Who Are Those Singers & Musicians ~ David King

 

Born David A. Kingshott on June 23, 1929, in Twickenham, Middlesex, England, King left school at 12 and joined the Morton Fraser Harmonica Gang at 15. He did his National Service in the RAF and was in the unit's repertory company, returning to variety and later becoming a solo act. An appearance on ‘Television Music Hall’ led to a continuous role on ‘Show Case’ and being given a monthly series on the BBC in 1955. 

The next year he turned to singing while continuing to perform on television. King scored four hits on the UK Singles Chart in the middle of the 1950s. The biggest were "Memories Are Made of This" (#5, 1956) and "You Can't Be True to Two" (#11, 1956), both of which featured a backing group called the Keynotes. He also charted with "Christmas and You" (#23, 1956) and "The Story of My Life" (#20, 1958). He appeared on Decca Records' All Star Hit Parade charity record in 1956 along with other major Decca artists. That record charted at #2 in the UK Singles Chart.

During the seaside summer season of 1956, he performed at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. He starred in ‘The Dave King Show’. During the 1950s he also starred in the same show alongside Shani Wallis. In 1958 King moved to ITV with ‘The Dave King Show’ which was song, dance and comedy with famous guests of the day.

In 1959, King went to the United States and hosted the country's high-profile ‘Kraft Music Hall’ on 19 occasions, but otherwise had limited success despite Mel Brooks joining his regular writers Sid Green and Dick Hills.

King then became a straight actor with some success, starring in the films “Pirates of Tortuga” (1961), “The Road to Hong Kong” (1962), “Strange Bedfellows” (1965), Warren Beatty's “Reds” (1981). He also appeared in a number of TV series including ‘Hazell’ (1978). He appeared in two of the UK's most hard-hitting police series, ‘The Sweeney’ and ‘The Professionals’.

He married a dancer, Jean Hart in 1955, and they had two daughters, Cheyenne and Kiowa. They lived in South Cerney in Gloucestershire. His hobbies included model railways and American folklore. King died after a short illness in London on 15 April 2002, aged 72.  

KING, David (aka Annibale) (David A. Kingshott) [6/23/1929, Twickenham, London, England, U.K. – 4/15/2002, London, England, U.K.] – singer, actor., married to dancer Jean H. Hart [1932-19??] (1955-19??) father of Cheyenne Kingshott, Kiowa Kingshott.

They Call Me Trinity – 1970 [sings: “Trinity” as Annibale]

Panhandle Caliber .38 – 1971 [sings: “When Spring is in the Air”]