

David White (April 4, 1916 – November 27, 1990) was an American stage, film and television actor best known for playing Darrin's boss Larry Tate in the 1964-72 sitcom Bewitched.

BEWITCHED

Early life

Born in Denver, Colorado, and later moving to Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, he served with the United States Marine Corps during World War II. He began his acting career in live theatre, making his Broadway debut in 1949 in the original play Leaf and Bough.[1]

COLUMBO

Family

He married actress Mary Welch, and their son Jonathan White was born on July 14, 1955. He died on December 21, 1988, aged 33, as one of 270 people to lose their lives in the terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

In 1958, Mary Welch White died during a second childbirth, though their daughter lived.

David White and Dick York became close friends, on and off the set of Bewitched and remained so up until White's death.

SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS

Career

White appeared on numerous TV shows in the 1960s, such as The Fugitive, Mission: Impossible, Bonanza, Perry Mason, Have Gun - Will Travel and Dick Tracy.[2] He appeared in two episodes of the original The Twilight Zone: "I Sing the Body Electric" and "A World of Difference." Though primarily known for television roles, White did have some minor roles in notable films in the 1950s and early 1960s, such as one of the philandering executives in The Apartment, Sweet Smell of Success, and a featured role in Sunrise at Campobello.[2]

In 1964, White was cast as the sycophantic advertising executive Larry Tate on Bewitched, which he played for the show's entire run (1964–1972). The character was the President of the McMann and Tate advertising agency, for which the character of Darrin Stephens worked. Many of the show's episodes revolved around Larry's attempts to win an advertising account. This is the role for which he would become best-known both during his life and posthumously. Larry Tate's baby boy Jonathan was named after White's son.

Following the end of Bewitched, White was a popular character actor on numerous television series for the next decade, ranging from The Love Boat, The Rockford Files and Rhoda, to Quincy, M.E., Cagney and Lacey and Dallas.[2] He played the role of J. Jonah Jameson in the pilot episode of the TV series The Amazing Spider-Man. His final role came in 1986, on an episode of Dynasty.[2] He also appeared in the movie The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington, Disney's Snowball Express, and had a prominent role in the Richard Pryor film Brewster's Millions.[2]

Death

White died of a heart attack on November 27, 1990, at the age of 74. He was interred with his son Jonathan, who had been killed almost two years earlier, at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

References

1.^ David White at the Internet Broadway Database
2.^ David White at the Internet Movie Database