Peter Sallis

Peter John Sallis (1 February 1921 – 2 June 2017) was an English actor. was born on 1 February 1921 in Twickenham, Middlesex (now in Greater London) , the only child of bank manager Harry Sallis (1889–1964) and Dorothy Amea Frances (née Barnard; 1891–1975). 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 work Sallis began his career as an amateur actor during his four years with the RAF when one of his students offered him the lead in an amateur production of Noël Coward's Hay Fever.

Sallis appeared in the Hal Prince–produced musical She Loves Me in 1963. He appeared in Danger Man in the episode "Find and Destroy", (1960–1963) he played Armand Lachaume in the Maigret TV series (1961) as Gordon. He appeared in the BBC Doctor Who story The Ice Warriors (1967), playing renegade scientist Elric Penley; and in 1983 was due to play the role of Striker in another Doctor Who serial, Enlightenment, but he had to withdraw and was replaced by Keith Barron.

He appeared as schoolteacher Mr Gladstone in an episode of the first series of Catweazle in 1970. He was cast in the BBC comedy series The Culture Vultures (1970), 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.

Sallis acted alongside Roger Moore and Tony Curtis in an episode of The Persuaders! ("The Long Goodbye", 1971). He appeared in many British films of the 1960s and 1970s,including Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), Doctor in Love (1960), The Curse of the Werewolf (1961), 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.

He played a priest in the TV film Frankenstein: The True Story (1973), and the following year he played Mr Bonteen in the BBC period drama The Pallisers. In the same period, he starred alongside Northern comic actor David Roper in the ITV sitcom Leave it to Charlie as Charlie's pessimistic boss. The programme ran for four series, ending in 1980. Sallis also played the part of the ghost-hunter Milton Guest in the children's paranormal drama series The Clifton House Mystery (1978).

Voice acting Sallis was the narrator on Rocky Hollow (1983), a show produced by Bumper Films, who later produced Fireman Sam, and understudied Ian Carmichael as the voice of Rat in the British television series The Wind in the Willows (1984–89), based on the book by Kenneth Grahame and produced by Cosgrove Hall Films. Alongside him were Michael Hordern as Badger, David Jason as Toad and Richard Pearson as Mole. Also in 1983 he played the lead character Jim Bloggs, alongside Brenda Bruce as Hilda, in a BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Raymond Briggs' When the Wind Blows. Sallis appeared in the last episode of Rumpole of the Bailey (1992) and he later starred alongside Brenda Blethyn, Kevin Whately and Anna Massey in the one-off ITV1 drama Belonging (2004).

Sallis also narrated a few stories of the children's television series Postman Pat for audio cassettes when the original voice actor Ken Barrie wasn't available at the time and also voiced Hugo in the animated series Victor and Hugo: Bunglers in Crime (filling in for The Wind in the Willows co-star David Jason who was the usual voice of Hugo, although Jason's voice of Hugo can still be heard in the opening and closing theme songs) for audio cassettes as well.

While a student in 1983, animator Nick Park wrote to Sallis asking him if he would voice his character Wallace, an eccentric inventor. Sallis agreed to do so for a donation of £50 to his favourite charity. The work was eventually released in 1989 and Aardman Animations' Wallace and Gromit: A Grand Day Out went on to win a BAFTA award.

Personal life Sallis married actress Elaine Usher at St. John's Wood Church in London on 9 February 1957. However, it was a turbulent relationship, with Usher leaving him sixteen times before they divorced in 1965 on grounds of desertion and adultery. They eventually reconciled and continued to live together until 1999. Sallis remained close to Usher until her death in 2014. They had one son, Crispian Sallis (born 1959), and two grandchildren.

Sallis suffered from macular degeneration, He also recorded on behalf of the society a television appeal, which was broadcast on BBC One on 8 March 2009. Following his diagnosis of the disease, Aardman produced a short animated film for the society.

Sallis was awarded the OBE in the 2007 Birthday Honours for services to Drama. Just before his death he recorded/voiced Wallace one last time for the hospital elevators inside the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. Aardman did this to make his voice live on forever.

Sallis died from natural causes at the Denville Hall nursing home in Northwood, London, on 2 June 2017, aged 96. He was buried next to fellow Last of the Summer Wine actor Bill Owen in the churchyard of St John's Parish Church, Upperthong, near the town of Holmfirth in Yorkshire, the home of the sitcom.

Selected acting credits Film Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes

The Adventure of the Norwood Builder (1993) – Jonas Oldacre

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result 1946 Korda Scholarship Work Training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art 2005 Annie Award Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit 2007 Order of the British Empire (OBE) Services to Drama