Peter Sallis
Peter John Sallis was an English actor. He was the original voice of Wallace in the Academy Award-winning Wallace & Gromit films and played Norman "Cleggy" Clegg in Last of the Summer Wine from its 1973 inception until the final episode in 2010, making him the only actor to appear in all 295 episodes. Additionally, he portrayed Norman Clegg's father in the prequel series First of the Summer Wine.
Among his television credits, Peter Sallis appeared in Danger Man, The Avengers, Doctor Who, The Persuaders! and The Ghosts of Motley Hall. Peter Sallis' film appearances included the Hammer horror films The Curse of the Werewolf and Taste the Blood of Dracula.
Early life
Peter John Sallis was born on 1 February 1921 in Twickenham, Middlesex, the only child of bank manager Harry Sallis and Dorothy Amea Frances. After attending Minchenden Grammar School in Southgate, Sallis went to work in a bank, working on shipping transactions. He and his family moved to Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, after his mother had fallen in love with her physician but he continued to attend school, for a year, at Minchenden. After the outbreak of the Second World War, he joined the Royal Air Force. He was unable to serve as aircrew because of a serum albumin disorder and was told he might black out at high altitudes. He became a wireless mechanic instead and went on to teach radio procedures at RAF Cranwell for which he won a Korda Scholarship.Career
Theatre
After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Peter Sallis made his first appearance on the professional stage at the Arts Theatre in September 1946 in the small roles of Soldier and Servant in R. B. Sheridan's The Scheming Lieutenant. After three years in provincial repertory theatres and appearing on tour he returned to London in May 1951 as Fedotik in a revival of The Three Sisters at the Aldwych Theatre.At the Lyric Hammersmith in November 1951, he played Roger Doremus in Summer and Smoke and transferred with the play to the Duchess in January 1952. At the Old Vic in May 1952, he played the Jeweller in Tyrone Guthrie's production of Timon of Athens. Later in that year he appeared in two productions by Bernard Miles: as the Porter and Doctor in Macbeth and Hoard in A Trick to Catch the Old One.
During John Gielgud's season at the Lyric, Hammersmith in 1952–53 Sallis appeared as Waitwell in The Way of the World and Retrosi in Venice Preserved. In Gielgud's 1953 gramophone recording of The Importance of Being Earnest Peter Sallis played Lane opposite Roland Culver as Algernon. At the Aldwych Theatre in April 1954, he played the 1st Soldier in Peter Brook's production of The Dark is Light Enough, and at the Haymarket he played Joe Scanlon in The Matchmaker in November 1954.
At the Globe in May 1955, he played Virgil Penny in Into Thin Air; at the Duke of York's Theatre in June 1955 he played Stage Manager/Flask in Orson Welles's adaptation of Moby Dick in a cast including Welles, Gordon Jackson, Joan Plowright, Patrick McGoohan and Kenneth Williams. He acted in new plays and classics; among the latter he played Fag in a revival of The Rivals in 1956, Simon and Barere in Danton's Death, Thrifty in The Cheats of Scapin and Doctor and Provost in Brand.
At the Royal Court Theatre in July 1959, he played Gigot in Noël Coward's Feydeau adaptation, Look After Lulu. When the production transferred to the New Theatre in September he took over from George Devine as Herr van Putzeboum. At the Royal Court in April 1960 he played Bottard in Rhinoceros transferring to the Strand Theatre in June 1960. He made his first appearance in New York at the Broadway Theatre in February 1965 as Dr Watson in Baker Street; in December of that year, he played Hudson in Inadmissible Evidence at the Belasco Theatre, New York.
His later stage roles included Roat in Wait Until Dark, Herr Schultz in Cabaret, Edwin Palmer in The Pay-Off and Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing,.
Television and films
Sallis appeared in more than 150 films and in more than 170 television shows. From 1955–1979 Sallis appeared in many of the ITV and BBC playhouse/play/theatre programmes including ITV Television Playhouse, Play of the Week, Sunday Night Theatre, World Theatre, BBC Sunday Night Play, Musical Playhouse, Armchair Theatre, The Wednesday Play, Play of the Month, Plays of Today, Thirty Minute Theatre, Comedy Playhouse, Play for Today, Armchair Cinema, Playhouse, BBC2 Playhouse, Jackanory Playhouse and Premiere.From 1955-1956, Sallis appeared in three episodes of the television series Strange Experiences, playing a different character in each episode, such as pickpocket Chippy Griggs in the episode "The Pickpocket"; criminal Squishy Taylor in the episode "Safe and Sound"; and a Poor Man in the episode "The Inveterate Gambler". Sallis was also the only guest star actor to appear in more than one episode out of all the cast members from the TV series. The episodes "Safe and Sound" and "The Knife Thrower" were first shown in the 1955 TV movie/TV play Fcb TV Show No. 1. They were included in the TV movie/TV play to give some idea of how an evening's viewing might appear on the forthcoming ITA channel in London. Both episodes were eventually given a separate release on television by themselves as episodes of the TV series Strange Experiences in 1956.
Sallis' first extended television role came in 1958 where he played Samuel Pepys in the BBC serial The Diary of Samuel Pepys. That same year Sallis started in the TV series The Black Arrow as Sir Oliver Oates and he appeared in the TV series The Lost King as abbe Fleuriel in the episode "Monsieur Charles Deslys". In 1959 Sallis played Cady in the 1959 TV series The Widow of Bath based on the book of the same name by Margot Bennett. He appeared in Jango in the episode "Treacle on Three Fingers" as Oscar Grant. He appeared in Danger Man in the episode "Find and Destroy" as Gordon and he also later that year played Rev. Alexander Mill in the BBC TV Play Candida.
In 1962, Sallis appeared in Maigret in the episode "The Reluctant Witnesses" as Armand Lachaume. In 1963 Sallis played the lead role of the scientist Mad Willy in the Drama and Mystery series The Chem. Lab. Mystery. In 1964 Sallis played a big role in the TV series The Avengers where played role of Hal Anderson in the episode "The Wringer". He appeared in the BBC Doctor Who story "The Ice Warriors", playing renegade scientist Elric Penley; and in 1983 was due to play the role of Striker in another Doctor Who serial, "Enlightenment", but had to withdraw.
Sallis appeared as schoolteacher Mr Gladstone in an episode of the first series of Catweazle in 1970. He was cast in the BBC comedy sitcom series The Culture Vultures, which saw him play stuffy Professor George Hobbs to Leslie Phillips's laid-back rogue Dr Michael Cunningham. During the production, Phillips was rushed to hospital with an internal haemorrhage and as a result, only five episodes were completed.
He appeared twice in the series Hadleigh, first in 1971 in the episode "Bow to the Lady" as Dakin and again in 1976 in the episode "The Charm Factor" as Strapper Strapton.
He appeared three times in the British police series Softly, Softly: Task Force. First in 1971 in the episode "Cash and Carry" as Lodge, then 1975 in the episode "High Life" as Professor Dowell and in 1976 in the episode "A Shot in the Dark" as Edward Letheridge.
In 1971, Sallis played a lead role in the TV series The Ten Commandments in the episode "The Nineteenth Hole" where he played the second commandment named Gerry.
Sallis started alongside Robin Ellis, Suzanne Neve, Garfield Morgan, Margaret Courtenay, Elvi Hale, John Bryans, Maurice Quick, James Cossins and Arthur Pentelow in the 1971 British TV Series Bel Ami, based on the French novel by Guy de Maupassant. Sallis played the character Norbert de Varenne in four episodes of the series.
Sallis acted alongside Roger Moore and Tony Curtis in an episode of The Persuaders!. He appeared in many British films of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s including Child's Play, Anastasia, The Doctor's Dilemma, The Scapegoat, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Doctor in Love, No Love for Johnnie, The Curse of the Werewolf, I Thank a Fool, The Mouse on the Moon, The V.I.P.s, Clash by Night, The Third Secret, Rapture, Charlie Bubbles, Inadmissible Evidence, The Reckoning, Scream and Scream Again, Taste the Blood of Dracula, My Lover My Son, Wuthering Heights, The Night Digger, The Incredible Sarah, Full Circle and Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?.
Sallis appeared in many British TV movies/TV plays of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, including Fcb TV Show No.1, Kitty Clive, Cinderella, David and Broccoli, Candida, Heart to Heart, Who Killed Lamb?, Graceless Go I, The Secret Agent, Across a Crowded Room, She Loves Me, The Secret Diaries of the Film Censors, A Dangerous Kind of Love, That's Television Entertainment, A Tale of Two Toads and Belonging.
Additionally in 1968, he was cast as the well-intentioned Coker in a BBC Radio production of John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids.
Sallis played a priest in the TV film Frankenstein: The True Story, and the following year played Mr Bonteen in the BBC period drama The Pallisers.