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TV star Peter backs theatre appeal
Legendary actor Peter Sallis has thrown his weight behind a fund-raising appeal at a north Derbyshire theatre where he was part of its first repertory company.
The star of Last of the Summer Wine and the voice of Wallace in Wallace & Gromit is poised to make a return visit to Chesterfield's Pomegranate Theatre for the first time in 58 years.
His appearance to promote his autobiography on September 22 coincides with the launch of a 70,000 appeal.
Backing the appeal, Peter said: "Theatres in the provinces lead a very precarious existence. Chesterfield is not a very big town but if every member of the population gave 1, the appeal would make 150,000.
The kindness shown to him by Chesterfield people in 1949 made a lasting impression on Peter.
"It had a great heart and was a great town to be in. The people in Chesterfield were marvellous," he said.
Although it was more than half a century ago since his last visit, 86-year-old Peter can still recall some of the town's characters. "Nan and Bob Green, who used to run the tobacconists close to the theatre, were particularly kind to me."
And he recalls a director called Herbert Prentice who used to oversee repertory companies at the Civic, as the Pomegranate was known then. "He always had a music stand and a script on the stand. He would stand with one foot hooked behind his knee — he looked just like a penguin."
'Gleggy' gets ready to meet the Queen
A royal appointment awaits Peter Sallis this autumn when the Queen presents him with his OBE, awarded for services to drama.
"I am absolutely thrilled because I never thought I'd get one — I didn't think I'd done enough," he said.
He's best known to older fans as Norman Clegg in Last of the Summer Wine and is currently filming the 29th series of telly's longest -running sitcom.
"Last of the Summer Wine works well because of its concept of three old men behaving like children. Its writer Roy Clarke is the finest single writer on TV for lightweight comedy," he said.
Peter bridges the generation gap by lending his distinctive tones to the character of Wallace in Wallace & Gromit which he has voiced since the early 80s.
Although Clegg and Wallace are his best-known works, they don't rank among Peter's top two highlights.
The first goes back to 1955 when he played Samuel Pepys for a 13-part series on television. "It was the first time the BBC had done anything of that magnitude," said Peter who lives in Hyde Park, London.
His second was performing in three stage musicals during the mid-Sixties — She Loves Me, Cabaret (with Judi Dench), both in the West End, and Baker Street on Broadway.
At an age when most 86-year-olds would have retired long ago, Peter is still getting work. What is his secret? "I'm good at it, " he said with a chuckle. "I have been very lucky to have had the gift which God has given me and have never been out of work for any memorable length of time."
These days Peter is unable to do radio broadcasts because macular degeneration is robbing him of his sight. "I am half-blind and can no longer read scripts," he said. Instead, he relies on huge magnifiers and a machine which reads out texts to him.
"People keep asking me if I'm going to retire — and the answer is no!" said Peter.
But even this inspiring and entertaining actor can't go on for ever.
When he is called to that great theatre in the sky, his final resting place will be ...... in a plot beside Last of the Summer Wine colleague Bill Owen in Holmfirth churchyard.
Memory man Peter Sallis has such a wealth of experiences and amusing stories to share that they should make for an entertaining night.
An Audience With Peter Sallis will include the actor being interviewed about his recently-published memoirs and questions from spectators.
"I really enjoy doing these evenings,"said Peter, pictured above. "One of the questions I'm always asked is: "'What's in Compo's matchbox — I don't know and Bill Owen didn't know either!"
His favourite recollections include bumping into Sir John Gielgud in London's West End. "I was appearing in Wait Until Dark with Honor Blackman in 1965 and it was the first time I'd had my name up in lights. As I'm walking up the street near the Strand Theatre, John came walking towards me. He asked me what I was doing and I looked up at the theatre hoarding and said I am in this. 'Ah', he said, 'I hear the girl's very good'."
An Audience With Peter Sallis is at the Pomegranate on September 22 and at Buxton Opera House on November 25.
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