Oct 21, 1926

Liverpool, England, UK

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, includ... ... (read more...) ing Billy Liar (1963)
and TV appearances such as "Z Cars," "The Avengers" and "Steptoe and Son."
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 on 5 October 1984, London, England, UK in his
dressing room. He was married to actress Gillian Raine and had a daughter,
Camilla.