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Ralph Howard Cosham (25 February 1936 – 30 September 2014), was a British-born American film, stage and voice actor and book narrator. Cosham also recorded under the name Geoffrey Howard. He lived in
Reston, Virginia Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia and a principal city of the Washington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, Reston's population was 63,226. Founded in 1964, Reston was influenced by the Garden City movem ...
. He was a member of the acting companies of the Washington Theatre Club, the Folger Shakespeare Library, Arena Stage and the Shakespeare Theater all in Washington, DC. Cosham changed careers from British journalist to actor in the 1970s. Several of his works were awarded "Audio Best of the Year" by ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
''. Ralph Cosham died of an illness on Tuesday, 30 September 2014 at his home in
Reston, Virginia Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia and a principal city of the Washington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, Reston's population was 63,226. Founded in 1964, Reston was influenced by the Garden City movem ...
, at the age of 78.


Career

In early 1964, Hamilton Company LTD contracted with
United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...
to prepare a special souvenir magazine of
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
' first visit to America. UPI assigned English immigrant Cosham to write this. His interviews with concertgoers and reports were published as "The Beatles at
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
," which remains easy to find today. In voice acting he was featured in the video game '' The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion'' as the Breton males, including characters such as Jauffre, the Grandmaster of the Blades, and Vicente Valtieri; Dr. Guervich in ''Death Without Consent'' (2005); he played the voice part "townspeople 3" in '' Pirates of the Caribbean'' (2003). In acting he was a driver in ''
Shadow Conspiracy ''Shadow Conspiracy'' is a 1997 American political thriller film starring Charlie Sheen, Donald Sutherland, Linda Hamilton, and Sam Waterston. It was the final film directed by George P. Cosmatos, who died in 2005. The film was poorly received by ...
'' (1997); Supreme Court Justice Jensen in ''
The Pelican Brief ''The Pelican Brief'' is a legal-suspense thriller by John Grisham, published in 1992 by Doubleday. It is his third novel after '' A Time to Kill'' and ''The Firm''. Two paperback editions were published, both by Dell Publishing in 1993. A na ...
'' (1993), Judge Assel Steward in ''
Suspect In law enforcement jargon, a suspect is a known person accused or suspected of committing a crime. Police and reporters in the United States often use the word suspect as a jargon when referring to the perpetrator of the offense (perp in dated U ...
'' (1987); a Marine Lieutenant in ''
Starman ''StarMan'' is a 1996 fantasy novel by Australian writer Sara Douglass. It follows the second book in the series, '' Enchanter'', with Axis marching north with his army to confront a formidable enemy. Background ''StarMan'' was first published ...
'' (1984); and played the part of Braddock's Captain in the mini TV series ''
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
'' (1984). As a book narrator, Cosham (or as Howard) narrated over 100 books since 1992. Some titles include ''
The Time Machine ''The Time Machine'' is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895. The work is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle or device to travel purposely and selectively for ...
'' by H. G. Wells, '' The Castle'' by Franz Kafka, ''
The Secret Agent ''The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale'' is a novel by Joseph Conrad, first published in 1907.. The story is set in London in 1886 and deals with Mr. Adolf Verloc and his work as a spy for an unnamed country (presumably Russia). ''The Secret Agent ...
'' (1996), ''
Heart of Darkness ''Heart of Darkness'' (1899) is a novella by Polish-English novelist Joseph Conrad in which the sailor Charles Marlow tells his listeners the story of his assignment as steamer captain for a Belgian company in the African interior. The novel ...
'' (2002), ''
Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...
'' (2002), ''
Around the World in Eighty Days ''Around the World in Eighty Days'' (french: link=no, Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours) is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employe ...
'' (2003), ''
Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
'' (2004), ''
Watership Down ''Watership Down'' is an adventure novel by English author Richard Adams, published by Rex Collings Ltd of London in 1972. Set in Berkshire in southern England, the story features a small group of rabbits. Although they live in their natura ...
'' (2010), ''Dead Man's Chest'' (2001 novel by Roger Johnson, narrated in 2006), ''
King Leopold's Ghost ''King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa'' (1998) is a best-selling popular history book by Adam Hochschild that explores the exploitation of the Congo Free State by King Leopold II of Belgium between 1885 ...
'', '' Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945'', numerous works of C.S. Lewis including
The Space Trilogy ''The Space Trilogy'' or ''Cosmic Trilogy'' is a series of science fiction novels by C. S. Lewis. The trilogy consists of ''Out of the Silent Planet'' (1938), '' Perelandra'' (1943), and '' That Hideous Strength'' (1945). A philologist named ...
,
Miracles A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...
,
Mere Christianity ''Mere Christianity'' is a Christian apologetical book by the British author C. S. Lewis. It was adapted from a series of BBC radio talks made between 1941 and 1944, originally published as three separate volumes: ''Broadcast Talks'' (1942), ...
,
The Problem of Pain ''The Problem of Pain'' is a 1940 book on the problem of evil by C. S. Lewis, in which Lewis argues that human pain, animal pain, and hell are not sufficient reasons to reject belief in a good and powerful God. Lewis states that his writing ...
and
The Screwtape Letters ''The Screwtape Letters'' is a Christian apologetic novel by C. S. Lewis and dedicated to J. R. R. Tolkien. It is written in a satirical, epistolary style and while it is fictional in format, the plot and characters are used to address Christi ...
, as well as a collection of American short stories titled ''The American Experience: A Collection of Great American Stories'' (2004). Cosham was the only narrator for a series of mysteries written by
Louise Penny Louise Penny is a Canadian author of mystery novels set in the Canadian province of Quebec centred on the work of francophone Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec. Penny's first career was as a radio broadcaster for the ...
; he won AudioFile Earphones and Library Journal awards for best audiobook and the Mystery Audie Award in 2013 for ''The Beautiful Mystery''. Cosham recorded the first ten books of the series.


Filmography


References


External links


Personal tributes to actor Ralph Cosham
Christopher Henley, October 16, 2014
A Tribute to Ralph Cosham
Catherine Flye, October 14, 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cosham, Ralph 1936 births 2014 deaths American male actors Audiobook narrators