David Winters | |
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Winters and Paul Newman on set of Once Upon a Wheel
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Born |
David Weizer April 5, 1939 London, England |
Other names | Maria Dante |
Occupation | Producer, director, actor, screenwriter, film distributor, choreographer, dancer |
Years active | 1954–present |
Awards |
Christopher Award 1972 Peabody Award 1972 Sitges Film Festival Award 1982 Best International Film: The Last Horror Film (Director) Paris Film Festival Award 1982 2ND Mumbai International FICTS Festival 2007 Golden Scroll Award 1982 Bangkok Film Festival 2002 Houston Film Festival Charleston Film Festival Star Entertainment Award 3 World Television Awards 2 Emmy Nominations Kids Choice Award winner |
Website | davidwinters |
David Winters (born April 5, 1939 in London, England) is an English-born American actor, dancer, choreographer, producer, film distributor, director and screenwriter. Winters participated in over 150 television series, television specials, and motion pictures. He is noted to be the first dance choreographer to be nominated in the history of the Emmys in the Special Classification of Individual Achievements category, before the Outstanding Achievement in Choreography category was created.
Winters was born David Weizer in London, England, the son of Jewish parents Sadie and Samuel Weizer. His family relocated to the United States in 1953. He became a naturalized United States citizen in 1956.
As a child, Winters began acting in various commercials, which lead him to act in over 15 television shows, including Lux Video Theatre, Naked City, The Red Buttons Show, Mister Peepers and many more. He also had roles in his first two films, Rock, Rock, Rock, and Roogie's Bump, during this period. Onstage, he acted on Broadway in several plays. He gained attention by playing Baby John in West Side Story, and Yonkers in Gypsy, both highly successful Broadway musicals.
In 1961, he appeared as A-Rab in the movie version of West Side Story. The film was the highest grossing motion picture of that year, going on to win 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The feature established Winters as a young star. He began to release music and found steady work acting.
On TV, he acted in 17 high profile and award winning television projects. Notable credits include 77 Sunset Strip, Perry Mason, and The Dick Powell Show. He also had roles in two notable films, The New Intern by John Rich, and The Crazy-Quilt by John Korty.