David Kernan
David Kernan (born 23 June 1938) is an English actor and singer, best known as an interpreter of the songs of Stephen Sondheim. He has appeared in stage musicals and was a soloist in British TV variety shows of the 1960s and 1970s including That Was the Week That Was (1962–3).
Career
Kernan was born in London. He played the role of Count Malcolm in the original London production of Sondheim's A Little Night Music. In 1977 he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for his appearance in the original Broadway cast of Side by Side by Sondheim.[1][2] He also made two appearances on BBC TV's long running Edwardian Old Time Music Hall variety show, The Good Old Days, in the 1970s and 80s.
In 1986 he conceived and directed the Broadway production of Jerome Kern Goes to Hollywood, a musical revue. He also collaborated with Dick Vosburgh and Robin Ray on a production of Noel/Cole Let's do it, celebrating the work of Noël Coward and Cole Porter. Originally a one-off production at the Barbican in aid of the Terence Higgins Trust, it later opened the 1994 season of the Performing Arts Foundation of Memphis Tennessee and ran for a season at Chichester Festival Theatre before touring.[3]
In the popular 1970s television costume drama Upstairs, Downstairs, he played the role of Capt. Charles Hammond - the young lover of Lady Marjorie Bellamy - in the episode "Magic Casements".
Kernan also had small roles in several films, including Gaolbreak (1962), Mix Me a Person (1962), Farewell Performance (1963), Zulu (1964), Otley (1968), Up the Chastity Belt (1971) and Carry On Abroad (1972).[4]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Jailbreak | Len Rogerson | |
| 1962 | Mix Me a Person | Socko | |
| 1963 | Farewell Performance | Ray Baron | |
| 1964 | Zulu | Private Frederick Hitch | |
| 1968 | Otley | Ground steward | |
| 1969 | Der Porno-Graf von Schweden | Freddie Horne | |
| 1971 | Up the Chastity Belt | Troubadour | |
| 1972 | Carry On Abroad | Nicholas | |
| 1973 | The Day of the Jackal | Per Lundquist | Uncredited |
| 1974 | The Education of Sonny Carson | Judge |