Biography
Leonard Rossiter (21 October 1926 – 5 October 1984) was an English actor known for his roles as Rupert Rigsby, in the British comedy television series Rising Damp (1974–78), and Reginald Iolanthe Perrin, in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1976–79). He also had a long and distinguished career in the theatre and gained some notoriety for a series of Cinzano commercials (1978–1983), with Joan Collins.
Known For
Complete Filmography
Leonard Rossiter: Comedy Great
2022
as Self (Archive footage)
A celebration of the actor's life and career, featuring contributions from friends, co-stars and fans including Don Warrington, Sue Nicholls and Mark ...
The Unforgettable Leonard Rossiter
2000
as Various (archive footage)
Tribute to the much-loved character actor.
Starry Night
1999
as Mr. Morganstern
Vincent Van Gogh comes back to life after being the recipient of a magic potion. He finds that his work has become quite valuable, and begins stealing...
'Oh, Miss Jones!': The Very Best of Leonard Rossiter
1996
as Self
A compilation of the many characters played by Leonard Rossiter.
The Moon Over Soho
1985
as Max von Konigsberg
A wily publisher of arts magazines tries to cope with ever-growing financial problems - and also his formidable German mother.
Water
1985
as Sir Malcolm Leveridge
The British governor of a tiny island nation in the Caribbean Commonwealth finds his idyllic existence thrown into chaos when an American drilling com...
The Life and Death of King John
1984
as King John
The reign of England's King John is threatened by Philip of France who demands that John's nephew Arthur be placed on the throne. Pragmatic and decisi...
Dog Ends
1984
as Arthur
A middle-aged man is feeling the strain of looking after his elderly grandfather, who is demanding and needs a lot of medical treatment. Then a neighb...
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
1983
as Reginald Perrin
46-year-old Reginald Iolanthe Perrin is suffering a midlife crisis and tries to escape his dreary life.
Trail of the Pink Panther
1982
as Superintendant Quinlan
The Pink Panther diamond is stolen once again from Lugash and the authorities call in Chief Inspector Clouseau from France. His plane disappears en-ro...
Britannia Hospital
1982
as Vincent Potter
Britannia Hospital, an esteemed English institution, is marking its gala anniversary with a visit by the Queen Mother herself. But when investigative ...
The Factory
1981
as Harry Meadows
A factory's workforce is dwindling as divisions between the workers and management widen.
Rising Damp
1980
as Rigsby
Stingy landlord Rigsby manages to scam his lodgers John, an art student, and Philip, an African medical student, making both pay for a room they must ...
Le Petomane
1979
as Monsieur Joseph Pujol
The incredibly true story of the legendary French entertainer Joseph Pujol, who performed impersonations with his self-described 'elastic anus' and a ...
The Waterloo Bridge Handicap
1978
as Charles Barker
A commuter's race to catch a rush-hour train, narrated in the style of a horse race.
Fearless Frank
1978
The outrageous - and not entirely reliable - memoirs of Irish writer Frank Harris, sometime cowboy in the Old West, friend to the famous in the litera...
Voyage of the Damned
1976
as Commander von Bonin
A luxury liner carries Jewish refugees from Hitler's Germany in a desperate fight for survival.
The Pink Panther Strikes Again
1976
as Quinlan
Charles Dreyfus, who has finally cracked over inspector Clouseau's antics, escapes from a mental institution and launches an elaborate plan to get rid...
Machinegunner
1976
as Cyril Dugdale
A 'machinegunner' (West Country slang for a debt-collector) turns amateur sleuth, but finds himself in hot water with local criminals.
Barry Lyndon
1975
as Captain Quin
An Irish rogue uses his cunning and wit to work his way up the social classes of 18th century England, transforming himself from the humble Redmond Ba...
After the Solo
1975
as Dawson
"The voice will make its effect. And it will, undoubtedly, be very touching. But, tell me: after his voice has broken, can you make anything of him th...
If There Weren't Any Blacks You'd Have to Invent Them
1974
as The Blind Man
Set in a cemetery, the film tells the story of a young man whom a blind man wrongly imagines to be black, and explores the nature of human prejudice.
Luther
1974
as Brother Weinand
A 16th-century clergyman's view breaks the Catholic Church apart.
The Italian Table
1970
as Mr. Jeffs
A junk dealer is caught in the middle of a tug-of-war between a woman, her husband and his mistress when they sell a piece of their furniture.
The Double Agent
1969
as Nikolai Krobnevsky
In London, a traitor is selling information. In Moscow, a Yorkshire cloth salesman is approached by the KGB, who believe he has more to sell than clot...
Otley
1969
as Johnson
A petty crook finds himself mistaken for a murderer and a secret agent.
Diamonds for Breakfast
1968
as Inspector Dudley
Swinging playboy Grand Duke Nicholas Goduno, a direct descendent of the Romanov family who were overthrown in the Russian Revolution of 1917, learns t...
Oliver!
1968
as Sowerberry
Musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, a classic tale of an orphan who runs away from the workhouse and joins up with a group of boys he...
Deadfall
1968
as Fillmore
Cat burglar Henry Clarke and his accomplices the Moreaus attempt to steal diamonds from the chateau of millionaire Salinas.
The Year of the Sex Olympics
1968
as Co-ordinator Ugo Priest
Influenced by concerns about overpopulation, the counterculture of the 1960s and the societal effects of television, the play depicts a world of the f...
2001: A Space Odyssey
1968
as Dr. Andrei Smyslov
Humanity finds a mysterious object buried beneath the lunar surface and sets off to find its origins with the help of HAL 9000, the world's most advan...
The Whisperers
1967
as Assistance Board Officer
Margaret Ross is an impoverished old woman who lives alone in a seedy apartment and enjoys a rich fantasy life as an heiress. One day she discovers st...
Drums Along The Avon
1967
as Mr. Marcus
A liberal white man becomes a Muslim to promote racial harmony.
Deadlier Than the Male
1967
as Henry Bridgenorth
British agent Bulldog Drummond is assigned to stop a master criminal who uses beautiful women to do his killings.
The Witches
1966
as Dr. Wallis
Following a nervous breakdown, Gwen takes up the job of head teacher in the small village of Haddaby. There she can benefit from the tranquillity and ...
The Devil's Eggshell
1966
as Prime Minister
The discovery of mysterious egg-shaped objects at the sites of a series of disasters lead people to believe that we are being attacked by alien beings...
The Wrong Box
1966
as Vyvyan Alistair Montague
In Victorian England, a fortune now depends on which of two brothers outlives the other—or can be made to have seemed to do so.
Hotel Paradiso
1966
as Inspector
Monsieur Feydeau has writer's block, and he needs a new play. But he takes an opportunity to observe the upper class of 1900 Paris - Monsieur Boniface...
King Rat
1965
as McCoy
When Singapore surrendered to the Japanese in 1942, the Allied POWs, mostly British but including a few Americans, were incarcerated in Changi prison....
The Long Ships
1964
as Persian Soldier Who Falls On Sword (uncredited)
Moorish ruler El Mansuh is determined to locate a massive bell made of gold known as the "Mother of Voices." Viking explorer Rolfe also becomes intent...
A Jolly Bad Fellow
1964
as Dr. Fisher
An English professor decides that there are too many useless people in the world and invents a gas that will kill them off. But first they'll at least...
Billy Liar
1963
as Emanuel Shadrack
A young Englishman dreams of escaping from his working class family and dead-end job as an undertaker's assistant. A number of indiscretions cause him...
This Sporting Life
1963
as Phillips, Sports Writer
In Northern England in the early 1960s, Frank Machin is mean, tough and ambitious enough to become an immediate star in the rugby league team run by l...
A Kind of Loving
1962
as Whymper
As Vic Brown vacillates between infatuation and disinterest for his co-worker Ingrid Rothwell, she finds out that she is pregnant and Vic has to reco...
After Loch Lomond
N/A
as Mickey Grant
Mickey Grant is the life and soul of the many coach trips he has taken. After his latest journey, he meets his travelling companions in a London stati...