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Dave King (born David Kingshott; 23 June 1929 – 15 April 2002)Obituary: Dave King
''The Guardian'', 18 April 2002
was an English comedian, actor and vocalist of
popular songs Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
.Thedeadrockstarsclub.com
– accessed March 2011
He is remembered for screen roles such as the corrupt policeman 'Parky' in the British gangster film ''
The Long Good Friday ''The Long Good Friday'' is a 1980 British gangster film directed by John Mackenzie from a screenplay by Barrie Keeffe, starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren. Set in London, the storyline weaves together events and concerns of the late 1970s, ...
'' (1980) and Clifford Duckworth in the soap opera ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...
''.


Life and career

Born in
Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
,
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
, England, King left school aged 12 and joined
Morton Fraser's Harmonica Gang Morton Fraser's Harmonica Gang was a British comedy musical group, formed in 1946 by Morton Fraser (born Emmanuel Fish; 3 November 1905–10 June 1982). History Fraser was born Emmanuel Fish in Leeds, to a naturalised immigrant family of Polis ...
in his teens.Spencer Leig
Obituary: Dave King
''The Independent'', 18 April 2002
He did his
National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...
in the
RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
and was in the unit's repertory company. On being demobilised, he returned to variety and later became a solo act as a comedy impressionist in 1952. A television appearance on ''Easter Music Hall'' in April 1954 led to his compering the monthly BBC-TV series ''Showcase'' beginning on January 24, 1955 and being given a monthly series on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
starting on October 15, 1955."Actor Dave King dies"
BBC News, 17 April 2002
The next year he turned to singing, while continuing to perform on television. During the seaside summer season of 1956 he performed at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool. He starred in ''The Dave King Show''. During the 1950s he also starred in the same show alongside
Shani Wallis Shani Wallis (born 14 April 1933) is a British actress and singer, who has worked in theatre, film, and television in both her native United Kingdom and in the United States. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she is perhaps best ...
. In 1958, King moved to ITV with ''The Dave King Show'' which was song, dance and comedy with famous guests of the day. King scored four hits on the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in the middle of the 1950s. The biggest were "
Memories Are Made of This "Memories Are Made of This" is a popular song about nostalgia, written in 1955 by Terry Gilkyson, Richard Dehr, and Frank Miller. They were the members of a three-pieced group called " The Easy Riders", who served as a backing band for Dean Martin ...
(No. 5, 1956) and "You Can't Be True to Two" (No. 11, 1956), both of which featured a backing group called the Keynotes. He also charted with "Christmas and You" (No. 23, 1956) and " The Story of My Life" (No. 20, 1958). He appeared on
Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
' ''All Star Hit Parade''
charity record A charity record or charity single is a song released by musicians with most or all proceeds raised going to a dedicated foundation or charity. George Harrison's " Bangla Desh" single in 1971 is commonly acknowledged as the first ever purpose-m ...
in 1956 along with other major Decca artists
Dickie Valentine Richard Bryce ( Maxwell; 4 November 1929 – 6 May 1971), known professionally as Dickie Valentine, was a British pop singer who enjoyed great popularity in Britain during the 1950s. In addition to several other Top Ten hit singles, Valentine ha ...
,
Joan Regan Joan Regan (born Joan Bethel or Siobhan Bethel; 19 January 1928 – 12 September 2013) was an English traditional pop music singer, popular during the 1950s and early 1960s. Biography Regan was born in either Romford, Essex, or West Ham, London ...
,
Winifred Atwell Una Winifred Atwell (27 February or 27 April 1910 or 1914There is some uncertainty over her date and year of birth. Many sources suggest 27 February 1914, but there is a strong suggestion that her birthday was 27 April. Most sources give her ye ...
,
Lita Roza Lilian Patricia Lita Roza (14 March 1926 – 14 August 2008) was an English singer best known for her 1953 recording " (How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?", which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. She was the first British woman to hav ...
and
David Whitfield David Whitfield (2 February 1925 – 15 January 1980) was a popular British male tenor vocalist from Hull. He became the first British artist to have a UK No.1 single in the UK and in the United States with " Cara Mia", featuring Mantovani an ...
. That record charted at No. 2 in the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. In 1959, he went to the United States and hosted the country's high-profile ''
Kraft Music Hall ''The Kraft Music Hall'' was a popular old-time radio variety program, featuring top show business entertainers, which aired first on NBC radio from 1933 to 1949. Radio ''The Kraft Program'' debuted June 26, 1933, as a musical-variety progra ...
'' on 19 occasions, but otherwise had limited success despite
Mel Brooks Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began h ...
joining his regular writers Sid Green and
Dick Hills Richard Michael Hills (17 January 1926 – 6 June 1996) and Sidney Green (24 January 1928 – 15 March 1999),Denis Giffor ''The Independent'', 17 March 1999 informally known as Sid Green and Dick Hills, were a British partnership of television com ...
. On returning to the United Kingdom, he found that the public's taste in comedy had changed. ''Dave's Kingdom'' ran on ITV in 1964, again made by ATV, but was less successful than King's earlier TV work. King became a straight actor with some success, starring in the films ''
Pirates of Tortuga ''Pirates of Tortuga'' is a 1961 DeLuxe Color American swashbuckler film which invented an alternate history for the actual Welsh privateer Henry Morgan. It was released in October 1961 in the United States in CinemaScope. Plot In the 17th centu ...
'' (1961), '' Go to Blazes'' (1962), ''
The Road to Hong Kong ''The Road to Hong Kong'' is a 1962 British semi-musical comedy film directed by Norman Panama and starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, as well as Joan Collins, with an extended cameo featuring Dorothy Lamour in the setting of Hong Kong under B ...
'' (1962), '' Strange Bedfellows'' (1965), ''
Up the Chastity Belt ''Up the Chastity Belt'' (also released as ''Naughty Knights'' in the United States) is a 1971 British comedy film directed by Bob Kellett and starring Frankie Howerd. It was a spin-off from the TV series '' Up Pompeii!'' Plot Eleanor of Aquit ...
'' (1971), '' The Ritz'' (1976), ''
The Golden Lady ''The Golden Lady'' is a British thriller film directed by José Ramón Larraz and starring Christina World, June Chadwick, Suzanne Danielle and Desmond Llewelyn. Filmed in 1978, it was released in 1979. Plot Julia Hemingway ( Ina Skriver, cre ...
'' (1979), ''
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
'' (1979), ''
The Long Good Friday ''The Long Good Friday'' is a 1980 British gangster film directed by John Mackenzie from a screenplay by Barrie Keeffe, starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren. Set in London, the storyline weaves together events and concerns of the late 1970s, ...
'' (1980),
Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director, ...
's ''
Reds Reds may refer to: General * Red (political adjective), supporters of Communism or socialism * Reds (January Uprising), a faction of the Polish insurrectionists during the January Uprising in 1863 * USSR (or, to a lesser extent, China) during th ...
'' (1981) and ''
Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
'' (1985). He also appeared in a number of TV series including '' Hazell'' (1978), '' Pennies From Heaven'' (1978), ''
Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...
'' (episode: "Gunfight at the OK Laundrette", 1979), '' Shoestring'' (episode: "The Teddy Bears' Nightmare", 1980). King appeared in two of the UK's most hard-hitting police series, ''
The Sweeney ''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective Ins ...
'' and '' The Professionals.'' His appearance in ''The Sweeney'' saw him play Arnold Drake, the leader of a gang of armed robbers in the episode: "Pay Off" (1976), whilst in ''The Professionals'' he appeared in the role of organised crime lord Harry Walter, the mastermind of a
silver bullion Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes from t ...
robbery in the episode "Hijack" (1980). Further television appearances included the ''
Rumpole of the Bailey ''Rumpole of the Bailey'' is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. It starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, a middle-aged London barrister who defended a broad variety of clients, o ...
'' episode "Rumpole and the Blind Tasting" (1987) and as Aidensfield
Station Master The station master (or stationmaster) is the person in charge of a railway station, particularly in the United Kingdom and many other countries outside North America. In the United Kingdom, where the term originated, it is now largely historical ...
Roy Hutton in '' Heartbeat'' (episode: "Unfinished Business", 1995). The closing scene of the episode features King's character standing on the platform of Aidensfield Station while "
Memories Are Made of This "Memories Are Made of This" is a popular song about nostalgia, written in 1955 by Terry Gilkyson, Richard Dehr, and Frank Miller. They were the members of a three-pieced group called " The Easy Riders", who served as a backing band for Dean Martin ...
" plays in the background. In the theatre, he appeared in '' Arsenic and Old Lace'', playing Mortimer Brewster, and in '' Teeth 'n' Smiles'' (1975/6). He married Jean Hart in 1955, and they had two daughters, Cheyenne and Kiowa. They lived in
South Cerney South Cerney is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, 3 miles south of Cirencester and close to the border with Wiltshire. It had a population of 3,074 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 3,464 at the ...
in Gloucestershire. His hobbies included
model railway Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale. The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, t ...
s and
American folklore American folklore encompasses the folklores that have evolved in the present-day United States since Europeans arrived in the 16th century. While it contains much in the way of Native American tradition, it is not wholly identical to the tribal ...
. King died in London on 15 April 2002, aged 72.


Filmography


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Dave 1929 births 2002 deaths English pop musicians English male television actors Actors from Twickenham People from South Cerney 20th-century English male singers 20th-century English singers