[1] Spear was born on 11 September 1919 in Croydon, Surrey, to a Polish-Jewish father and a Russian-Jewish mother.

[citation needed] He was educated at Central Federation School in London, and worked as a clerk at a tobacco manufacturers before serving in the Royal Artillery in Gibraltar during World War II.

[2] Spear starred in the BAFTA TV Award-winning television play Bar Mitzvah Boy, and also portrayed the dual roles of Cervantes's manservant and Sancho Panza in the 1968 London stage version of Man of La Mancha.

[3][4] His film career includes roles in the films Drop Dead Darling (1966), Bedazzled (1967), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972), Secrets of a Door-to-Door Salesman (1972), Wombling Free (1977) and Yentl (1983).

[citation needed] Spear married dancer/writer Mary Newton (pka Logan) in 1949; the couple had one child, Julian, owner of Julian Spear PR (an independent music promotion company for radio and television), who was married to actress Carol Royle.