Dave King

Actor, singer and comedian of particular versatility

David King, comedian, actor and singer: born Twickenham, Middlesex 23 June 1929; married (two daughters); died 15 April 2002.

Dave King was a fine example of a show-business personality who was truly versatile: he was a very popular stand-up comedian, a successful ballad singer and, in his later years, a fine serious actor.

King was born in Twickenham, Middlesex, in 1929, and left school when he was 12. He had a variety of jobs before becoming a stooge and washboard player in Morton Fraser's Harmonica Gang. He did his National Service in the RAF and rejoined Morton Fraser in 1950. He found success as a stand-up comic and was given his own spot on variety bills.

In 1955, the good-looking King followed Norman Wisdom and Benny Hill as the compere of the BBC-TV variety series Showcase and this led to his own monthly series The Dave King Show, followed by a Royal Command Performance. His material was scripted by Sid Green and Dick Hills, whose potential was later spotted by Morecambe and Wise, and it often included spoofs of well-known films.

As in Max Bygraves's routines, there would be many jokes about King's self-confidence and he would hold his hands several inches from his head to emphasise that he was big-headed. King often appeared with statuesque blondes in his act, notably the singer Yana and Sabrina, and in one sketch, he, Yana and Tommy Cooper reprised the title song from the film White Christmas. There was nothing smutty about King's comedy; at this time there were relatively few television sets in Britain and his act had to have a broad appeal, perhaps to three generations, and maybe half the street, watching the same set.

As King was fond of impersonating Bing Crosby, it made sense that he should follow this route by making records. His first record, "Sweet Kentucky Rose", for Parlophone, in 1955 did not sell but a move to Decca resulted in his achieving several chart entries. His version of "Memories are Made of This" challenged Dean Martin's original and reached No 5 in the charts. He sang "No Other Love" on a charity single, "All Star Hit Parade", for the Lord's Taverners Association, which went to No 2. Also in 1956, King had success with "You Can't Be True to Two" and "Christmas and You", and then, in 1958, "The Story of My Life".

In 1956 he suffered the indignity of having to cancel a live television show when he was rushed to hospital with appendicitis. King continued his success, however, with The Dave King Show for ITV in 1958/59 and was a major success at the London Palladium. The television comedy writer Mark Lewisohn said, "King is an important comedian, not only in his own right, but also because he was the first comedian to make a concentrated effort to do well in America." With the addition of Mel Brooks to the Green and Hills writing team, King hosted 18 editions of Kraft Music Hall in 1959. He appeared in the film Pirates of Tortuga in 1961, but had only limited success with other projects in the United States.

Whilst trying to further his career in America, he lost some of his appeal in the UK and never regained his previous success. He appeared on television with Bing Crosby in 1961 and then had a small role in his film The Road to Hong Kong. He starred with Daniel Massey and Norman Rossington as criminally minded firemen in Go to Blazes! (1962), a clever but misguided attempt to update an Ealing comedy. The cast included Robert Morley, Arthur Lowe and Maggie Smith and contains a glorious moment where the getaway vehicle, a fire engine, arrives early because the police have held up the traffic.

Two further comedy series, The Dave King Show (with Lisa Daniely as his wife, 1962) and Dave's Kingdom (with Victor Maddern as his landlord, 1964), were largely ignored and he took up dog breeding, moving to Gloucestershire. In 1969 he starred in a 30-minute cinema feature, It's the Only Way to Go, about an elderly man who dies whilst watching a pretty girl undress. He also appeared in the Frankie Howerd film Up the Chastity Belt (1971) and his last TV comedy series was with the experimental Fancy Wanders for ITV in 1980.

By then King had lost his youthful looks, but turned this to good advantage by taking on sinister roles, notably as a villain in the highly acclaimed film The Long Good Friday (1980). The following year he was in the Warren Beatty film Reds. He also appeared in the television drama series Pennies from Heaven (1978) and had roles in The Sweeney, Bergerac and The Professionals. He was an addition to the wayward Duckworth family in Coronation Street in 1994.

Spencer Leigh