Actor Thayer David did quite well for himself on stage, screen and television. By virtue of his prominent eyebrows and chin and his brutish frame, David tended to be typecast as villains, notably as the odious Count Sacnusson in Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1959), the shadowy arsonist in Save the Tiger (1973) and the untrustworthy boxing promoter in Rocky (1976). But in 1977, David was on the verge of TV hero-dom, thanks to an excellent showing in the title role in the 90-minute pilot film Meet Nero Wolfe. Alas, he died of a heart attack before the pilot could be spun off into a series. Thayer David was at one time married to actress Valerie French.