Leonard Rossiter(1926-1984)
- Actor
Leonard Rossiter was born on October 21st, 1926 in Liverpool. Unable to
afford to go to university, he worked in an insurance office until he
was 27, when he joined Preston repertory company and made his
professional stage debut in "The Gay Dog". After Preston, he starred in
productions at Wolverhampton, Salisbury and The Old Vic Company at
Bristol's Theatre Royal. In 1962, he made his first big-screen
appearance in
A Kind of Loving (1962),
followed by other films throughout the 1960s, including
Billy Liar (1963) and TV appearances
such as Z Cars (1962),
The Avengers (1961) and
Steptoe and Son (1962). His
portrayal of "Adolf Hitler" in the 1969 play, "The Resistible Rise of
Arturo Ui", made him a West End star. His roles as "Rigsby" in
Rising Damp (1974) and the title
role in
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1976)
made him a household name, and his Cinzano commercials with
Joan Collins were comic
masterpieces. A keen sportsman, he excelled in squash, tennis and
football. He was also a connoisseur of fine wines. His busy career came
to a tragically premature end on October 5th 1984, just sixteen days
short of his 58th birthday. During a performance of
Joe Orton's play "Loot", Leonard
suffered a heart attack in his dressing room. He was married to actress
Gillian Raine and had a daughter, Camilla.
