Thomas Michael John Kempinski (24 March 1938 – 2 August 2023) was an English playwright and actor[1] best known for his 1980 play Duet for One, which was a major success in London and New York City, and much revived since.
[2] In addition, he made minor appearances on numerous British television shows including Dixon of Dock Green and Z-Cars.
[3] Kempinski was born in Hendon in 1938 but was evacuated to stay with his paternal grandparents in New York City at the age of 2 to avoid a potential Nazi invasion of England.
[4][5][3] In 1957, he gained a major scholarship in Modern Languages to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, but suffered a breakdown and left after only ten weeks, albeit having time to join Footlights in the meantime.
[3] Other stage and film rôles followed, notably in the anti-war play Dingo by Charles Wood and Gumshoe by Stephen Frears.