David Kossoff(1919-2005)

David had always been interested in drawing. At seventeen, he got a job as a designer in a furniture business, but soon after started to take an interest in the theatre. He met a former clown who taught him mime, then a children's elocution teacher taught him voice production. He was nearly twenty when he decided to try his luck at acting, but the war came and he was soon in an aircraft drawing office. However, he spent his spare time at a London amateur theatre, doing various jobs, from tearing tickets to acting. He also appeared in revues for the troops in hospitals and camps. After the war, he got a job with the BBC Drama Repertory Company, remaining for six years playing hundreds of roles. He then went into a West End play. He is probably best remembered as the brow-beaten husband of Peggy Mount in the television series The Larkins.