David Kernan

David Stanley Kernan (23 June 1938 – 26 December 2023) was an English actor recognized as a leading interpreter of the songs of Stephen Sondheim. Born in East Ham, London, to Joseph and Lily (née Russell) Kernan, he was sent to live with his grandmother in Oxford at the age of four after his father abandoned the family. As a child he sang with the choir at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, eventually becoming head chorister. He attended Portchester School in Bournemouth but left at fifteen, and at his mother's direction began training as a chef before turning toward the stage.

Kernan's professional theatre career began in 1957 when he took a position as an assistant stage manager at the Theatre Royal in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. He subsequently moved to London, working as a shop assistant while pursuing performance opportunities. His West End debut came as a chorus member in Where's Charley? at the Palace Theatre, which opened on 20 February 1958 and ran for 404 performances. He used earnings from that engagement to fund lessons in acting, dancing, and singing. Following a period in television, he returned to the West End as the Hon. Ernest Woolley in Our Man Crichton at the Shaftesbury Theatre, which premiered on 22 December 1964 and ran for 208 performances. In 1970 he appeared in the original London production of 1776, and from 1975 to 1976 he played Count Malcolm in the original London production of Sondheim's A Little Night Music.

Kernan's Broadway credit came with his appearance in Pick-up Girl in 1944. His most prominent Broadway recognition came with the original cast of Side by Side by Sondheim, for which he received a 1977 Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical.

His television work began when he sang alongside Millicent Martin on the BBC current affairs programme Tonight. Producer Ned Sherrin subsequently cast both performers on That Was the Week That Was, which ran from 1962 to 1963. In the early 1970s Kernan appeared in the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs, playing Captain Charles Hammond, the young lover of Lady Marjorie Bellamy, in the episode "Magic Casements." He also appeared in two episodes of The Avengers during the 1960s, and co-starred as Mr. Kodaly opposite Robin Ellis in the television production of She Loves Me. He made two appearances on the BBC variety programme The Good Old Days during the 1970s and 1980s. His film work included roles in Gaolbreak (1962), Mix Me a Person (1962), Farewell Performance (1963), Zulu (1964), Otley (1968), Up the Chastity Belt (1971), and Carry On Abroad (1972).

Kernan entered into a civil partnership with Stuart Forsyth in 2008 and the two married in 2014. He published an autobiography, From East Ham to Broadway, in 2019. He died on 26 December 2023 at the age of 85 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease, survived by his husband.