Tom Kempinski
Tom Kempinski | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 March 1938 Hendon, England |
| Died | 2 August 2023 (aged 85) |
| Spouses | |
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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]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)
[edit]- These Are the Damned (1962) as Ted
- Do Be Careful Boys (1964) as (voice)
- Othello (1965) as Sailor / senators-soldiers-Cypriots
- Stranger in the House (1967) as shop assistant (uncredited)
- The Whisperers (1967) as 2nd young man
- Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter (1968) as Hobart
- The Committee (1968) as victim
- Moon Zero Two (1969) as 2nd Officer
- Taste of Excitement (1969) as French Police Officer
- Praise Marx and Pass the Ammunition (1970) as designer
- The Reckoning (1970) as Brunzy
- Doctor in Trouble (1970) as Stedman Green
- The McKenzie Break (1970) as Lt. Schmidt
- Gumshoe (1971) as psychiatrist
- Adult Fun (1972) as plainclothes policeman
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Tom Kempinski". BFI. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012.
- ^ "Duet for One". BFI. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Coveney, Michael (21 August 2023). "Tom Kempinski obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
- ^ "Valete et Salvete" (PDF). The Abingdonian.
- ^ "OA Notes" (PDF). The Abingdonian.
- ^ "School Notes" (PDF). The Abingdonian.
- ^ Maxwell, Dominic. "Tom Kempinski: 'You fear you will go berserk and murder everyone'".
- ^ "Duet For One". Vienna's English Theatre.
- ^ "Exorcising the demons within". The Independent. 23 October 2011.
- ^ Maxwell, Dominic. "Tom Kempinski: 'You fear you will go berserk and murder everyone'".
