Basil Moss
Basil David Moss[1] (25 May 1935 – 28 November 2020) was a British character actor, who featured regularly on television in the 1960s and on radio in the 1970s.
Early life[edit]
He was educated at St Paul's School, which he followed with actor's training. Despite leaving St Paul's in 1953, Moss's connections with the school remained strong throughout his life, both through his involvement in the Pauline Meetings and his work for the Old Pauline Club.
Acting career[edit]
In the early 1960s, he had a long-running screen role as Alan Drew in the BBC TV series Compact.[2] He later had an even longer-lasting part in the radio soap, Waggoners' Walk, which ran for more than a decade and achieved ratings of four million listeners on Radio Two in the United Kingdom.[3] This grew so popular that it nearly caused the cancellation of The Archers.[4] His credited film roles include appearances in One Brief Summer (1970) and Clinic Exclusive (1971).
As he grew older, Moss did less acting in order to concentrate on other interests, although he continued to appear in comic roles,[5] including The Gigolos.[6]
He died on 28 November 2020, at the age of 85.[1]
Music[edit]
Basil played the piano and jazz trumpet and his band, Basil Moss and His Chicago Jazzmen, continued performing until 2014.[7]
Filmography[edit]
- I Was Happy Here (1966)
- You Only Live Twice (1967) – British Navy Officer on Submarine (uncredited)
- Doppelgänger (1969) – Monitoring Station Technician (uncredited)
- One Brief Summer (1971) – John Robertson
- Clinic Exclusive (1972) – Philip Eveleigh
- The Gigolos (2006) – Basil
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Basil Moss obituary". the Guardian. 28 December 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
- ^ "Compact A Television Heaven Review". Archived from the original on 10 January 2008. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
- ^ "British Radio Drama - 4". www.irdp.co.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
- ^ "Archers episodes on the web". BBC News. 4 March 2002. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
- ^ "Dr Terrible - Steve Coogan - www.coogans-run.co.uk - The Man who Thinks He's It". Archived from the original on 2012-07-30. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
- ^ "The Gigolos". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
- ^ Hayward, Anthony (2020-12-28). "Basil Moss obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
External links[edit]
- Basil Moss at IMDb