DAVID KOSSOFFBest known for his role as Alf Larkin in hit comedy series ‘The Larkins’, David Kossoff was a much-loved British actor who died on 23 March, 2005, at the age of 85.He also had memorable and award-winning roles in films such as ‘A Kid for Two Farthings’ and ‘The Bespoke Overcoat’ but it was ultimately the theatre that remained closest to his heart, with notable successes in Peter Ustinov’s ‘The Love of Four Colonels’ and his own one-man show ‘A Funny Kind of Evening with David Kossoff’.Also a revered writer well-known for his humorous interpretations of the Bible, he famously turned the Gospels into a series of lively monologues in his most famous book ‘The Book of Witnesses’. It later became a television series.His son, Paul Kossoff, was a guitarist in the rock band Free whose premature death as a result of heroin addiction saw him become a fervent anti-drug campaigner.David Kossoff was born on 24 November, 1919, in London. The son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, he grew up in relative poverty and was educated at a series of art and architecture schools, including the capital’s Northern Polytechnic.He worked for some time as a draughtsman, commercial artist and a furniture designer before deciding, at the age of 23, to try his luck on the stage and it was during World War Two that he made his debut with the Left-wing Unity Theatre.For three years he not only acted for the company, but wrote and directed too. He then spent a further six with the BBC Repertory Company, before springing to prominence in his West End debut in Peter Ustinov’s 1952 comedy ‘The Love of Four Colonels’.However, his forte really came with the popular broadcast of live one-man shows which were to follow during the late 1950s and early 60s.During this time, he also made what was probably his most famous screen appearance as the hen-pecked rogue Alf Larkin in 1958’s ‘The Larkins’.Despite Alf hardly being the sort of part which gave full rein to Mr Kossoff’s talents, he nevertheless described the cockney character as “the best thing I’ve ever done” and later even agreed to record several novelty LPs.The 1960s saw Mr Kossoff become a household name with a number of movies, as well as his much-loved humorous paraphrasing of Bible stories, which he broadcast on television and radio to delighted audiences all over Britain.His unique Bible readings on BBC radio were so popular that they spawned a series of bestselling books including ‘Stories From a Small Town’ and prayer book ‘You’ve Got a Moment, Lord?’.In 1971, he was actively involved in the ‘Nationwide Festival of Light’, advocating the teaching of Christ as the key to re-establishing moral stability in Britain.Tragedy struck in 1976 with the drug-induced death of his son Paul, lead guitarist in the rock band Free. He later established the Paul Kossoff Foundation in his memory and toured universities and schools with an insight into the dangers of drugs. In later years, he performed a critically-acclaimed one-man stage show about the death of his son. Titled ‘The Late Great Paul’, it was both poignant and heartbreaking, and exposed the realities of drug addiction to children.Liver cancer finally claimed his life on 23 March, 2005, at the age of 85.His brother was a radio broadcaster who worked under the name Alan Keith.
Keep me informed of updates
