Peter Sallis

Acting

Peter Sallis

Born 1921-02-01 · Twickenham, England, UK

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.

Acting credits

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit poster
7.1

Cheese-loving eccentric Wallace and his cunning canine pal Gromit run a business ridding the town of garden pests. Using only humane methods, which turns their home into a halfway house for evicted vermin, the pair stumble upon a mystery involving a voracious vegetarian monster that threatens to ruin the annual veggie-growing contest.

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

2005

A Close Shave poster
7.6

Wallace's whirlwind romance with the proprietor of the local wool shop puts his head in a spin, and Gromit is framed for sheep-rustling in a fiendish criminal plot.

A Close Shave

1996

The Bible: In the Beginning... poster
7.3

Covering only the first 22 chapters of the Book of Genesis, vignettes include: Adam and Eve frolicking in the Garden of Eden until their indulgence in the forbidden fruit sees them driven out; Cain murdering his brother Abel; Noah building an ark to preserve the animals of the world from the coming flood; and Abraham making a covenant with God.

The Bible: In the Beginning...

1966

A Grand Day Out poster
7.5

Wallace and Gromit have run out of cheese, and this provides an excellent excuse for the duo to take their holiday to the moon, where, as everyone knows, there is ample cheese.

A Grand Day Out

1990

Anastasia poster
6.8

Russian exiles in Paris plot to collect ten million pounds from the Bank of England by grooming a destitute, suicidal girl to pose as heir to the Russian throne. While Bounin is coaching her, he comes to believe that she is really Anastasia. In the end, the Empress must decide her claim.

Anastasia

1956

The Wrong Trousers poster
7.8

Wallace rents out Gromit's former bedroom to a penguin, who takes up an interest in the techno trousers created by Wallace. However, Gromit later learns that the penguin is a wanted criminal.

The Wrong Trousers

1993

A Matter of Loaf and Death poster
7.4

Wallace and Gromit open a bakery, accidentally getting tied up with a murder mystery in the process. But when Wallace falls in love, Gromit is left to solve the case by himself.

A Matter of Loaf and Death

2008

A Night to Remember poster
7.6

The sinking of the Titanic is presented in a highly realistic fashion in this tense British drama. The disaster is portrayed largely from the perspective of the ocean liner's second officer, Charles Lightoller. Despite numerous warnings about ice, the ship sails on, with Capt. Edward John Smith keeping it going at a steady clip. When the doomed vessel finally hits an iceberg, the crew and passengers discover that they lack enough lifeboats, and tragedy follows.

A Night to Remember

1958

Taste the Blood of Dracula poster
6.1

Three elderly distinguished gentlemen are searching for some excitement in their boring borgoueis lives and gets in contact with one of count Dracula's servants. In a nightly ceremony they restore the count back to life. The three men killed Dracula's servant and as a revenge, the count makes sure that the gentlemen are killed one by one by their own sons.

Taste the Blood of Dracula

1970

The Curse of the Werewolf poster
6.5

A child conceived by a mute servant girl transforms from an innocent youth to a killer beast at night with uncontrollable urges.

The Curse of the Werewolf

1961

The Reckoning poster
7.5

Michael Marler, a successful businessman in London, is about to make his way to the top. After 37 years, the death of his father brings him back to his hometown of Liverpool, where he’s confronted with his lost Irish roots. He finds out that his father died in a fight with some Anglo-Saxon teddy boys. It becomes a matter of honour for him to take his revenge without involving the police.

The Reckoning

1970

The Scapegoat poster
6.8

An Englishman in France unwittingly is placed into the identity, and steps into the vacated life, of a look-alike French nobleman.

The Scapegoat

1959

A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman poster
7.1

Julie Walters tells the story of how Morph, Shaun the Sheep and that cheese-loving man Wallace and his dog Gromit first came to life.

A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman

2015

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning poster
7.0

A 22-year-old factory worker lets loose on the weekends: drinking, brawling, and dating two women, one of whom is older and married.

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

1960

The Obelisk poster
NR

A seaside resort in 1938. For Hilda, it seems as if romance almost died when she married school teacher Ernest. Only the movies can keep this spark alive. As she follows her pompous husband up the cliff walk to visit the obelisk, she wonders how he will react to the two sailors who want to join them.The boisterous Tiny is rather coarse, but his friend Stan has lovely manners and such very blue eyes....

The Obelisk

1977

Wuthering Heights poster
6.4

Young orphan Heathcliff is adopted by the wealthy Earnshaw family and moves into their estate, Wuthering Heights. Soon, the new resident falls for his compassionate foster sister, Cathy. The two share a remarkable bond that seems unbreakable until Cathy, feeling the pressure of social convention, suppresses her feelings and marries Edgar Linton, a man of means who befits her stature. Heathcliff vows to win her back.

Wuthering Heights

1970

Hitler: The Last Ten Days poster
6.2

Hitler: The Last Ten Days takes us into the depths of der Furher’s Berlin bunker during his final days. Based on the book by Gerhard Boldt, it provides a bleak look at the goings-on within, and without.

Hitler: The Last Ten Days

1973

Scream and Scream Again poster
5.3

A serial killer who drains his victims of blood is on the loose and London police follow him to a house owned by an eccentric scientist.

Scream and Scream Again

1970

Witness for the Prosecution poster
6.6

An ailing barrister is thrust back into the courtroom in what becomes one of the most unusual and eventful murder cases of the lawyer's career when he finds himself defending a man being tried for the murder of a socialite.

Witness for the Prosecution

1982

The Day the Earth Caught Fire poster
6.8

British reporters suspect an international cover-up of a global disaster in progress... and they're right. Hysterical panic has engulfed the world after the United States and the Soviet Union simultaneously detonate nuclear devices and have caused the orbit of the Earth to alter, sending it hurtling towards the sun.

The Day the Earth Caught Fire

1961

My Lover, My Son poster
4.2

A woman deals with an unhappy marriage, the death of her lover, and her son's involvement in a crime.

My Lover, My Son

1970

Full Circle poster
6.2

After the death of her daughter, wealthy housewife Julia Lofting abruptly leaves her husband and moves into an old Victorian home in London to re-start her life. All seems well until she is haunted by the sadness of losing her own child and the ghosts of other children.

Full Circle

1978

Belonging poster
5.9

After giving up her job as a librarian to care for her husband’s elderly family, Jess’ world falls apart when he leaves her for a younger woman.

Belonging

2004

The V.I.P.s poster
6.1

Wealthy passengers fogged in at London's Heathrow Airport fight to survive a variety of personal trials.

The V.I.P.s

1963