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). ''Funk ...

.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 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 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 #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 ex ...

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 The Story of My Life or Story of My Life may refer to: Literature * ''The Story of My Life'' (biography), a 1903 autobiography by Helen Keller * ''Story of My Life'' (novel), 1988 novel by Jay McInerney * ''Histoire de ma vie'' (''Story of my l ...

" (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 in 1956 along with other major Decca artists Dickie Valentine,

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, Lita Roza and David Whitfield. That record charted at No. 2 in the

. 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 ATV may refer to: Broadcasting * Amateur television *Analog television Television stations and companies * Ràdio i Televisió d'Andorra * ATV (Armenia) * ATV (Aruba), NBC affiliate * ATV (Australian TV station), Melbourne * ATV (Austria) * AT ...

, 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 Go, GO, G.O., or Go! may refer to: Arts and entertainment Games and sport * Go (game), a board game for two players * '' Travel Go'' (formerly ''Go – The International Travel Game''), a game based on world travel * Go, the starting position l ...

'' (1962), '' The Road to Hong Kong'' (1962), '' Strange Bedfellows'' (1965), '' Up the Chastity Belt'' (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), ''

'' (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 Hazell is a name of British origin, and may refer to: People Surname *Andy Hazell (born 1978), British rugby player *Bert Hazell (1907–2009), British politician *Bob Hazell (born 1959), British football player * Charles Hazell, Canadian archi ...

'' (1978), '' Pennies From Heaven'' (1978), '' Minder'' (episode: "Gunfight at the OK Laundrette", 1979), ''

Shoestring Shoelaces, also called shoestrings (US English) or bootlaces (UK English), are a system commonly used to secure shoes, boots, and other footwear. They typically consist of a pair of strings or cords, one for each shoe, finished off at both ends ...

'' (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 A professional is someone who is skilled in a profession. Professional or professionals may also refer to: * Professional sports Music *The Professionals (band), a British punk rock band formed in 1979 * ''The Professionals'' (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 chemical element, 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. ...

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 ''Heartbeat'' is a British police procedural period drama series, based upon the "Constable" series of novels written by Nicholas Rhea, and produced by ITV Studios (formerly Yorkshire Television until it was merged by ITV) from 1992 until 2010 ...

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 A heartbeat is one cardiac cycle of the heart. Heartbeat, heart beat, heartbeats, and heart beats may refer to: Computing *Heartbeat (computing), a periodic signal to indicate normal operation or to synchronize parts of a system *Heartbeat, clus ...

'' (episode: "Unfinished Business", 1995). The closing scene of the episode features King's character standing on the platform of Aidensfield Station while "

" plays in the background. In the theatre, he appeared in '' Arsenic and Old Lace'', playing Mortimer Brewster, and in ''

Teeth 'n' Smiles ''Teeth 'n' Smiles'' is a musical play written by David Hare. Performances The play was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre on 2 September 1975. It was subsequently revived at Wyndhams Theatre in May 1976 (directed by the playwright), ...

'' (1975/6). He married Jean Hart in 1955, and they had two daughters, Cheyenne and Kiowa. They lived in South Cerney in Gloucestershire. His hobbies included model railways and American folklore. 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