John Burgess

John Burgess (2 February 1933 – 15 November 2010) was an English actor, best known as David Crosbie in Channel 4's long-running soap opera, Brookside, between 1992 and 1998. He also appeared in EastEnders as Donna Ludlow's adoptive father, Gerald for a few episodes in 1988 and 1989. Early life Burgess was born John Herman Louis Bogush in Hampstead, north west London, the son of Edith Ferst and Bertram Bogush. He had two younger siblings, Michael and Wendy. His paternal grandfather, Morris, who arrived in the UK from Poland at the turn of the 20th century, became a successful travelling jeweller. His maternal grandparents were Hungarian. Burgess was born Jewish but had no faith. He changed his name from Bogush to Burgess after becoming an actor, later explaining that "The principal of RADA tactfully suggested that a rather more English sounding name might be more suitable for the 'anyone for tennis' brand of plays then popular on the British repertory circuit." Burgess was educated at St. Paul's School in west London. Having completed his National Service in Germany, reaching the rank of officer, Burgess graduated from RADA in 1954, where Joan Collins had been a classmate. He spent a few years cutting his teeth in repertory theatre, including a four-year stint at the Elizabethan Theatre Company. However, disillusioned with life as an actor, Burgess left the profession and set up a menswear company. He and his partner ran it successfully for a decade or so but, by 1969, unhappy with his conventional life, he emigrated to Canada, leaving his wife Lana and three children behind him. Following the successful completion of an English and drama degree at Queen's University in Ontario, Burgess returned to the UK. Upon coming back to the UK, Burgess had to start from scratch. He initially lived with his brother Michael and his wife in Watford, where he worked in a meat factory. Moving closer to central London, he lived in a Belsize Park bedsit and worked as a uniformed chauffeur.