David Hurst (born Heinrich Theodor Hirsch; 8 May 1926 â€" 15 September
2019) was a German actor, best known for his role in the film Hello,
Dolly as Rudolph the headwaiter.Hurst grew up in a family of actors.
As a Jewish child living in 1930s Germany, he faced persecution from
the Nazi regime. After the pogroms of Kristallnacht, the British
government allowed for the rescue of Jewish children from Germany,
Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland and the Free City of Danzig. He was
one of the nearly 10,000 children in 1938â€"1939 moved with the
Kindertransport to the United Kingdom. When he was separated from his
mother he was 12 years old. He never saw her again.Housed in a manor
in Northern Ireland, he lived with other young emigrants in the care
of the family of an estate manager. His first stage experience was
Belfast at a repertory theatre, where he also changed his name from
Heinrich Hirsch to David Hurst. During the Second World War he joined
the British army, but because of his German background he was assigned
to Entertainments National Service Association, where he performed as
an actor and a comedian.
2019) was a German actor, best known for his role in the film Hello,
Dolly as Rudolph the headwaiter.Hurst grew up in a family of actors.
As a Jewish child living in 1930s Germany, he faced persecution from
the Nazi regime. After the pogroms of Kristallnacht, the British
government allowed for the rescue of Jewish children from Germany,
Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland and the Free City of Danzig. He was
one of the nearly 10,000 children in 1938â€"1939 moved with the
Kindertransport to the United Kingdom. When he was separated from his
mother he was 12 years old. He never saw her again.Housed in a manor
in Northern Ireland, he lived with other young emigrants in the care
of the family of an estate manager. His first stage experience was
Belfast at a repertory theatre, where he also changed his name from
Heinrich Hirsch to David Hurst. During the Second World War he joined
the British army, but because of his German background he was assigned
to Entertainments National Service Association, where he performed as
an actor and a comedian.
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