My client and friend, the actor David Killick, who has died aged 86, was a stalwart of British theatre and television for more than 60 years.
He had a long association with the Royal Shakespeare Company (1985-2003), where roles of increasing stature came his way, including Cominius in Coriolanus, Duke of York in Richard II, Stanley in Richard III, and Archbishop Scrope in Henry IV Parts 1 and 2. With the National Theatre, he enjoyed roles in The Captain of Köpenick (2013) and His Dark Materials (2004).
On television, he played the somewhat harassed recurring pathologist in A Touch of Frost (1994-96), among many notable guest appearances in mainstream drama series. His final screen appearance saw him in uniform for an episode of The Crown. David was also for many years a regular voice on radio drama.
He was born in north London, the youngest of three children of Trengrove (nee Fisher), a singer, and Albert Killick, a musician, who, as well as performing professionally, ran first an off-licence in Tottenham, then a sweetshop in South Woodford. After Downhills central school, David did national service with the Royal Navy, then helped in the family off-licence and sweetshop and occasionally worked as a chauffeur – he loved cars. Amateur dramatics beckoned with the Mountview Theatre Club, where he played a host of leading roles in the mid- to late-1950s.
His first foray into professional stage work was helping Caryl Jenner establish the first permanent children’s theatre company, The Unicorn at the Arts theatre in the West End. The actor and writer Ursula Jones, who worked with them in the early 1960s, said: “As a leading member of the ensemble company, David was enormously versatile, and particularly brilliant at comedy … The calibre of his long-term input played a crucial part in the emergence and development of what was to become The Unicorn theatre.”
Stints in weekly repertory followed, and by the early 70s he had become a mainstay of the commercial touring theatre circuit with a string of productions for Triumph Theatre Company.
Among many leading roles at major theatres across the UK, David was particularly proud to have played George in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf at the Lyceum, Edinburgh (1982), and Basilio in Life’s a Dream for West Yorkshire Playhouse (1992).
Under the guidance of his agent Meg Poole, David was steered towards what was to become a two-decade association with the RSC. I represented David from 2016 until his death.
Staying living in north London, close to his roots, David never retired. His great ambition was to continue acting into his 90s, which he nearly achieved. In his last few years he enjoyed playing Admiral Ramsay in David Haig’s second world war play Pressure, both in the West End (2018) and Toronto (2023), and the Judge in Lucy Bailey’s production of Witness for the Prosecution (2024) at County Hall.
He is survived by two nephews, Peter and Tony.