David Kossoff
Encyclopedia
David Kossoff was a British
actor. Following the death of his son Paul
, a rock
musician, he became an anti-drug campaigner. In 1971 he was also actively involved in the Nationwide Festival of Light
protesting against the commercial exploitation of sex and violence, and advocating the teaching of Christ
as the key to re-establishing moral stability in Britain
.
, the youngest of three children, to poor Russia
n-Jewish immigrant parents. In its obituary, The Scotsman
wrote how he was "a man of deep convictions and proud of his Jewish origins". His father was a tailor.
Kossoff started working in light entertainment on British television
in the years following World War II
. His first stage appearance was at the Unity Theatre
in 1942 at the age of 23. He took part in numerous plays and films. He was a Member of the Society of Artists and Designers. In addition to this, he was a Fellow
of the Royal Society of Arts
.
He married Jennie and had two sons, Paul and Simon.
His best known television roles were the hen-pecked husband Alf Larkin in The Larkins, first broadcast in 1958, and a Jewish furniture maker in A Little Big Business. Film credits included The Young Lovers
(1954 - for which he won a British Academy Film Award
as Most Promising Newcomer to Film), A Kid for Two Farthings
(1955), his role as Morry in The Bespoke Overcoat
(1956), Freud's father in Freud: The Secret Passion (1962) with Larry Parks
, Professor Kokintz in The Mouse that Roared
(1959) and its sequel The Mouse on the Moon
(1963) with Bernard Cribbins
.
He was also well known for his story telling skills, particularly with regard to reinterpreting the Bible
. His most famous book, also a television series, is The Book of Witnesses (1971) in which he turned the Gospel
s into a series of lively monologue
s. He also retold dozens of Old Testament and Apocrypha
stories in Bible Stories (1968).
In 1953, he played the character Lemuel "Lemmy" Barnet in the British sci-fi radio series, Journey Into Space.
Following the death in 1976 of his son Paul, guitarist with the band Free
, Kossoff established the Paul Kossoff Foundation which aimed to present the realities of drug addiction to children. Kossoff spent the remainder of his life campaigning against drugs. His one-man stage performance about the death of his son, and its effect on the family, which he toured in the late 1970s and early 1980s, was both poignant and heartbreaking. He died in 2005 of liver cancer
at age 85. He was cremated and interred at the Golders Green Crematorium
.
His brother Alexander was a radio broadcaster under the name of Alan Keith
, the longest serving and oldest presenter on British radio.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor. Following the death of his son Paul
Paul Kossoff
Paul Francis Kossoff was an English rock guitarist best known as a member of the band Free.Kossoff was ranked 51st in Rolling Stone magazine list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" -Early days:...
, a rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
musician, he became an anti-drug campaigner. In 1971 he was also actively involved in the Nationwide Festival of Light
Nationwide Festival of Light
The Nationwide Festival of Light was a grassroots movement formed by British Christians concerned about the development of the permissive society in the UK at the end of the 1960s....
protesting against the commercial exploitation of sex and violence, and advocating the teaching of Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
as the key to re-establishing moral stability in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Biography
Kossoff was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the youngest of three children, to poor Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n-Jewish immigrant parents. In its obituary, The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
wrote how he was "a man of deep convictions and proud of his Jewish origins". His father was a tailor.
Kossoff started working in light entertainment on British television
British television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
in the years following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. His first stage appearance was at the Unity Theatre
Unity Theatre, London
The Unity Theatre was a theatre club formed in 1936, and initially based in St Judes Hall, Britannia Street, Kings Cross, in 1937 they moved to a former chapel in Goldington Street, near St Pancras, in the London Borough of Camden. Although the theatre was destroyed by fire in 1975 productions...
in 1942 at the age of 23. He took part in numerous plays and films. He was a Member of the Society of Artists and Designers. In addition to this, he was a Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of the Royal Society of Arts
Royal Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. The name Royal Society of Arts is frequently used for brevity...
.
He married Jennie and had two sons, Paul and Simon.
His best known television roles were the hen-pecked husband Alf Larkin in The Larkins, first broadcast in 1958, and a Jewish furniture maker in A Little Big Business. Film credits included The Young Lovers
The Young Lovers
The Young Lovers is a 1954 British Cold War romance drama, directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Odile Versois and David Knight. The film was produced by Anthony Havelock-Allan, with cinematography from Jack Asher and screenplay by George Tabori and Robin Estridge...
(1954 - for which he won a British Academy Film Award
8th British Academy Film Awards
The 8th British Film Awards, given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 1955, honored the best films of 1954.-Best Film: Le Salaire de la peur *The Caine Mutiny*Carrington V.C.*The Divided Heart...
as Most Promising Newcomer to Film), A Kid for Two Farthings
A Kid for Two Farthings (film)
A Kid For Two Farthings is a 1955 film, directed by Carol Reed. The screenplay was adapted by Wolf Mankowitz from his own novel of the same name.-Plot:...
(1955), his role as Morry in The Bespoke Overcoat
The Bespoke Overcoat
The Bespoke Overcoat is a British short film directed by Jack Clayton, based on a 1953 play of the same name by Wolf Mankowitz. The story is an adaptation of Gogol's short story The Overcoat with the action relocated from Russia to the East End of London. In this version the protagonists are poor...
(1956), Freud's father in Freud: The Secret Passion (1962) with Larry Parks
Larry Parks
Larry Parks was an American stage and movie actor. He was born Samuel Klausman Lawrence Parks. His career was virtually ended when he admitted to having once been a member of a Communist party cell, which led to his blacklisting by all Hollywood studios.-Background:Parks grew up in Joliet,...
, Professor Kokintz in The Mouse that Roared
The Mouse That Roared
The Mouse That Roared is a 1955 Cold War satirical novel by Irish-American writer Leonard Wibberley, which launched a series of satirical books about an imaginary country in Europe called the Duchy of Grand Fenwick...
(1959) and its sequel The Mouse on the Moon
The Mouse on the Moon
The Mouse on the Moon is a 1963 British comedy film, an adaptation of the novel The Mouse on the Moon by Irish author Leonard Wibberley. It was directed by Richard Lester and served as the sequel to The Mouse That Roared. In it, the people of the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, a microstate, attempt space...
(1963) with Bernard Cribbins
Bernard Cribbins
Bernard Cribbins, OBE is an English character actor, voice-over artist and musical comedian with a career spanning over half a century who came to prominence in films in the 1960s, has been in work consistently since his professional debut in the mid 1950s, and as of 2010 is still an active...
.
He was also well known for his story telling skills, particularly with regard to reinterpreting the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. His most famous book, also a television series, is The Book of Witnesses (1971) in which he turned the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
s into a series of lively monologue
Monologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
s. He also retold dozens of Old Testament and Apocrypha
Apocrypha
The term apocrypha is used with various meanings, including "hidden", "esoteric", "spurious", "of questionable authenticity", ancient Chinese "revealed texts and objects" and "Christian texts that are not canonical"....
stories in Bible Stories (1968).
In 1953, he played the character Lemuel "Lemmy" Barnet in the British sci-fi radio series, Journey Into Space.
Following the death in 1976 of his son Paul, guitarist with the band Free
Free (band)
Free were an English rock band, formed in London in 1968, best known for their 1970 signature song "All Right Now". They disbanded in 1973 and lead singer Paul Rodgers went on to become a frontman of the band Bad Company along with Simon Kirke on drums; lead guitarist Paul Kossoff died from a...
, Kossoff established the Paul Kossoff Foundation which aimed to present the realities of drug addiction to children. Kossoff spent the remainder of his life campaigning against drugs. His one-man stage performance about the death of his son, and its effect on the family, which he toured in the late 1970s and early 1980s, was both poignant and heartbreaking. He died in 2005 of liver cancer
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common type of liver cancer. Most cases of HCC are secondary to either a viral hepatitide infection or cirrhosis .Compared to other cancers, HCC is quite a rare tumor in the United States...
at age 85. He was cremated and interred at the Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000, and was opened in 1902 by Sir Henry Thompson....
.
His brother Alexander was a radio broadcaster under the name of Alan Keith
Alan Keith
Alan Keith OBE was a British actor, disc jockey and radio presenter, noted for being the longest serving and oldest presenter on British radio, at the time of his death aged 94....
, the longest serving and oldest presenter on British radio.
Filmography
- The Good BeginningThe Good BeginningThe Good Beginning is a 1953 British drama film directed by Gilbert Gunn and starring John Fraser, Eileen Moore and Peter Reynolds.-Cast:* John Fraser - Johnny Lipson* Eileen Moore - Kit Lipson* Peter Reynolds - Brian Watson* Lana Morris - Evie Watson...
(1953) - Rookery NookRookery Nook (1953 film)Rookery Nook is a 1953 British comedy television film starring Peter Cushing, David Stoll and Lally Bowers. It is based on the play Rookery Nook, one of the Aldwych Farces, by Ben Travers.-Cast:* Joy Adamson ... Poppy Dickie...
(1953, TV film) - The Angel Who Pawned Her HarpThe Angel Who Pawned Her HarpThe Angel Who Pawned Her Harp is a 1956 British black and white part-fantasy comedy film directed by Alan Bromly and starring Felix Aylmer as a second hand store owner, and Diane Cilento as the Angel....
(1954) - The Young LoversThe Young LoversThe Young Lovers is a 1954 British Cold War romance drama, directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Odile Versois and David Knight. The film was produced by Anthony Havelock-Allan, with cinematography from Jack Asher and screenplay by George Tabori and Robin Estridge...
(1954) - SvengaliSvengali (1954 film)Svengali is a 1954 British drama film directed by Noel Langley and starring Hildegard Knef, Donald Wolfit and Terence Morgan. A svengali hypnotises an artist's model into becoming a great opera singer, but she struggles to escape from his powers. It was based on a novel by George Du Maurier.-Cast:*...
(1954) - A Kid for Two FarthingsA Kid for Two Farthings (film)A Kid For Two Farthings is a 1955 film, directed by Carol Reed. The screenplay was adapted by Wolf Mankowitz from his own novel of the same name.-Plot:...
(1955) - I Am a CameraI Am a CameraI Am a Camera is a 1951 Broadway play inspired by Christopher Isherwood's novel Goodbye to Berlin which is part of The Berlin Stories...
(1955) - The Woman for JoeThe Woman for JoeThe Woman for Joe is a 1955 British drama film starring Diane Cilento, George Baker, Jimmy Karoubi and David Kossoff. The owner of a circus sideshow and his prize attraction become romantically involved with the same woman.-Cast:...
(1955) - Now and ForeverNow and Forever (1956 film)Now and Forever is a 1956 British drama film directed by Mario Zampi and starring Janette Scott, Vernon Gray and Kay Walsh. It is based on the play The Orchard Walls by R.F. Delderfield...
(1956) - 19841984 (1956 film)1984 is a 1956 film based on the novel of the same name by George Orwell. This is the first cinema rendition of the story, directed by Michael Anderson, and starring Edmond O'Brien, Donald Pleasence, Jan Sterling, and Michael Redgrave...
(1956) - Who Done It?Who Done It? (1956 film)Who Done It? is a 1956 British comedy film starring comedian Benny Hill.-Cast:* Benny Hill as Hugo Dill* Belinda Lee as Frankie Mayne* David Kossoff as Zacco* Garry Marsh as Detective Inspector Hancock* George Margo as Barakov...
(1956) - Wicked As They ComeWicked as they ComeWicked As They Come is a 1956 British film starring Arlene Dahl, Philip Carey and Michael Goodliffe, with support from Sid James...
(1956) - The Iron PetticoatThe Iron PetticoatThe Iron Petticoat is a 1956 British Cold War comedy film starring Bob Hope and Katharine Hepburn and directed by Ralph Thomas. Hepburn plays a Russian aviatrix who lands in West Germany and is quickly converted to capitalism after sampling life in the West in the company of Major Chuck Lockwood...
(1956) - The Bespoke OvercoatThe Bespoke OvercoatThe Bespoke Overcoat is a British short film directed by Jack Clayton, based on a 1953 play of the same name by Wolf Mankowitz. The story is an adaptation of Gogol's short story The Overcoat with the action relocated from Russia to the East End of London. In this version the protagonists are poor...
(1956) - House of SecretsHouse of Secrets (1956 film)House of Secrets is a 1956 British crime film directed by Guy Green and starring Michael Craig, Anton Diffring and Gérard Oury. It was based on the novel Storm over Paris by Sterling Noel...
(1956) - Count Five and DieCount Five and DieCount Five and Die is a 1957 British war drama produced by Zonic Productions and released in the USA by the Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation. It was directed by Victor Vicas, produced by Earnest Gartside with the screenplay by Jack Seddon and David Pursall. It starred Jeffrey Hunter, Nigel...
(1957) - Innocent Sinners (1958)
- Indiscreet (1958)
- The JourneyThe Journey (1959 film)The Journey is a 1959 American drama film directed by Anatole Litvak. A group of Westerners tries to flee Hungary after the Soviet Union moves to crush the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. It stars Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner, and Jason Robards. Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner were paired again since they...
(1959) - The Mouse That RoaredThe Mouse That RoaredThe Mouse That Roared is a 1955 Cold War satirical novel by Irish-American writer Leonard Wibberley, which launched a series of satirical books about an imaginary country in Europe called the Duchy of Grand Fenwick...
(1959) - Jet StormJet StormJet Storm is a 1959 British thriller film, where Richard Attenborough plays Ernest Tilley, a man who lost his daughter in a hit-and-run accident. He tracks down the man responsible for the accident and boards the same plane, threatening to blow up himself and everyone on board as an act of...
(1959) - The House of the Seven HawksThe House of the Seven HawksThe House of the Seven Hawks is a 1959 British mystery film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Robert Taylor, Nicole Maurey and Linda Christian. An American captain searching for sunken treasure becomes entangled with criminals and is arrested by the Dutch police.-Cast:* Robert Taylor ... ...
(1959) - Inn for TroubleInn for TroubleInn for Trouble is a 1960 British comedy film - a movie spin-off of the 1950s sitcom 'The Larkins' - starring Peggy Mount, David Kossoff and Leslie Phillips....
(1960) - Conspiracy of HeartsConspiracy of HeartsConspiracy of Hearts is a 1960 British film. It stars Lilli Palmer, Sylvia Syms and Albert Lieven. Its plot involves Italian nuns smuggling Jewish children out of an internment camp near their convent to save them from the Holocaust. It was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Film Promoting...
(1960) - The Two Faces of Dr. JekyllThe Two Faces of Dr. JekyllThe Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll is a 1960 horror film by Hammer Film Productions. It was directed by Terence Fisher, and stars Paul Massie as Dr. Jekyll, and co-stars Dawn Addams, Christopher Lee and David Kossoff. It was written by Wolf Mankowitz, based on the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
(1960) - Freud: The Secret Passion (1962)
- Summer Holiday (1963)
- The Mouse on the MoonThe Mouse on the MoonThe Mouse on the Moon is a 1963 British comedy film, an adaptation of the novel The Mouse on the Moon by Irish author Leonard Wibberley. It was directed by Richard Lester and served as the sequel to The Mouse That Roared. In it, the people of the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, a microstate, attempt space...
(1963) - Ring of SpiesRing of SpiesRing of Spies is a 1964 British spy film based on the real-life case of the Portland Spy Ring.-Plot:A dissatisfied Navy clerk begins handling secret documents when he is approached by secret Czech intelligence to hand over documents to them. Although he is being black-mailed, he agrees to do so...
(1964) - Three for AllThree for AllThree for All is a 1975 British comedy film directed by Martin Campbell and starring Adrienne Posta, Robert Lindsay, Paul Nicholas, Edward Woodward, Richard Beckinsdale and John Le Mesurier....
(1975) - The London ConnectionThe London ConnectionThe London Connection is a 1979 film directed by Robert Clouse. It stars Jeffrey Byron and Larry Cedar.-Cast:* Jeffrey Byron as Luther Starling* Larry Cedar as Roger Pike* Roy Kinnear as Bidley* Lee Montague as Vorg* Mona Washbourne as Aunt Lydia...
(1979) - Staggered (1994)