Leonard Rossiter - Revision history

Kurt at 19:02, 21 February 2023

2023-02-21T19:02:44Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:02, 21 February 2023
Line 1:		Line 1:
	~~{{short description\|English actor}}~~
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=April 2022}}~~
	{{Infobox person		{{Infobox person
	~~\| name = Leonard Rossiter~~
	\| image = Leonard Rossiter as Reggie Perrin.jpg		\| image = Leonard Rossiter as Reggie Perrin.jpg
	\| caption = Rossiter as [[The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin\|Reginald Perrin]]<ref name=obit/>		\| caption = Rossiter as [[The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin\|Reginald Perrin]]<ref name=obit/>
	\| birth_name =		\| birth_name =
	\| birth_date = {{birth date\|1926\|10\|21\|df=y}}		\| birth_date = {{birth date\|1926\|10\|21\|df=y}}
	\| birth_place = [[~~w:Wavertree\|~~Wavertree]], [[~~w:Liverpool\|~~Liverpool]], England		\| birth_place = [[Wavertree]], [[Liverpool]], England
	\| death_date = {{Death date and age\|1984\|10\|5\|1926\|10\|21\|df=yes}}		\| death_date = {{Death date and age\|1984\|10\|5\|1926\|10\|21\|df=yes}}
	\| death_place = [[w:Lyric Theatre, London\|Lyric Theatre]], [[~~w:Shaftesbury Avenue\|~~Shaftesbury Avenue]], [[~~w:London\|~~London]], England		\| death_place = [[Lyric Theatre, London\|Lyric Theatre]], [[Shaftesbury Avenue]], [[London]], England
	\| other_names =		\| other_names =
	\| occupation = Actor		\| occupation = Actor
	\| years_active = 1954–1984		\| years_active = 1954–1984
	\| spouse = {{marriage\|[[Josephine Tewson]]\|1959\|1961\|end=~~divorced~~}}~~<br />~~{{marriage\|[[Gillian Raine]]~~<br />~~\|1972}}		\| spouse =
			*{{marriage\|[[Josephine Tewson]]\|1959\|1961\|end=div}}
			*{{marriage\|[[Gillian Raine]]\|1972}}
	\| children = 1		\| children = 1
	}}		}}

Kurt: /* Death */

2023-01-14T19:55:15Z

Death

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:55, 14 January 2023
Line 59:		Line 59:

	==Death==		==Death==
	On 5 October 1984, Rossiter died from [[hypertrophic cardiomyopathy]] while waiting to go onstage at the [[Lyric Theatre, London\|Lyric Theatre]], [[London]], where he was performing in [[Joe Orton]]'s play, ''[[Loot (play)\|Loot]]''.<ref name=obit>{{cite news \|author=Shawn G. Kennedy \|title=Leonard Rossiter, Actor Dies \|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/07/obituaries/leonard-rossiter-actor-dies.html \|quote=Leonard Rossiter, one of Britain's most popular comic actors, collapsed during a performance in London and died Friday night, apparently of a heart attack. Mr. Rossiter, who was 57 years old, was declared dead at Middlesex Hospital. ... \|newspaper=[[New York Times]] \|date=October 7, 1984 \|access-date=2015-09-13 }}</ref> His funeral took place at [[St Mary the Boltons\|St. Mary's Church]], [[The Boltons]], London.~~{{citation needed\|date=December 2019}}~~ A memorial service was held on 15 November 1984 at [[St Paul's, Covent Garden]].<ref>{{cite news\|title=Memorial Service to Leonard Rossiter at St Paul's Church, Covent Garden yesterday\|date=16 November 1984\|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]}}</ref> Attendees included Rossiter's ''Loot'' castmates, as well as [[Derek Nimmo]], [[Fulton Mackay]], and [[Ned Sherrin]].<ref>{{cite news\|title=Last tribute to Rossiter\|date=15 November 1984\|newspaper=[[Liverpool Echo]]}}</ref> ''Loot'' director, [[Jonathan Lynn]], gave a eulogy in which he said of Rossiter: "Now that Leonard is up there, things had better be properly managed: I hope that the Heavenly Gates opened on cue and that the Choir of Angels is singing in tune. They had better be professional in Paradise. Because, if not, they'll certainly hear about it from Leonard."<ref>{{cite book\|title=Comedy Rules: From the Cambridge Footlights to Yes Prime Minister\|first=Jonathan\|last=Lynn\|isbn=978-0571277957\|publisher=[[Faber and Faber]]\|year=2011\|pages=173–174}}</ref>		On 5 October 1984, Rossiter died from [[w:hypertrophic cardiomyopathy\|hypertrophic cardiomyopathy]] while waiting to go onstage at the [[w:Lyric Theatre, London\|Lyric Theatre]], [[w:London\|London]], where he was performing in [[w:Joe Orton\|Joe Orton]]'s play, ''[[w:Loot (play)\|Loot]]''.<ref name=obit>{{cite news \|author=Shawn G. Kennedy \|title=Leonard Rossiter, Actor Dies \|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/07/obituaries/leonard-rossiter-actor-dies.html \|quote=Leonard Rossiter, one of Britain's most popular comic actors, collapsed during a performance in London and died Friday night, apparently of a heart attack. Mr. Rossiter, who was 57 years old, was declared dead at Middlesex Hospital. ... \|newspaper=[[w:New York Times\|New York Times]] \|date=October 7, 1984 \|access-date=2015-09-13 }}</ref> His funeral took place at [[w:St Mary the Boltons\|St. Mary's Church]], [[w:The Boltons\|The Boltons]], London. A memorial service was held on 15 November 1984 at [[w:St Paul's, Covent Garden\|St Paul's]].<ref>{{cite news\|title=Memorial Service to Leonard Rossiter at St Paul's Church, Covent Garden yesterday\|date=16 November 1984\|newspaper=[[w:The Daily Telegraph\|The Daily Telegraph]]}}</ref> Attendees included Rossiter's ''Loot'' castmates, as well as [[Derek Nimmo]], [[Fulton Mackay]], and [[Ned Sherrin]].<ref>{{cite news\|title=Last tribute to Rossiter\|date=15 November 1984\|newspaper=[[w:Liverpool Echo\|Liverpool Echo]]}}</ref> ''Loot'' director, [[w:Jonathan Lynn\|Jonathan Lynn]], gave a eulogy in which he said of Rossiter: "Now that Leonard is up there, things had better be properly managed: I hope that the Heavenly Gates opened on cue and that the Choir of Angels is singing in tune. They had better be professional in Paradise. Because, if not, they'll certainly hear about it from Leonard."<ref>{{cite book\|title=Comedy Rules: From the Cambridge Footlights to Yes Prime Minister\|first=Jonathan\|last=Lynn\|isbn=978-0571277957\|publisher=[[w:Faber and Faber\|Faber and Faber]]\|year=2011\|pages=173–174}}</ref>

	==Legacy and tributes==		==Legacy and tributes==

Kurt: /* External links */

2023-01-14T19:52:35Z

External links

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:52, 14 January 2023
Line 539:		Line 539:
	* [http://www.leonardrossiter.com LeonardRossiter.com: Authorised Web Site]		* [http://www.leonardrossiter.com LeonardRossiter.com: Authorised Web Site]
	* {{Find a Grave\|19939}}		* {{Find a Grave\|19939}}

	~~{{Authority control}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Rossiter, Leonard}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Rossiter, Leonard}}

Kurt: /* Early life and stage work */

2022-08-02T16:38:22Z

Early life and stage work

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:38, 2 August 2022
Line 20:		Line 20:

	==Early life and stage work==		==Early life and stage work==
	Rossiter was born on 21 October 1926 in [[w:Wavertree\|Wavertree]], [[w:Liverpool\|Liverpool]], the second son of John and Elizabeth (née Howell) Rossiter.<ref>{{cite web\| url = http://www.filmreference.com/film/66/Leonard-Rossiter.html\| title = Rossiter profile at FilmReference.com}}</ref><ref name=telegraphreview>{{cite web\| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/8188742/Leonard-Rossiter-Character-Driven-review.html\| title=Leonard Rossiter, Character Driven: review\| access-date=29 December 2014}}</ref> The family lived over the barber shop owned by his father. He was educated at the [[w:Liverpool Collegiate School\|Liverpool Collegiate School]] (1939–46).<ref>R. Tanitch ''Leonard Rossiter'' p. 149</ref> In September 1939, when the [[w:Second World War\|Second World War]] began, Rossiter was evacuated along with his schoolmates to [[w:Bangor, Gwynedd\|Bangor]] in North Wales, where he stayed for 18 months.<ref>{{cite web\|last=Coslett\|first=Paul\|title=Leonard Rossiter\|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/articles/2006/12/27/local_history_leonard_rossiter_feature.shtml\|publisher=BBC\|access-date=28 January 2021}}</ref> While at school, his ambition was to go to university to read modern languages and become a teacher; however, his father, who served as a voluntary ambulanceman during the war, was killed in the [[w:Liverpool Blitz#May blitz\|May Blitz]] [[strategic bombing\|air raid]] in 1941.<ref>{{cite web\|date=7 May 2013\|title=Mums and babies among victims of Liverpool's Mill Road Hospital raids during May Blitz\|url=https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/nostalgia/mums-babies-among-victims-liverpools-3373898\|newspaper=Liverpool Echo\|access-date=28 January 2021}}</ref> Rossiter then had to support his mother, therefore he could not take up the place he had been offered at the [[University of Liverpool]].<ref>''Leonard Rossiter'' by Robert Tanitch; {{ISBN\|0-947728-19-8}}</ref> Instead, he did his [[w:Conscription in the United Kingdom\|National Service]] as a sergeant, initially in the [[w:Intelligence Corps (United Kingdom)\|Intelligence Corps]], then in the [[w:Royal Army Educational Corps\|Army Education Corps]], spending much of the time in Germany writing letters home for other soldiers.<ref>{{cite magazine\|title=The joke that led Leonard Rossiter to stardom...and Rigsby\|last=Knight\|first=Val\|quote=I was in just before the end of the Japanese war. The war in Germany was over, clearly why I went to Germany at that time...to teach soldiers, most of whom had missed schooling during the war, to read and write. It was weird really. I was immediately made a sergeant. Well you had to have some sort of rank because as a private in the classroom, teaching old soldiers their A, B, C, you'd soon have been given the brush off. I spent most of the time writing their letters home, you know 'Dear Mum...'\|date=1 April 1978\|newspaper=[[TVTimes]]}}</ref> After being [[demobbed]] he worked for six years as an insurance clerk in the claims and accident departments of the [[Commercial Union\|Commercial Union Insurance Company]].<ref>Interview on BBC R4 Desert Island Discs 12 April 1980</ref>		Rossiter was born on 21 October 1926 in [[w:Wavertree\|Wavertree]], [[w:Liverpool\|Liverpool]], the second son of John and Elizabeth (née Howell) Rossiter.<ref>{{cite web\| url = http://www.filmreference.com/film/66/Leonard-Rossiter.html\| title = Rossiter profile at FilmReference.com}}</ref><ref name=telegraphreview>{{cite web\| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/8188742/Leonard-Rossiter-Character-Driven-review.html\| title=Leonard Rossiter, Character Driven: review\| access-date=29 December 2014}}</ref> The family lived over the barber shop owned by his father. He was educated at the [[w:Liverpool Collegiate School\|Liverpool Collegiate School]] (1939–46).<ref>R. Tanitch ''Leonard Rossiter'' p. 149</ref> In September 1939, when the [[w:Second World War\|Second World War]] began, Rossiter was evacuated along with his schoolmates to [[w:Bangor, Gwynedd\|Bangor]] in North Wales, where he stayed for 18 months.<ref>{{cite web\|last=Coslett\|first=Paul\|title=Leonard Rossiter\|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/articles/2006/12/27/local_history_leonard_rossiter_feature.shtml\|publisher=BBC\|access-date=28 January 2021}}</ref> While at school, his ambition was to go to university to read modern languages and become a teacher; however, his father, who served as a voluntary ambulanceman during the war, was killed in the [[w:Liverpool Blitz#May blitz\|May Blitz]] [[w:strategic bombing\|air raid]] in 1941.<ref>{{cite web\|date=7 May 2013\|title=Mums and babies among victims of Liverpool's Mill Road Hospital raids during May Blitz\|url=https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/nostalgia/mums-babies-among-victims-liverpools-3373898\|newspaper=Liverpool Echo\|access-date=28 January 2021}}</ref> Rossiter then had to support his mother, therefore he could not take up the place he had been offered at the [[w:University of Liverpool\|University of Liverpool]].<ref>''Leonard Rossiter'' by Robert Tanitch; {{ISBN\|0-947728-19-8}}</ref> Instead, he did his [[w:Conscription in the United Kingdom\|National Service]] as a sergeant, initially in the [[w:Intelligence Corps (United Kingdom)\|Intelligence Corps]], then in the [[w:Royal Army Educational Corps\|Army Education Corps]], spending much of the time in Germany writing letters home for other soldiers.<ref>{{cite magazine\|title=The joke that led Leonard Rossiter to stardom...and Rigsby\|last=Knight\|first=Val\|quote=I was in just before the end of the Japanese war. The war in Germany was over, clearly why I went to Germany at that time...to teach soldiers, most of whom had missed schooling during the war, to read and write. It was weird really. I was immediately made a sergeant. Well you had to have some sort of rank because as a private in the classroom, teaching old soldiers their A, B, C, you'd soon have been given the brush off. I spent most of the time writing their letters home, you know 'Dear Mum...'\|date=1 April 1978\|newspaper=[[TVTimes]]}}</ref> After being [[w:Demobilisation of the British Armed Forces after the Second World War\|demobbed]] he worked for six years as an insurance clerk in the claims and accident departments of the [[w:Commercial Union\|Commercial Union Insurance Company]].<ref>Interview on BBC R4 Desert Island Discs 12 April 1980</ref>

	Rossiter started acting after his actress girlfriend challenged him to try it, after he had scoffed at the performances of the amateur group she was in.<ref>{{cite magazine\|title=Rossiter revels in Rising Damp\|quote=Having Rossiter in the part, incidentally, is all down to a former girlfriend who is called Ida. She was in an amateur group and when the young Rossiter watched her at rehearsals he told her he thought he could do better. 'I suppose you could do better!' she snapped. 'I couldn't do worse,' he said. So he joined the group.\|date=7 November 1975\|newspaper=[[TVTimes]]}}</ref> He joined the Wavertree Community Centre Drama Group and made his first appearance with the Adastra Players in [[Terence Rattigan]]'s ''[[Flare Path (play)\|Flare Path]]''. The local critic said that he "was particularly outstanding, his one fault being a tendency to speak too fast on one or two occasions".<ref>Tanitch, p. 8</ref> He gave up his insurance job to enrol in [[Preston, Lancashire\|Preston]] [[repertory\|repertory theatre]] and became a professional actor at the age of 27. He made his professional stage debut in Joseph Colton's ''The Gay Dog'' in Preston on 6 September 1954.<ref>{{cite news\|title=Change of Policy\|quote=Twenty-seven year-old Leonard Rossiter, Reginald Salberg's latest 'find' at Preston, was an insurance inspector in Liverpool until about three months ago. For years before he nursed an ambition to become an actor, and it was only the stress of domestic circumstances that baulked earlier efforts to reach his goal. Last August his family responsibilities were considerably relieved and he sought an interview with Mr. Salberg. As it happened, the application that got him his first small part (in 'The Gay Dog') was most opportunely timed. If it had been made a week before, or a week later, he would probably be still carrying out duties as an insurance claims assessor...\|date=18 November 1954\|newspaper=[[The Stage]]}}</ref>		Rossiter started acting after his actress girlfriend challenged him to try it, after he had scoffed at the performances of the amateur group she was in.<ref>{{cite magazine\|title=Rossiter revels in Rising Damp\|quote=Having Rossiter in the part, incidentally, is all down to a former girlfriend who is called Ida. She was in an amateur group and when the young Rossiter watched her at rehearsals he told her he thought he could do better. 'I suppose you could do better!' she snapped. 'I couldn't do worse,' he said. So he joined the group.\|date=7 November 1975\|newspaper=[[w:TVTimes\|TVTimes]]}}</ref> He joined the Wavertree Community Centre Drama Group and made his first appearance with the Adastra Players in [[w:Terence Rattigan\|Terence Rattigan]]'s ''[[w:Flare Path (play)\|Flare Path]]''. The local critic said that he "was particularly outstanding, his one fault being a tendency to speak too fast on one or two occasions".<ref>Tanitch, p. 8</ref> He gave up his insurance job to enrol in [[w:Preston, Lancashire\|Preston]] [[w:repertory\|repertory theatre]] and became a professional actor at the age of 27. He made his professional stage debut in Joseph Colton's ''The Gay Dog'' in Preston on 6 September 1954.<ref>{{cite news\|title=Change of Policy\|quote=Twenty-seven year-old Leonard Rossiter, Reginald Salberg's latest 'find' at Preston, was an insurance inspector in Liverpool until about three months ago. For years before he nursed an ambition to become an actor, and it was only the stress of domestic circumstances that baulked earlier efforts to reach his goal. Last August his family responsibilities were considerably relieved and he sought an interview with Mr. Salberg. As it happened, the application that got him his first small part (in 'The Gay Dog') was most opportunely timed. If it had been made a week before, or a week later, he would probably be still carrying out duties as an insurance claims assessor...\|date=18 November 1954\|newspaper=[[The Stage]]}}</ref>

	He later became assistant stage manager there, and then went on to [[Wolverhampton]] and [[Salisbury]] repertory companies. In his first 19 months in the business he played some 75 roles. He said later: "There was no time to discuss the finer points of interpretation. You studied the part, you did it and then you studied the next part. I developed a frightening capacity for learning lines. The plays became like [[Elastoplast]], which you just stuck on and then tore off. It was the perfect preparation for rehearsing [[situation comedy]] on television at the rate of one episode a week."<ref>Tanitch, p. 25</ref>		He later became assistant stage manager there, and then went on to [[w:Wolverhampton\|Wolverhampton]] and [[w:Salisbury\|Salisbury]] repertory companies. In his first 19 months in the business he played some 75 roles. He said later: "There was no time to discuss the finer points of interpretation. You studied the part, you did it and then you studied the next part. I developed a frightening capacity for learning lines. The plays became like [[w:Elastoplast\|Elastoplast]], which you just stuck on and then tore off. It was the perfect preparation for rehearsing [[situation comedy]] on television at the rate of one episode a week."<ref>Tanitch, p. 25</ref>

	In 1957–58, he played in the musical ''[[Free as Air]]'' and then toured in [[Eugene O'Neill]]'s ''[[The Iceman Cometh]]''. He joined the [[Bristol Old Vic]] and was there for two years, from 1959 to 1961, a time he described as "the bedrock of his career", followed by other stage work, in, among other plays, ''The Strange Case of Martin Richter'', ''Disabled'', ''The Heretic'', ''[[The Caretaker]]'' and ''[[Semi-Detached (play)\|Semi-Detached]]'' (in New York). His performance in the premiere of [[Michael Blakemore]]'s stage production of [[Bertolt Brecht]]'s ''[[The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui]]'' in 1969 met with critical acclaim.<ref>Tanitch, p. 47</ref>		In 1957–58, he played in the musical ''[[w:Free as Air\|Free as Air]]'' and then toured in [[w:Eugene O'Neill\|Eugene O'Neill]]'s ''[[w:The Iceman Cometh\|The Iceman Cometh]]''. He joined the [[w:Bristol Old Vic\|Bristol Old Vic]] and was there for two years, from 1959 to 1961, a time he described as "the bedrock of his career", followed by other stage work, in, among other plays, ''The Strange Case of Martin Richter'', ''Disabled'', ''The Heretic'', ''[[w:The Caretaker\|The Caretaker]]'' and ''[[w:Semi-Detached (play)\|Semi-Detached]]'' (in New York). His performance in the premiere of [[w:Michael Blakemore\|Michael Blakemore]]'s stage production of [[w:Bertolt Brecht\|Bertolt Brecht]]'s ''[[w:The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui\|The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui]]'' in 1969 met with critical acclaim.<ref>Tanitch, p. 47</ref>

	==Film and television career==		==Film and television career==

Kurt at 15:24, 2 August 2022

2022-08-02T15:24:19Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:24, 2 August 2022
Line 9:		Line 9:
	\| birth_place = [[w:Wavertree\|Wavertree]], [[w:Liverpool\|Liverpool]], England		\| birth_place = [[w:Wavertree\|Wavertree]], [[w:Liverpool\|Liverpool]], England
	\| death_date = {{Death date and age\|1984\|10\|5\|1926\|10\|21\|df=yes}}		\| death_date = {{Death date and age\|1984\|10\|5\|1926\|10\|21\|df=yes}}
	\| death_place = [[w:Lyric Theatre, London\|Lyric Theatre]], [[w:Shaftesbury Avenue\|Shaftesbury Avenue]], [[w:London]], England		\| death_place = [[w:Lyric Theatre, London\|Lyric Theatre]], [[w:Shaftesbury Avenue\|Shaftesbury Avenue]], [[w:London\|London]], England
	\| other_names =		\| other_names =
	\| occupation = Actor		\| occupation = Actor

Kurt at 15:23, 2 August 2022

2022-08-02T15:23:40Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:23, 2 August 2022
Line 7:		Line 7:
	\| birth_name =		\| birth_name =
	\| birth_date = {{birth date\|1926\|10\|21\|df=y}}		\| birth_date = {{birth date\|1926\|10\|21\|df=y}}
	\| birth_place = [[Wavertree]], [[Liverpool]], England		\| birth_place = [[w:Wavertree\|Wavertree]], [[w:Liverpool\|Liverpool]], England
	\| death_date = {{Death date and age\|1984\|10\|5\|1926\|10\|21\|df=yes}}		\| death_date = {{Death date and age\|1984\|10\|5\|1926\|10\|21\|df=yes}}
	\| death_place = [[Lyric Theatre, London\|Lyric Theatre]], [[Shaftesbury Avenue]], [[London]], England		\| death_place = [[w:Lyric Theatre, London\|Lyric Theatre]], [[w:Shaftesbury Avenue\|Shaftesbury Avenue]], [[w:London]], England
	\| other_names =		\| other_names =
	\| occupation = Actor		\| occupation = Actor
Line 20:		Line 20:

	==Early life and stage work==		==Early life and stage work==
	Rossiter was born on 21 October 1926 in [[Wavertree]], [[Liverpool]], the second son of John and Elizabeth (née Howell) Rossiter.<ref>{{cite web\| url = http://www.filmreference.com/film/66/Leonard-Rossiter.html\| title = Rossiter profile at FilmReference.com}}</ref><ref name=telegraphreview>{{cite web\| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/8188742/Leonard-Rossiter-Character-Driven-review.html\| title=Leonard Rossiter, Character Driven: review\| access-date=29 December 2014}}</ref> The family lived over the barber shop owned by his father. He was educated at the [[Liverpool Collegiate School]] (1939–46).<ref>R. Tanitch ''Leonard Rossiter'' p. 149</ref> In September 1939, when the [[Second World War]] began, Rossiter was evacuated along with his schoolmates to [[Bangor, Gwynedd\|Bangor]] in North Wales, where he stayed for 18 months.<ref>{{cite web\|last=Coslett\|first=Paul\|title=Leonard Rossiter\|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/articles/2006/12/27/local_history_leonard_rossiter_feature.shtml\|publisher=BBC\|access-date=28 January 2021}}</ref> While at school, his ambition was to go to university to read modern languages and become a teacher; however, his father, who served as a voluntary ambulanceman during the war, was killed in the [[Liverpool Blitz#May blitz\|May Blitz]] [[strategic bombing\|air raid]] in 1941.<ref>{{cite web\|date=7 May 2013\|title=Mums and babies among victims of Liverpool's Mill Road Hospital raids during May Blitz\|url=https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/nostalgia/mums-babies-among-victims-liverpools-3373898\|newspaper=Liverpool Echo\|access-date=28 January 2021}}</ref> Rossiter then had to support his mother, therefore he could not take up the place he had been offered at the [[University of Liverpool]].<ref>''Leonard Rossiter'' by Robert Tanitch; {{ISBN\|0-947728-19-8}}</ref> Instead, he did his [[National Service]] as a sergeant, initially in the [[Intelligence Corps (United Kingdom)\|Intelligence Corps]], then in the [[Royal Army Educational Corps\|Army Education Corps]], spending much of the time in Germany writing letters home for other soldiers.<ref>{{cite magazine\|title=The joke that led Leonard Rossiter to stardom...and Rigsby\|last=Knight\|first=Val\|quote=I was in just before the end of the Japanese war. The war in Germany was over, clearly why I went to Germany at that time...to teach soldiers, most of whom had missed schooling during the war, to read and write. It was weird really. I was immediately made a sergeant. Well you had to have some sort of rank because as a private in the classroom, teaching old soldiers their A, B, C, you'd soon have been given the brush off. I spent most of the time writing their letters home, you know 'Dear Mum...'\|date=1 April 1978\|newspaper=[[TVTimes]]}}</ref> After being [[demobbed]] he worked for six years as an insurance clerk in the claims and accident departments of the [[Commercial Union\|Commercial Union Insurance Company]].<ref>Interview on BBC R4 Desert Island Discs 12 April 1980</ref>		Rossiter was born on 21 October 1926 in [[w:Wavertree\|Wavertree]], [[w:Liverpool\|Liverpool]], the second son of John and Elizabeth (née Howell) Rossiter.<ref>{{cite web\| url = http://www.filmreference.com/film/66/Leonard-Rossiter.html\| title = Rossiter profile at FilmReference.com}}</ref><ref name=telegraphreview>{{cite web\| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/8188742/Leonard-Rossiter-Character-Driven-review.html\| title=Leonard Rossiter, Character Driven: review\| access-date=29 December 2014}}</ref> The family lived over the barber shop owned by his father. He was educated at the [[w:Liverpool Collegiate School\|Liverpool Collegiate School]] (1939–46).<ref>R. Tanitch ''Leonard Rossiter'' p. 149</ref> In September 1939, when the [[w:Second World War\|Second World War]] began, Rossiter was evacuated along with his schoolmates to [[w:Bangor, Gwynedd\|Bangor]] in North Wales, where he stayed for 18 months.<ref>{{cite web\|last=Coslett\|first=Paul\|title=Leonard Rossiter\|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/articles/2006/12/27/local_history_leonard_rossiter_feature.shtml\|publisher=BBC\|access-date=28 January 2021}}</ref> While at school, his ambition was to go to university to read modern languages and become a teacher; however, his father, who served as a voluntary ambulanceman during the war, was killed in the [[w:Liverpool Blitz#May blitz\|May Blitz]] [[strategic bombing\|air raid]] in 1941.<ref>{{cite web\|date=7 May 2013\|title=Mums and babies among victims of Liverpool's Mill Road Hospital raids during May Blitz\|url=https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/nostalgia/mums-babies-among-victims-liverpools-3373898\|newspaper=Liverpool Echo\|access-date=28 January 2021}}</ref> Rossiter then had to support his mother, therefore he could not take up the place he had been offered at the [[University of Liverpool]].<ref>''Leonard Rossiter'' by Robert Tanitch; {{ISBN\|0-947728-19-8}}</ref> Instead, he did his [[w:Conscription in the United Kingdom\|National Service]] as a sergeant, initially in the [[w:Intelligence Corps (United Kingdom)\|Intelligence Corps]], then in the [[w:Royal Army Educational Corps\|Army Education Corps]], spending much of the time in Germany writing letters home for other soldiers.<ref>{{cite magazine\|title=The joke that led Leonard Rossiter to stardom...and Rigsby\|last=Knight\|first=Val\|quote=I was in just before the end of the Japanese war. The war in Germany was over, clearly why I went to Germany at that time...to teach soldiers, most of whom had missed schooling during the war, to read and write. It was weird really. I was immediately made a sergeant. Well you had to have some sort of rank because as a private in the classroom, teaching old soldiers their A, B, C, you'd soon have been given the brush off. I spent most of the time writing their letters home, you know 'Dear Mum...'\|date=1 April 1978\|newspaper=[[TVTimes]]}}</ref> After being [[demobbed]] he worked for six years as an insurance clerk in the claims and accident departments of the [[Commercial Union\|Commercial Union Insurance Company]].<ref>Interview on BBC R4 Desert Island Discs 12 April 1980</ref>

	Rossiter started acting after his actress girlfriend challenged him to try it, after he had scoffed at the performances of the amateur group she was in.<ref>{{cite magazine\|title=Rossiter revels in Rising Damp\|quote=Having Rossiter in the part, incidentally, is all down to a former girlfriend who is called Ida. She was in an amateur group and when the young Rossiter watched her at rehearsals he told her he thought he could do better. 'I suppose you could do better!' she snapped. 'I couldn't do worse,' he said. So he joined the group.\|date=7 November 1975\|newspaper=[[TVTimes]]}}</ref> He joined the Wavertree Community Centre Drama Group and made his first appearance with the Adastra Players in [[Terence Rattigan]]'s ''[[Flare Path (play)\|Flare Path]]''. The local critic said that he "was particularly outstanding, his one fault being a tendency to speak too fast on one or two occasions".<ref>Tanitch, p. 8</ref> He gave up his insurance job to enrol in [[Preston, Lancashire\|Preston]] [[repertory\|repertory theatre]] and became a professional actor at the age of 27. He made his professional stage debut in Joseph Colton's ''The Gay Dog'' in Preston on 6 September 1954.<ref>{{cite news\|title=Change of Policy\|quote=Twenty-seven year-old Leonard Rossiter, Reginald Salberg's latest 'find' at Preston, was an insurance inspector in Liverpool until about three months ago. For years before he nursed an ambition to become an actor, and it was only the stress of domestic circumstances that baulked earlier efforts to reach his goal. Last August his family responsibilities were considerably relieved and he sought an interview with Mr. Salberg. As it happened, the application that got him his first small part (in 'The Gay Dog') was most opportunely timed. If it had been made a week before, or a week later, he would probably be still carrying out duties as an insurance claims assessor...\|date=18 November 1954\|newspaper=[[The Stage]]}}</ref>		Rossiter started acting after his actress girlfriend challenged him to try it, after he had scoffed at the performances of the amateur group she was in.<ref>{{cite magazine\|title=Rossiter revels in Rising Damp\|quote=Having Rossiter in the part, incidentally, is all down to a former girlfriend who is called Ida. She was in an amateur group and when the young Rossiter watched her at rehearsals he told her he thought he could do better. 'I suppose you could do better!' she snapped. 'I couldn't do worse,' he said. So he joined the group.\|date=7 November 1975\|newspaper=[[TVTimes]]}}</ref> He joined the Wavertree Community Centre Drama Group and made his first appearance with the Adastra Players in [[Terence Rattigan]]'s ''[[Flare Path (play)\|Flare Path]]''. The local critic said that he "was particularly outstanding, his one fault being a tendency to speak too fast on one or two occasions".<ref>Tanitch, p. 8</ref> He gave up his insurance job to enrol in [[Preston, Lancashire\|Preston]] [[repertory\|repertory theatre]] and became a professional actor at the age of 27. He made his professional stage debut in Joseph Colton's ''The Gay Dog'' in Preston on 6 September 1954.<ref>{{cite news\|title=Change of Policy\|quote=Twenty-seven year-old Leonard Rossiter, Reginald Salberg's latest 'find' at Preston, was an insurance inspector in Liverpool until about three months ago. For years before he nursed an ambition to become an actor, and it was only the stress of domestic circumstances that baulked earlier efforts to reach his goal. Last August his family responsibilities were considerably relieved and he sought an interview with Mr. Salberg. As it happened, the application that got him his first small part (in 'The Gay Dog') was most opportunely timed. If it had been made a week before, or a week later, he would probably be still carrying out duties as an insurance claims assessor...\|date=18 November 1954\|newspaper=[[The Stage]]}}</ref>

Kurt: 1 revision imported

2022-07-21T14:33:57Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 09:33, 21 July 2022
(No difference)

en>Notreallydavid: /* TV and film appearances */tweaked subheading

2022-05-02T18:33:33Z

TV and film appearances: tweaked subheading

Show changes