David Goatham

David Goatham (b. Milton, Kent, 31/10/1947) is an actor and writer.

Biography

David Leslie Goatham is the son of Arthur Stanley Goatham and his wife, Olive Mary. His father was initially a steward in the Royal Navy until he was invalided because of a heart condition. He was actually born in Cape Town, which is probably why eventually the family joined him in South Africa, where he became an engine fitter at the dockyards in Simonstown. David’s first known stage role was in King Lear (1966) at Maynardville and he subsequently acted in a number of productions for both CAPAB and PACT. He also appeared in four films and wrote the script for the documentary The Stolen River (1989) for Dereck and Beverly Joubert. His acting career was relatively short, but he subsequently turned to writing and became a successful author of crime novels, some of which are set in Kenya, where he lived for a number of years. In addition he ran an advertising agency in Johannesburg and wrote for National Geographic. As a writer he uses the name of David Lambkin, Lambkin having been his mother’s maiden name. He was briefly married to actress Gaenor Becker, with whom he had appeared on stage and in film, but the couple divorced in 1973.