Rodney Diak

Rodney Diak (15 June 1924 – 6 October 2007) was a British film, television, and theater actor

He was well known for a string of hit performances on the West End, including Goodnight Mrs. Puffin and Busybody.^[1]

Career

Rodney Diak was born as David Rodney Diak^[1] in Harrow, England. He made his West End theater debut with Michael Redgrave and the Old Vic Company in Shakespeare's "Love's Labours Lost" at the New Theater at the age of 24.^[1] He also appeared in She Stoops to Conquer with the Old Vic Company.^[2] In 1951, Diak appeared on stage in Twelfth Night in front of an audience which included Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret.^[1] Princess Margaret remarked about Diak after the performance, "That's the most handsome actor in Britain."^[1]

One of Diak's most successful performances was his turn in Goodnight Mrs. Puffin, which ran for 691 performances.^[1]^[3] His career continued with another success with the play Busybody, which debuted in 1964.^[1] He continued to appear in a number of stage roles later in his career including The Secretary Bird, Private Lives, The Boy Friend, and My Cousin Rachel.^[1]

Diak's film career yielded mixed results at first. He was reportedly horrified to learn that his first feature film debut movie would be Fire Maidens from Outer Space (1956) after signing a contract with MGM Studios.^[1] Diak's career improved after appearing in Dunkirk (1958) opposite actors John Mills and Richard Attenborough.^[1] Diak also had smaller roles in Mr. Topaze (1961) with Peter Sellers and The Flesh and Blood Show (1972).^[4] He also starred in several BBC television series including Z-Cars, Barlow at Large, The Troubleshooters and People Like Us.^[1] He had a cameo role in Carry On Admiral.^[1]