Leonard Rossiter

Acting

Leonard Rossiter

Born October 21, 1926 · Wavertree, Liverpool, England, UK

Died October 5, 1984 · aged 57

Leonard Rossiter (21 October 1926 – 5 October 1984) was an English actor known for his roles as Rupert Rigsby, in the British comedy television series Rising Damp (1974–78), and Reginald Iolanthe Perrin, in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1976–79). He also had a long and distinguished career in the theatre and gained some notoriety for a series of Cinzano commercials (1978–1983), with Joan C…

Known For

2001: A Space Odyssey2001: A Space Odyssey · 1968
2001: A Space Odyssey
8.01968
MovieScience FictionMystery
Humanity finds a mysterious object buried beneath the lunar surface and sets off to find its origins with the help of HAL 9000, the world's most advanced super computer.
Barry LyndonBarry Lyndon · 1975
Barry Lyndon
8.01975
MovieDramaHistory
An Irish rogue uses his cunning and wit to work his way up the social classes of 18th century England, transforming himself from the humble Redmond Barry into the noble Barry Lyndon.
Trail of the Pink PantherTrail of the Pink Panther · 1982
Trail of the Pink Panther
5.11982
MovieComedyCrime
The Pink Panther diamond is stolen once again from Lugash and the authorities call in Chief Inspector Clouseau from France. His plane disappears en-route. This time, famous French TV reporter Marie Jouvet sets out to solve the mystery and starts to interview everybody connected to Clouseau.
Voyage of the DamnedVoyage of the Damned · 1976
Voyage of the Damned
6.01976
MovieDramaWar
A luxury liner carries Jewish refugees from Hitler's Germany in a desperate fight for survival.
Oliver!Oliver! · 1968
Oliver!
7.01968
MovieDramaFamily
Musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, a classic tale of an orphan who runs away from the workhouse and joins up with a group of boys headed by the Artful Dodger and trained to be pickpockets by master thief Fagin.
The Pink Panther Strikes AgainThe Pink Panther Strikes Again · 1976
The Pink Panther Strikes Again
6.91976
MovieComedyCrime
Charles Dreyfus, who has finally cracked over inspector Clouseau's antics, escapes from a mental institution and launches an elaborate plan to get rid of Clouseau once and for all.
King RatKing Rat · 1965
King Rat
7.21965
MovieDramaWar
When Singapore surrendered to the Japanese in 1942, the Allied POWs, mostly British but including a few Americans, were incarcerated in Changi prison. Among the American prisoners is Cpl. King, a wheeler-dealer who has managed to establish a pretty good life for himself in the camp. King soon forms a friendship with an upper-class British officer who is fascinated with King's enthusiastic approach to life.
Britannia HospitalBritannia Hospital · 1982
Britannia Hospital
6.21982
MovieComedyScience Fiction
Britannia Hospital, an esteemed English institution, is marking its gala anniversary with a visit by the Queen Mother herself. But when investigative reporter Mick Travis arrives to cover the celebration, he finds the hospital under siege by striking workers, ruthless unions, violent demonstrators, racist aristocrats, an African cannibal dictator, and sinister human experiments.

Filmography

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Hotel ParadisoHotel Paradiso · 1966
Hotel Paradiso
6.01966
MovieComedy
Monsieur Feydeau has writer's block and he needs a new play, so he takes an opportunity to observe his upper class neighbors of 1900 Paris. There is Monsieur Boniface with hard domineering wife Angelique; also, Monsieur Cotte with beautiful but neglected wife Marcelle. Henri Cotte traces architectural anomalies (mostly "ghost" sounds in the drain pipes) and plans a night at the Hotel Paradiso, which happens to be the chosen romantic rendezvous spot of Marcelle and Monsieur Boniface. One wife, two husbands, a nephew, and the perky Boniface maid, all at this 'by the hour' hotel and consummation of the affair is, to say the least, severely compromised (not the least by a police raid). All of this is under Feydeau's eye, and his play is the 'success fou' of the next season.

Inspector

The BBC Television ShakespeareThe BBC Television Shakespeare · 1978
The BBC Television Shakespeare
6.01978
SeriesDramaComedy
The BBC Television Shakespeare is a series of British television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and produced by BBC Television. It was transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to 27 April 1985 and spanned seven series. Development of the series began in 1975 when Messina saw that Glamis Castle would make a perfect location for an adaptation of Shakespeare's play As You Like It. On returning to London, he envisioned an entire series devoted exclusively to the dramatic works of Shakespeare. After encountering numerous problems trying to produce the series, Messina eventually pitched the idea to the BBC’s departmental heads and the series was greenlighted. The series as a whole received generally negative reviews from critics.

King John

Steptoe and SonSteptoe and Son · 1962
Steptoe and Son
7.81962
SeriesComedy
Steptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about a father and son played by Wilfred Brambell and Harry H. Corbett who deal in selling used items. They live on Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974. Its theme tune, "Old Ned", was composed by Ron Grainer. The series was voted 15th in a 2004 BBC poll to find Britain's Best Sitcom. It was remade in the US as Sanford and Son, in Sweden as Albert & Herbert and in the Netherlands as Stiefbeen en zoon. In 1972 a movie adaptation of the series, Steptoe and Son, was released in cinemas, with a second Steptoe and Son Ride Again in 1973.

Johnny Spooner

Tripper's DayTripper's Day · 1984
Tripper's Day
5.51984
SeriesComedy
Tripper's Day is a British sitcom produced by Thames Television for ITV, starring Leonard Rossiter as a small London supermarket manager whose best intentions are constantly thwarted by the lazy, useless bunch of bums he employs. The programme is largely remembered for the negative reception, and primarily for the fact that it was Rossiter's final television work, the actor dying between the broadcast of the second and third episodes. The series was revived two years later with Bruce Forsyth in the lead role, under the new title Slinger's Day. In Canada and United States, it was remade as Check it Out!, whilst in Sweden, comical duo Stefan & Krister starred in Full Frys, a TV series largely based on both prior iterations.

Norman Tripper