Biography

London-born David Farrar dropped out of school at 14 and became a writer for the Morning Advertiser newspaper; but it wasn't long before he decided to change careers and become an actor. He started out on the stage in 1932, and five years later made his film debut. Appearing at first in low-budget thrillers, such as Sexton Blake and the Hooded Terror (1938),he worked his way up to more prestigious projects, such as Ealing's Went the Day Well? (1942). Farrar hit his stride in a series of films for renowned directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, most notably the classic Black Narcissus (1947).

Farrar's brooding good looks and deep, rich baritone won him legions of female fans in the US and Europe, and soon Hollywood came a-calling. He journeyed to Universal as a contract player, but the studio put him in a succession of second-tier action pictures and costume dramas as a villain. He returned to England somewhat embittered by his Hollywood experiences and determined to do better in his own country's film industry, but he couldn't regain the momentum he had before he left for Hollywood. After a small role as King Xerxes of Persia in the Greek-shot The 300 Spartans (1962), he left film acting and turned to television. When his wife died in 1976 he retired from acting altogether, and with his daughter Barbara moved to the Natal coast in South Africa, where he passed away in 1995 at age 87.
- IMDb mini biography by: frankfob2@yahoo.com

Met his wife, Irene Elliot, in 1926 when he was playing the title role on stage in "David Copperfield". Following her death in 1976, he joined their daughter Barbara on the Natal coast of the Republic of South Africa.

First a journalist, appeared in theatre from 1932.

[on Black Narcissus (1947)] I can honestly say that every day of shooting was an exciting adventure, mainly due to Micky's [Michael Powell] creative ideas. The whole thing was an outstanding, fully satisfying creation. People could scarcely believe that the whole film was shot in the studio, with profiles and smokescreens against the skyline to give the effect of the dizzy height of the Himalayas. In some of the "snow scenes", Sabu and I were wearing bearskin coats in the middle of a heatwave!

[on why he retired] I was tired of the hassles and battles, and conceit might have come into it--I'd always been the upstanding young leading man and I was afraid of parts being hinted at for uncles or the girl's father instead of the lover! I just felt, "The hell with it all", and walked out into the sunset.