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, the film, set in London, weaves together events and concerns of the late 1970s, inc ...

'' (1980) and Clifford Duckworth in the soap opera ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

''.

Life and career

Born in

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, 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 a system of compulsory or 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 ...

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. Prior to his TV appearances he had a regular weekly radio show. It was for this radio show that Sid Green and Dick Hills first became his scriptwriters. At the time Hills was still a Form Master at Haberdashers Aske’s (this edit is by a pupil of his from 1955), and when King got his regular TV show they both gave up their jobs to become full time script writers. led to his compering the monthly BBC-TV series ''Showcase'' beginning on January 24, 1955 and being given a monthly series on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

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. 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 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 Mart ...

(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 after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

' ''All Star Hit Parade''

charity record A charity record, charity album, or charity single is a recording with most or all proceeds raised going to a dedicated foundation or charity. In 1956, The Lord's Taverners released a 78 rpm disc which contained six tracks donated by popular artis ...

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 h ...

Joan Regan Joan Regan (born Joan E. Bethell; 19 January 1928 – 12 September 2013) was an English traditional pop singer, popular during the 1950s and early 1960s. Biography Joan E. Bethell was born in either Romford, Essex, or West Ham, London (sour ...

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 h ...

and

David Whitfield David Whitfield (2 February 1925 – 15 January 1980) was a popular British male tenor vocalist from Hull. In November 1953 he became the first British male artist to have a number one single in the UK with " Answer Me" (Lita Roza having had a ...

. That record charted at No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart. 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 show, 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- ...

'' on 19 occasions, but otherwise had limited success despite

Mel Brooks Melvin James Brooks (né Kaminsky; born June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and songwriter. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodie ...

joining his regular writers Sid Green and Dick Hills. 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'' (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 British Hong Kong, ...

'' (1962), '' Strange Bedfellows'' (1965), ''

Up the Chastity Belt ''Up the Chastity Belt'' (U.S. title: ''Naughty Knights''; also known as ''The Chastity Belt'') is a 1971 British comedy film directed by Bob Kellett and starring Frankie Howerd. It was written by Sid Colin, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. It ...

'' (1971), '' The Ritz'' (1976), '' The Golden Lady'' (1979), ''

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

'' (1979), ''

'' (1980),

Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career has spanned over six decades, and he has received an Academy Award and three Golden Globe Awards. He also received the Irving G. Thalberg Memor ...

's '' Reds'' (1981) and ''

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

'' (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 British police drama television series 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 ...

'' 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, ...

'' episode "Rumpole and the Blind Tasting" (1987) and as Aidensfield

Station Master The station master (or stationmaster) is the person in charge of a Train station, 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 lar ...

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 "

" 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 Model building, modelled at a reduced Scale (ratio), scale. The scale models include locomotives ...

s and

American folklore American folklore encompasses the folklore that has evolved in the present-day United States mostly since the European colonization of the Americas. It also contains folklore that dates back to the Pre-Columbian era, Pre-Columbian era. Folklor ...

. 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 the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames People from South Cerney 20th-century English male singers 20th-century English singers English male comedians Comedians from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames People from Twickenham