Peter Sallis - Career

Career

Sallis became a notable character actor on the London stage in the 1950s and 1960s. His credits include the first West End production of Cabaret opposite Judi Dench in 1968. He also appeared in character parts in British films of the time, including a few for Hammer Films. In 1968, he was cast as the well-intentioned Coker in a BBC Radio production of John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids.

His first notable television role was as Samuel Pepys in the BBC serial of the same name in 1958. In 1961, he appeared as Gordon in the "Find and Destroy" episode of Danger Man. He appeared in the Doctor Who story "The Ice Warriors" in 1967, playing renegade scientist Elric Penley; and in 1983 was due to play the role of Striker in another Doctor Who story, "Enlightenment", but had to withdraw. He was Doctor Watson to Fritz Weaver's Sherlock Holmes in the Broadway musical Baker Street in 1967. He introduced what the critics considered the show's best musical number, "A Married Man."

In 1970, he was cast in the BBC comedy 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 made.

1971 saw Sallis acting alongside Roger Moore and Tony Curtis in an episode of "The Persuaders!" entitled "The Long Goodbye". He appeared late in the episode as David Piper, a former clerk in a company who was elevated to a substantially higher position and salary as his reward for installing an explosive device in an aeroplane that killed its pilot. The pilot was a noted scientist whose research would have been detrimental to the company that employed Piper.

Sallis was cast in a one-off pilot for Comedy Playhouse entitled "Of Funerals and Fish" (1973), which became 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 was successful and the BBC commissioned a series. Sallis played the role of Clegg from 1973 to 2010, and was the only cast member to appear in every episode. In 1988 he appeared as Clegg's father in First of the Summer Wine, a prequel to Last Of The Summer Wine set in 1939.

In 1974 he played Mr Bonteen in the BBC period drama The Pallisers. Between 1976 and 1978 he appeared in the children's series The Ghosts of Motley Hall, in which he played Mr Gudgin, an estate agent who did not want to see the Hall fall into the wrong hands. In 1977 he played Rodney Gloss in the BBC series Murder Most English.

In 1978, 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. Also in 1978, he played the part of the ghost hunter Milton Guest in the children's paranormal drama series The Clifton House Mystery.

In 1983, he was the narrator on Rocky Hollow a show produced by Bumper Films for S4C. Between 1984 and 1990, he alternated with Ian Carmichael as the voice of Rat in the British television series The Wind in the Willows, based on the book by Kenneth Grahame. Alongside him were Michael Hordern as Badger, David Jason as Toad and Richard Pearson as Mole. The series was animated in stop motion, prefiguring his work with Aardman Animations. He appeared in the last episode of Rumpole of the Bailey in 1992 and he later starred alongside Brenda Blethyn, Kevin Whately and Anna Massey in the 2004 one-off ITV1 drama 'Belonging'.

Sallis achieved great success when, in 1989 he voiced Wallace, the eccentric inventor in Aardman Animations' Wallace and Gromit: A Grand Day Out. This film won a BAFTA award and was followed by the Oscar-winning films 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 Oscar-winning 2005 motion picture Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, for which he won an Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production. Most recently Sallis starred in a new Wallace and Gromit adventure, A Matter of Loaf and Death, in 2008. In 2010 he provided the voice for Wallace in the TV show Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention.

Sallis was awarded the OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in 2007 for services to Drama. On 17 May 2009 he appeared on the BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs.