Dave King (actor)

Dave King (actor)

Dave King (23 June 1929 – 15 April 2002)[1] was an English comedian, actor, and vocalist of popular songs.[2]

Born David Kingshott in Twickenham, England, King left school at 12 and joined the Morton Fraser Harmonica Gang at 15.[3] He did his National Service in the RAF and was in the unit's repertory company, returning to variety on demob and later beoming a solo act. An appearance on Television Music Hall led to compering Show Case and being given a monthly series on the BBC in 1955.[4] The next year he turned to singing while continuing to perform on television. In 1958 King moved to ITV with The Dave King Show[3] 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. His biggest hits were "Memories Are Made of This" (#5, 1956) and "You Can't Be True to Two" (#11, 1956), both of which featured a backing group called The Keynotes. He also charted with "Christmas and You" (#23, 1956) and "The Story of My Life" (#20, 1958).[5]

In 1959, he went to the United States and hosted the country's high profile[1] Kraft Music Hall on nineteen occasions,[2] but otherwise had limited success despite Mel Brooks joining his regular writers Sid Green and Dick Hills.[3] 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 television work.[3] King became a straight actor with some success,[4] appearing in a number of series like The Sweeney (episode: "Pay Off", 1976), Hazell (1978), Pennies From Heaven (1978), The Professionals (episode: "Hijack", 1980), Coronation Street (1994-95). Dave King also played corrupt policeman 'Parky' in the British gangster film, The Long Good Friday (1980).

He married a dancer, Jean Hart, and they had two daughters, Cheyenne and Kiowa. They lived in South Cerney in Gloucestershire. His hobbies included model railways and American folklore.

References

  1. ^ a b Obituary: Dave King, The Guardian, 18 April 2002
  2. ^ a b Thedeadrockstarsclub.com - accessed March 2011
  3. ^ a b c d Spencer Leigh Obituary: Dave King, The Independent, 18 April 2002
  4. ^ a b "Actor Dave King dies", BBC News, 17 April, 2002
  5. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 302. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 

External links