Basil David Moss (25 May 1935 – 28 November 2020) was a British character actor, who featured regularly on television in the 1960s and on radio in the 1970s.

Early life

He was educated at St Paul's School, which he followed with actor's training. Despite leaving St Paul's in 1953, Moss's connections with the school remained strong throughout his life, both through his involvement in the Pauline Meetings and his work for the Old Pauline Club.

Acting career

In the early 1960s, he had a long-running screen role as Alan Drew in the BBC TV series ''

Compact Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to: * Interstate compact * Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines * Compact government, a type of colonial rule utilized in British ...

''. He later had an even longer-lasting part in the radio soap, '' Waggoners' Walk'', which ran for more than a decade and achieved ratings of four million listeners on Radio Two in the United Kingdom. This grew so popular that it nearly caused the cancellation of ''

The Archers ''The Archers'' is a BBC radio drama on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now promoted as "a contemporary drama in a rural sett ...

''. His credited film roles include appearances in ''

One Brief Summer ''One Brief Summer'' is a 1970 British drama film directed by John Mackenzie. It stars Felicity Gibson and Clifford Evans. It was made at Twickenham Studios. Cast * Felicity Gibson as Susan Long * Clifford Evans as Mark Stevens * Jennifer Hi ...

'' (1970) and ''

Clinic Exclusive ''Clinic Exclusive'' (UK theatrical title: ''Clinic Xclusive''; working title ''With These Hands''; re-released as ''Sex Clinic'') is a 1971 British erotic film directed by Don Chaffey and starring Georgina Ward, Alexander Davion, Carmen Silver ...

'' (1971). As he grew older, Moss did less acting in order to concentrate on other interests, although he continued to appear in comic roles, including ''

The Gigolos ''The Gigolos'' is a 2005 British comedy film directed by Richard Bracewell, starring Sacha Tarter, Trevor Sather and Ben Willbond alongside Susannah York, Anna Massey, Angela Pleasence and Siân Phillips. Bracewell's debut feature, ''The Gig ...

''. He died on 28 November 2020, at the age of 85.

Music

Basil played the piano and jazz trumpet and his band, Basil Moss and His Chicago Jazzmen, continued performing until 2014.

Filmography

*'' I Was Happy Here'' (1966) *'' You Only Live Twice'' (1967) – British Navy Officer on Submarine (uncredited) *'' Doppelgänger'' (1969) – Monitoring Station Technician (uncredited) *''

'' (1971) – John Robertson *''

'' (1972) – Philip Eveleigh *''

'' (2006) – Basil

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Basil 1935 births 2020 deaths English male radio actors English male television actors Male actors from London