Background
Kossoff was born in London, the youngest of three children, to poor Russian-Jewish immigrant parents. His father, Louis Kossoff (1883–1943), was a tailor, while another son, the eldest named Alec, changed his surname to Keith. The middle sister was named Sarah Rebecca (Sadie).
Career
Perhaps his best-known roles were Alf Larkin in The Larkins and Professor Kokintz in The Mouse that Roared (1959) and its sequel The Mouse on the Moon (1963). In 1971 he was also actively involved in the Nationwide Festival of Light, an organisation protesting against the commercial exploitation of sex and violence, and advocating the teachings of Christ as the key to re-establishing moral stability in Britain. In its obituary of David Kossoff, The Scotsman wrote how he was "a man of deep convictions and proud of his Jewish origins".
Kossoff started working in light entertainment on British television in the years following World World War World War II His first stage appearance was at the Unity Theatre in 1942 at the age of 23.
He took part in numerous plays and films. In addition to this, he was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
His best-known television roles were the hen-pecked husband Alf Larkin in The Larkins, first broadcast in 1958, and a Jewish furniture maker in A Little Big Business. He played Sigmund Freud"s father in Freud: The Secret Passion (1962) with Montgomery Clift in the lead.
He was also well known for his story-telling skills, particularly with regard to reinterpreting the Bible.
His best-known book, also a television series, is The Book of Witnesses (1971), in which he turned the Gospels into a series of monologues. He also retold dozens of Old Testament and Apocrypha stories in Bible Stories (1968). In 1953, he played the character Lemuel "Lemmy" Barnet in the British sci-fi radio series Journey into Space.
He died in 2005 of liver cancer at age 85.
He was cremated and interred at the Golders Green Crematorium. Kossoff spent the remainder of his life campaigning against drugs.
Membership
He was a Member of the Society of Artists and Designers.