Bill Pertwee is dead. Guardian obit here, BBC account here. In recent years Radio 4 Extra has taken to playing his reminiscences from time to time, in which he sounds like the antithesis of the character he is best known for and also reveals an amazing talent for mimicry (he could do Mainwaring so well you wouldn’t know it wasn’t Arthur Lowe). When I heard, my first thought was that it is going to be hard to tell my 12-year old, who loves Dad’s Army, but also Beyond Our Ken and Round the Horne. I think Pertwee was the last living cast member of Round the Horne — but I notice that one of the original castmembers of Beyond Our Ken is still living (the prize for guessing who without resort to the internet is that you can feel smug all day — I guessed instantly).
{ 5 comments }
Phil 05.28.13 at 1:04 pm
With resort to the Internet I established that the original cast of BOK consisted of Horne, Williams, Paddick and Marsden, with Douglas Smith as the announcer. All long gone, sadly. Who were you thinking of?
Harry 05.28.13 at 8:44 pm
Well… among the original cast members, believe it or not, was Ron Moody (he is in the first series only — the first episode of all had Stanley Unwin!)
Harry 05.28.13 at 8:45 pm
Oh, and Ron Moody is the one who is alive. I googled him after I heard about Pertwee, and there he is, still with us!
Weaver 05.29.13 at 3:22 am
Well, that’s vaguely syncronicitous. Ron Moody was the first choice to play the Third Doctor but passed on it, which is why it was offered to second choice Jon Pertwee (Bill’s cousin, as y’know) who was available as he’d just passed on playing Mainwaring (for which role he was first choice) in Dad’s Army. *cough* Also starring Bill Pertwee.
Michael Bates 05.29.13 at 4:11 am
Bill Pertwee’s episode of “That Reminds Me” includes an extended anecdote about Arthur Lowe’s habit of reading the script at the last possible moment and features Pertwee’s uncanny impersonation of Lowe.
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