Peter Sallis

Peter Sallis (b. February 1, 1921, Twickenham, United Kingdom), is an actor who has appeared in countless guest roles in British TV shows and films, but who didn't really achieve fame until his fifties when he won the role of the level-headed widower Norman Clegg in the BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine. He has played the role since 1973.

Related Topics:
February 1 - 1921 - Twickenham - United Kingdom - BBC - Sitcom - Last of the Summer Wine - 1973

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sallis had worked on stage and screen, mainly in televison adaptaions of plays - though he did appear in the Doctor Who story The Ice Warriors in 1968, playing renegade scientist Elric Penley; and was due to play Striker in the 1983 story Enlightenment before having to pull out. However, his first main role in a television came in 1970 when he was cast in the BBC comedy The Culture Vultures, which saw him play stuffy Professor George Hobbs to Leslie Phillips' laid-back rogue Dr Michael Cunningham. However, during the production, Phillips was rushed to hospital with an internal haemorrhage and as a result, only five episodes were ever made.

Related Topics:
Doctor Who - The Ice Warriors - 1968 - 1983 - Enlightenment - 1970 - BBC - The Culture Vultures - Leslie Phillips - Internal haemorrhage

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

However, Sallis' disappointment at the failure of this project was short-lived when, in 1973, he was cast in a one-off pilot for Comedy Playhouse entitled The Last of the Summer Wine as the unobtrusive lover of a quiet life, Norman Clegg. Sallis had already worked with Michael Bates, who played unofficial ring-leader Blamire in the first two series, on stage. The pilot proved popular and the BBC commissioned it to be made into a series. As of 2005 Sallis is still playing the role of Clegg, despite being one of only three cast members remaining from the original Comedy Playhouse pilot (Kathy Staff, who plays Nora Batty, and Jane Freeman who plays Ivy, the cafe owner, are still also in the series).

Related Topics:
Comedy Playhouse - Michael Bates - 2005 - Kathy Staff - Nora Batty - Jane Freeman

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Between 1976 and 1978 he provided his voice to childrens cartoon series The Ghosts of Motley Hall, in which he played Mr Gudgin, an estate agent who did not want to see the eponymous hall fall into the wrong hands.

Related Topics:
1976 - 1978 - The Ghosts of Motley Hall

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1978 he starred alongside fellow northern comic actor David Roper for the ITV sitcom Leave it to Charlie as Charlie's (Roper) pessimistic boss. The programme lasted for four series, ending in 1980.

Related Topics:
1978 - David Roper - ITV - Leave it to Charlie - 1980

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Though many of his other projects were successful, Sallis had trouble topping his role as Clegg and in 1988 appeared as Clegg's father in First of the Summer Wine, a prequel to Last of the Summer Wine set in 1939.

Related Topics:
1988 - First of the Summer Wine - 1939

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

However, Sallis achieved great success when, in 1989 he voiced Wallace, the eccentric inventor in Aardman Animations' '. The made-for-television film was a huge success and was followed by the even more successful The Wrong Trousers in 1993 and A Close Shave in 1995. Though the characters were temporarily retired in 1996, Sallis has returned to voice Wallace in several short films and in the 2005 motion picture '.

Related Topics:
1989 - Aardman Animations - The Wrong Trousers - 1993 - A Close Shave - 1995 - 1996 - 2005

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~