Thomas Michael John Kempinski (born 24 March 1938) is an English playwright and actor best known for his 1980 play '' Duet for One'', which was a major success in London and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and much revived since. Kempinski also wrote the screenplay for the movie version of ''Duet for One''. In addition, he made minor appearances on numerous British television shows including ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' was a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 19 ...

'' and ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debuted ...

''.

Early life and education

Kempinski was born in Hendon and educated at

Abingdon School Abingdon School is a day and boarding independent school for boys in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The twentieth oldest independent British school, it celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2006. The school was described as "highly ...

from 1951 to 1956. In 1957 he gained a major scholarship in Modern Languages to

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

, but suffered a breakdown and left after only ten weeks.

Personal life

He was married to the actress

Frances de la Tour Frances J. de Lautour (born 30 July 1944), better known as Frances de la Tour, is an English actress. She is known for her role as Miss Ruth Jones in the television sitcom ''Rising Damp'' from 1974 until 1978. She is a Tony Award winner and thr ...

who starred in the original London production for '' Duet for One'', to the actress Margaret Nolan from 1967 to 1972, and to solicitor Sarah Tingay from 1991.

Plays

In 1967 he played the title role in Charles Wood's ''Dingo'' at the Royal Court Theatre.

Selected filmography (actor)

* '' These Are the Damned'' (1962) - Ted * ''Do Be Careful Boys'' (1964) - (voice) * ''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

'' (1965) - Sailor / Senators-Soldiers-Cypriots * '' Stranger in the House'' (1967) - Shop assistant (uncredited) * '' The Whisperers'' (1967) - 2nd Young Man * '' Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter'' (1968) - Hobart * '' The Committee'' (1968) - Victim * '' Moon Zero Two'' (1969) - 2nd Officer * ''

Taste of Excitement ''Taste of Excitement'' is a 1970 British mystery thriller film directed by Don Sharp and starring Eva Renzi, David Buck and Peter Vaughan. It was shot during 1968 on location around Nice on the French Riviera, but not given a general release ...

'' (1969) - French Police Officer * '' Praise Marx and Pass the Ammunition'' (1970) - Designer * '' The Reckoning'' (1970) - Brunzy * ''

Doctor in Trouble ''Doctor in Trouble'' is a 1970 British comedy film, the seventh and last film in the ''Doctor'' series. It was directed by Ralph Thomas and stars Leslie Phillips as a doctor who gets accidentally trapped on an outgoing cruise ship while it begin ...

'' (1970) - Stedman Green * '' The McKenzie Break'' (1970) - Lt. Schmidt * '' Gumshoe'' (1971) - Psychiatrist * ''Adult Fun'' (1972) - Plainclothes Policeman

References

External links