View source for Ralph Cosham

{{Short description|American actor (1936–2014)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Ralph Cosham
|image =
|caption =
|birth_date = 25 February 1936
|birth_place = [[Eastbourne]], [[Sussex]], [[United Kingdom]]
|death_date = {{death date and age|2014|9|30|1936|2|25|df=yes}}
|death_place = [[Reston, Virginia]], [[United States]]
|years_active = 1970s–2014
}}
'''Ralph Howard Cosham''' (25 February 1936 – 30 September 2014),<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?n=ralph-h-cosham&pid=172861662|title=Obituary: Ralph Cosham|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|via=Legacy.com|date=October 19, 2014|accessdate=December 23, 2018}}</ref> was a British-born American film, stage and voice actor and book narrator. Cosham also recorded under the name '''Geoffrey Howard'''.<ref name="AudioFile">{{cite web|url=http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/gvpages/A1555.shtml|title=AudioFile Spotlight: Ralph Cosham|work=[[AudioFile (magazine)|AudioFile]]|date=2014|accessdate=December 23, 2018}}</ref> He lived in [[Reston, Virginia]]. He was a member of the acting companies of the Washington Theatre Club, the Folger Shakespeare Library, Arena Stage and the Shakespeare Theater all in Washington, DC.<ref name=wp/> Cosham changed careers from British journalist to actor in the 1970s.<ref name=AudioFile/> Several of his works were awarded "Audio Best of the Year" by ''[[Publishers Weekly]]''.<ref name=AudioFile/>
Ralph Cosham died of an illness on Tuesday, 30 September 2014 at his home in [[Reston, Virginia]], at the age of 78.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.restonnow.com/2014/10/01/obituary-ralph-cosham-78/|title=Obituary: Actor Ralph Cosham, 78|work=Reston Now|date=October 1, 2014|author=Karen Goff|accessdate=2018-12-23}}</ref>
==Career==
In early 1964, Hamilton Company LTD contracted with [[United Press International]] to prepare a special souvenir magazine of [[The Beatles]]' first visit to America. UPI assigned English immigrant Cosham to write this. His interviews with concertgoers and reports were published as "The Beatles at [[Carnegie Hall]]," which remains easy to find today.
In voice acting he was featured in the video game ''[[The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion]]''<ref>{{cite web|last1=Yin-Poole|first1=Wesley|title=Skyrim's Todd Howard: Actors come to us|url=https://www.eurogamer.net/skyrims-todd-howard-actors-come-to-us|website=[[Eurogamer]]|access-date=23 May 2022|date=21 October 2011}}</ref> as the Breton males, including characters such as Jauffre, the Grandmaster of the Blades, and Vicente Valtieri; Dr. Guervich in ''Death Without Consent'' (2005); he played the voice part "townspeople 3" in ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]'' (2003).{{citation needed|date=April 2015|reason = He's not listed in the credits}}
In acting he was a driver in ''[[Shadow Conspiracy]]'' (1997); Supreme Court Justice Jensen in ''[[The Pelican Brief (film)|The Pelican Brief]]'' (1993), Judge Assel Steward in ''[[Suspect (1987 film)|Suspect]]'' (1987); a Marine Lieutenant in ''[[Starman (film)|Starman]]'' (1984); and played the part of Braddock's Captain in the TV mini-series ''[[George Washington (miniseries)|George Washington]]'' (1984).<ref name=imdb>{{IMDb name|0181851}}</ref>
As a book narrator, Cosham (or as Howard) narrated over 100 books since 1992.<ref name=wp/><ref name=AudioFile/> Some titles include ''[[The Time Machine]]'' by H. G. Wells, ''[[The Castle (novel)|The Castle]]'' by Franz Kafka, ''[[The Secret Agent]]'' (1996), ''[[Heart of Darkness]]'' (2002), ''[[Frankenstein]]'' (2002), ''[[Around the World in Eighty Days (novel)|Around the World in Eighty Days]]'' (2003), ''[[Alice in Wonderland]]'' (2004), ''[[Watership Down]]'' (2010), ''Dead Man's Chest'' (2001 novel by Roger Johnson, narrated in 2006), ''[[King Leopold's Ghost]]'', ''[[Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945]]'', numerous works of C.S. Lewis including [[The Space Trilogy]], [[Miracles (book)|Miracles]], [[Mere Christianity]], [[The Problem of Pain]] and [[The Screwtape Letters]], as well as a collection of American short stories titled ''The American Experience: A Collection of Great American Stories'' (2004). Cosham was the first narrator for a series of mysteries written by [[Louise Penny]]; he won AudioFile Earphones and Library Journal awards for best audiobook and the Mystery Audie Award in 2013 for ''The Beautiful Mystery''. Cosham recorded the first ten books of the series.<ref name=wp>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/ralph-cosham-the-voice-of-armand-gamache-in-louise-penny-audiobooks/2014/08/21/e5ebe04c-26d6-11e4-8b10-7db129976abb_story.html|author=Ann Greer|title=Ralph Cosham, the voice of Armand Gamache in Louise Penny audiobooks|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=August 22, 2014|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140823094119/https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/ralph-cosham-the-voice-of-armand-gamache-in-louise-penny-audiobooks/2014/08/21/e5ebe04c-26d6-11e4-8b10-7db129976abb_story.html|archivedate=2014-08-23|url-status=dead}}</ref>
After Cosham's death, [[Robert Bathurst]] was chosen to narrate future books.<ref>https://www.louisepenny.com/graphics/newsletterspdf/2015/2015july.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=August 2024}}</ref>
==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1983|| ''[[Kennedy (1983 miniseries)|Kennedy]]'' || Dr. Clark || TV mini-series, 5 episodes
|-
|1984|| ''[[George Washington (miniseries)|George Washington]]'' || Braddock's Captain || TV mini-series
|-
|1984|| ''[[Starman (film)|Starman]]'' || Marine Lieutenant ||
|-
|1987|| ''[[Suspect (1987 film)|Suspect]]'' || Judge Assel Stewart ||
|-
|1991|| ''[[A Woman Named Jackie]]'' || Dr. Wilson || TV mini-series
|-
|1993|| ''[[The Pelican Brief (film)|The Pelican Brief]]'' || Justice Jensen ||
|-
|1997|| ''[[Shadow Conspiracy]]'' || Driver ||
|-
|2003|| ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean (video game)|Pirates of the Caribbean]]'' || Townspeople 3 || rowspan="2"|Video game, voice only
|-
|2006|| ''[[The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion]]'' || Jauffre / Vicente Valtieri / Male Bretons
|-
|2007|| ''Death Without Consent'' || Dr. Guervich || Final film role
|}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* [https://dctheatrescene.com/2014/10/16/personal-tributes-actor-ralph-cosham-memorial-service-announced/ Personal tributes to actor Ralph Cosham], Christopher Henley, October 16, 2014
* [http://theatrewashington.org/content/tribute-ralph-cosham A Tribute to Ralph Cosham], Catherine Flye, October 14, 2014
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosham, Ralph}}
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:2014 deaths]]
[[Category:American male actors]]
[[Category:Audiobook narrators]]