David Edward Leslie Hemmings was an English actor and director. He is best remembered for his roles in British films and television programmes of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, particularly his lead roles as a trendy fashion photographer in the hugely successful avant-garde mystery film Blowup (1966), directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and as a jazz pianist in Dario Argento's Deep Red (1975). Early in his career, Hemmings was a boy soprano appearing in operatic roles. In 1967, he co-founded the Hemdale Film Corporation. From the late 1970s on, he worked mainly as a character actor and occasionally as director.
Hemmings in 1976
Hemmings' grave in St Peter's Church, Blackland, Wiltshire
Blow-Up is a 1966 psychological mystery film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, co-written by Antonioni and Tonino Guerra and produced by Carlo Ponti. It is Antonioni's first entirely English-language film and stars David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave and Sarah Miles. Also featured was 1960s model Veruschka. The plot was inspired by Argentine writer Julio Cortázar's 1959 short story "Las babas del diablo".
Theatrical release poster
Place of murder – Maryon Park, London
An example of a rare 'Chinese Eye' Silver Cloud III DHC as used in the film