David Herbert; British Writer, Aesthete and Socialite

David Herbert, 86, the flamboyant British writer, aesthete and socialite, who liked to boast that “I never dine alone” and who spent the latter part of his life as a leading figure in the expatriate community of Tangier, Morocco. He was the second son of the 15th Earl of Pembroke and was educated at Eton before trying his hand at acting. He signed a contract to appear in two films, “Knowing Men” and “The Prices of Things,” but was not a success. He never lost his love for the dramatic, however, demonstrated by his fondness for large rings, ornate canes, and bright clothes and conversation. He decorated his Tangier villa in vivid shades of pink and mangrove green, and its walls were hung with pictures by his old friends Cecil Beaton and Patrick Procktor. He settled in Tangier after World War II and died there of kidney problems April 3.