Mike Sarne | |
---|---|
Born |
Michael Scheuer 6 August 1940 Paddington, London, England, UK |
Alma mater | School of Slavonic and East European Studies |
Occupation | Actor, writer, film director, singer |
Years active | 1960- |
Notable work |
Come Outside Joanna (director) Myra Breckinridge (director) |
Michael Sarne (born 6 August 1940) is a British actor, writer, producer and director, who also had a brief career as pop singer Mike Sarne. He is of Czechoslovakian descent.
Sarne was born Michael Scheuer at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London. Active in the 1960s as singer, he is best known for his 1962 UK novelty chart topper, "Come Outside" (produced by Charles Blackwell), which featured vocal interjections by Wendy Richard. He had three more releases which made the UK Singles chart: "Will I What?", in 1962, which featured Billie Davis; "Just for Kicks", in 1963; and "Code of Love", also in 1963.
In the mid-1960s Sarne introduced the ITV children's quiz series Junior Criss Cross Quiz.
As an actor, he has appeared on television, in British series including The Avengers, Man in a Suitcase, Jonathan Creek and The Bill. Sarne also appeared in an episode of Minder as Billy Beesley, an amateur safe blower. His film credits include a starring role in the 1963 film A Place to Go with Rita Tushingham, directed by Basil Dearden, and he also appeared in Invasion Quartet (1961), Every Day's a Holiday (1965), Two Weeks in September (1967), Moonlighting (1982) and Success Is the Best Revenge (1984) for Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski, and the Hercule Poirot film Appointment with Death (1988). He also played an SS captain in the TV miniseries War and Remembrance (1988). He later appeared in The Fourth Angel (2001), as Valery in the crime thriller Eastern Promises (2007), as a stage manager in Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008), and in 2011 he was the voice of Karla in the spy film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. In 2012, he played Father Mabeuf in the film of Les Misérables.