Actor profile
Peter Sallis
Peter Sallis, OBE (February 1, 1921 – June 2, 2017) was an English actor and entertainer, well-known for his work on British television. Although he was born and brought up in London, his two most notable roles required him to adopt the accents and mannerisms of a Northerner. Peter John Sallis was born on 1 February 1921 in Twickenham, Middlesex (now in Greater London). He was the only child of bank manager Harry Sallis (1889–1964) and Dorothy Amea Frances (née Barnard; 1891–1975). His first big television role came in 1958 where he played the role of Samuel Pepys in the BBC serial The Diary of Samuel Pepys. Sallis was best known for his role as the main character Norman Clegg in the long-running British TV comedy Last of the Summer Wine, set in a Yorkshire town. He was the longest serving cast member, appearing in all 295 episodes, and by the end of the show's run was the only one surviving from the programme's first episode in 1973. He also appeared in all 13 of the episodes of the prequel series First of the Summer Wine as Norman Clegg's father. He was also famous for providing the voice of Wallace in the Wallace and Gromit films, again using a northern accent. Sallis also starred alongside Richard Pearson, Michael Horden and David Jason in Cosgrove Hall's The Wind in the Willows (1984-1990) as the voice of Rat/Ratty. In 1975 he appeared in the BBC Wales, TV play The Snowdropper as Spicer, a snowdropper that where's Overalls/Dungarees. In 1976 he played Mr. Gudgin/Arnold Gudgin in the children's series The Ghosts of Motley Hall (1976–78). The character Gudgin Sallis played in the series was a estate agent who did not want to see the hall fall into the wrong hands. Sallis also appeared in the TV series Yanks Go Home (1976-1977) where he played Randell Todd in four episodes of the series. Around the same period, he starred alongside Northern comic actor David Roper in the ITV sitcom Leave it to Charlie (1978-1980) as Charlie's pessimistic boss. The programme ran for a total of 26 episodes over four series, ending in 1980. He also played the part of the ghost-hunter Milton Guest in the children's paranormal drama TV series The Clifton House Mystery (1978). Sallis was married to Elaine Usher in 1957 until they eventually divorced in 1965. Sallis and Usher eventually reconciled and decided to come living together until 1999. Sallis continued to remain close to Usher until eventually she died on 1 January 2014 at the age of 81. They both had one son named Crispian Sallis who was born on 24 June 1959 who later became a British art director and set decorator. Sallis and Usher also had two grandchildren from Crispian. Sallis also lived with three small cats in a small cottage. Description above from the Wikipedia article Peter Sallis, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
149 Movies
114 TV Shows
263 Credits
Filmography
Movies & TV Shows
The Making of Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
7th February 2006 as Wallace (archive footage)
Wallace & Gromit’s Cracking Contraptions: Behind the Scenes
1st January 2002 as Wallace (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Secret Diaries of the Film Censors
31st March 1986
The Bristol Entertainment
3rd December 1971 as Water Seller / Coachman / Ameryk / Mayor / Captain Kimber / King Henry Voice
Don't Ever Talk to Clocks
18th February 1964
Come Home Charlie and Face Them
25th November 1990
First of the Summer Wine
4th September 1988
The Clifton House Mystery
8th October 1978
Raffles
25th February 1977
Yanks Go Home
22nd November 1976
Rumpole of the Bailey
17th December 1975
Prometheus: The Life of Balzac
20th October 1975
Play for Today
15th October 1970
Paul Temple
23rd November 1969
Omnibus
13th October 1967
Softly, Softly
5th January 1966
Amelia
14th April 1961
Maigret
31st October 1960
Dance Date
1st January 1959
Esther
as Self