Tom Kempinski

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Tom Kempinski
Born(1938-03-24)24 March 1938
Hendon, England
Died2 August 2023(2023-08-02) (aged 85)
Spouses
(m. 1967; div. 1972)

Thomas Michael John Kempinski (24 March 1938 – 2 August 2023) was an English playwright and actor[1] best known for his 1980 play Duet for One, which was a major success in London and New York City, and much revived since. Kempinski also wrote the screenplay for the film version of Duet for One.[2] In addition, he made minor appearances on numerous British television shows including Dixon of Dock Green and Z-Cars.

Early life and education

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Kempinski's parents, Gerhard and Melanie, Kempinski, were restaurateurs and hoteliers who ran the Kempinski hotel in Berlin. They emigrated to London in 1936 as refugees before the Second World War. [3] Kempinski was born in Hendon in 1938 but was evacuated to stay with his paternal grandparents in New York City at the age of 2 to avoid a potential Nazi invasion of England. On return to London, he was educated at Abingdon School from 1951 to 1956.[4][5][3] In 1957, he gained a major scholarship in Modern Languages to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, but suffered a breakdown and left after only ten weeks, albeit having time to join Footlights in the meantime.[6][7][3] After Cambridge, he had a brief spell in the Maudsley Hospital in South London. [3]

Acting career

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Kempinski then took up a place at RADA before moving into acting. His first rôle was in The Damned before moving into stage acting with Lionel Bart's Blitz!.[3]

Other stage and film rôles followed, notably in the anti-war play Dingo by Charles Wood and Gumshoe by Stephen Frears. [3]

In May 1968, Kempinski joined the student revolutionaries who occupied Paris's Odéon Theatre as part of "les événements".[3]

Personal life and death

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Some sources state that Kempinski was married to the actress Frances de la Tour, who starred in the original London production for Duet for One,[8] whereas his obituary in the Guardian describes de la Tour as his partner.[3] He was married to the actress Margaret Nolan from 1967 to 1972[9] and to solicitor Sarah Tingay from 1991.[10]

Tom Kempinski died on 2 August 2023, at the age of 85.[3]

Selected filmography (actor)

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Tom Kempinski". BFI. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012.
  2. ^ "Duet for One". BFI. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Coveney, Michael (21 August 2023). "Tom Kempinski obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  4. ^ "Valete et Salvete" (PDF). The Abingdonian.
  5. ^ "OA Notes" (PDF). The Abingdonian.
  6. ^ "School Notes" (PDF). The Abingdonian.
  7. ^ Maxwell, Dominic. "Tom Kempinski: 'You fear you will go berserk and murder everyone'".
  8. ^ "Duet For One". Vienna's English Theatre.
  9. ^ "Exorcising the demons within". The Independent. 23 October 2011.
  10. ^ Maxwell, Dominic. "Tom Kempinski: 'You fear you will go berserk and murder everyone'".
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