Kurt: /* Biography */

2023-02-19T05:02:14Z

Biography

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	His film appearances include ''[[The Bed-Sitting Room (film)\|The Bed Sitting Room]]'' (1969), ''[[The Romantic Englishwoman]]'' (1975), ''[[The Orchard End Murder]]'' (1981), ''[[Brazil (1985 film)\|Brazil]]'' (1985), ''[[The Whistle Blower]]'' (1986), ''[[The Great Escape II: The Untold Story]]'' (1988), ''[[The Fool (1990 film)\|The Fool]]'' (1990), ''[[Splitting Heirs]]'' (1993), ''[[Keep the Aspidistra Flying]]'' (1997) and ''[[The Other Boleyn Girl (2008 film)\|The Other Boleyn Girl]]'' (2008).		His film appearances include ''[[The Bed-Sitting Room (film)\|The Bed Sitting Room]]'' (1969), ''[[The Romantic Englishwoman]]'' (1975), ''[[The Orchard End Murder]]'' (1981), ''[[Brazil (1985 film)\|Brazil]]'' (1985), ''[[The Whistle Blower]]'' (1986), ''[[The Great Escape II: The Untold Story]]'' (1988), ''[[The Fool (1990 film)\|The Fool]]'' (1990), ''[[Splitting Heirs]]'' (1993), ''[[Keep the Aspidistra Flying]]'' (1997) and ''[[The Other Boleyn Girl (2008 film)\|The Other Boleyn Girl]]'' (2008).

	He had two children with his first wife, the cellist Jean Spalding, and two children with his second wife, the artist and lecturer Dr Karen Wallis (née Mills), whom he married in 1979.<ref>{{cite web\|title=Karen Wallis\|url=http://www.karenwallis.co.uk/index.htm\|accessdate=16 September 2013\|url-status=dead\|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225060540/http://www.karenwallis.co.uk/index.htm\|archivedate=25 February 2014\|df=dmy-all}}</ref> He suffered from [[multiple myeloma]], a form of bone marrow cancer, but was able to continue performing in audio and radio work.<ref name="Coveney"/> Wallis died at his home in [[Bath, Somerset\|Bath]] on 6 September 2013.<ref name=fh/><ref>[http://www.bathchronicle.co.uk/Actor-Wallis-dies-home-Bath/story-19816480-detail/story.html 'Actor Bill Wallis dies at home in Bath' = ''[[Bath Chronicle]]'' - 19 September 2013]{{dead link\|date=January 2018 \|bot=InternetArchiveBot \|fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>		He had two children with his first wife, the cellist Jean Spalding, and two children with his second wife, the artist and lecturer Dr Karen Wallis (née Mills), whom he married in 1979.<ref>{{cite web\|title=Karen Wallis\|url=http://www.karenwallis.co.uk/index.htm\|accessdate=16 September 2013\|url-status=dead\|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225060540/http://www.karenwallis.co.uk/index.htm\|archivedate=25 February 2014\|df=dmy-all}}</ref> He suffered from [[multiple myeloma]], a form of bone marrow cancer, but was able to continue performing in audio and radio work.<ref name="Coveney"/> Wallis died at his home in [[Bath, Somerset\|Bath]] on 6 September 2013.<ref name=fh/>

	==Filmography==		==Filmography==

Kurt at 05:00, 19 February 2023

2023-02-19T05:00:05Z

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	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=August 2016}}~~
	~~{{Use British English\|date=August 2016}}~~
	{{Infobox person		{{Infobox person
	~~\| name = Bill Wallis~~
	\| image = Bill Wallis Actor.jpg		\| image = Bill Wallis Actor.jpg
	~~\| image_size = 150px~~
	\| caption = Bill Wallis		\| caption = Bill Wallis
	\| occupation = Actor, comedian		\| occupation = Actor, comedian
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	[[Category:2013 deaths]]		[[Category:2013 deaths]]
	[[Category:Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge]]		[[Category:Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge]]
	~~[[Category:Deaths from multiple myeloma]]~~
	[[Category:English male radio actors]]		[[Category:English male radio actors]]
	[[Category:English male stage actors]]		[[Category:English male stage actors]]
	[[Category:English male television actors]]		[[Category:English male television actors]]
	[[Category:Actors from Guildford]]		[[Category:Actors from Guildford]]

Kurt: /* External links */

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External links

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	==External links==		==External links==
	*{{IMDb name\|0909245}}		*{{IMDb name\|0909245}}

	~~{{Authority control}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallis, Bill}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallis, Bill}}

Kurt: 1 revision imported

2022-10-04T02:33:53Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 21:33, 3 October 2022
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109.255.17.75 at 17:47, 5 June 2022

2022-06-05T17:47:21Z

New page

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Bill Wallis
| image = Bill Wallis Actor.jpg
| image_size = 150px
| caption = Bill Wallis
| occupation = Actor, comedian
| birth_name = William Wallis
| birth_date = 20 November 1936
| birth_place = [[Guildford]], [[Surrey]], England<ref name="Coveney">{{cite news|last=Coveney|first=Michael|title=Bill Wallis obituary|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/sep/17/bill-wallis|accessdate=17 September 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|date=17 September 2013}}</ref>
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2013|09|06|1936|11|20|df=yes}}<ref name="fh">{{cite news|title=Obituary - Wallis|url=http://www.myfamilyannouncements.co.uk/theherald/view/665474/wallis|accessdate=16 September 2013|newspaper=Farnham Herald|date=13 September 2013}}</ref>
| death_place = [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]], [[Somerset]], England
| children = 4
| years_active =
| spouse = Jean Spalding<br>Karen Mills
}}
'''William Wallis''' (20 November 1936 – 6 September 2013) was a British character actor and comedian who appeared in numerous radio<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?cd=7&id=79IaAQAAIAAJ&dq=%22Bill+Wallis%22+bbc&q=Wallis The radio companion] By Paul Donovan. HarperCollins, 1991</ref> and television roles,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=K-E2cAzsxwUC&pg=PA115&dq=%22Bill+Wallis%22+bbc&cd=3#v=onepage&q=Wallis&f=false Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams] By M. J. Simpson</ref><ref>[http://www.bbcaudiobooksamerica.com/Trade/contributorinfo.cfm?ContribID=53 Bill Wallis, Short Biography:] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091019080833/http://www.bbcaudiobooksamerica.com/Trade/contributorinfo.cfm?ContribID=53 |date=19 October 2009 }} BBC Audiobooks America</ref><ref>[http://www.talking-book-store.com/Title.aspx?titleId=9297 Bill Wallis Interview ] Actor Bill Wallis discusses his work as a reader for audiobooks.</ref> as well as in the theatre.

==Biography==
Wallis was born in [[Guildford]] in [[Surrey]], the only son of Albert Wallis, a trainee fishmonger turned engineer, and his wife, Anne, a nurse. He attended [[Farnham Grammar School]] from 1948 to 1955, where he was head boy. He gained a [[State Scholarship (UK)|State Scholarship]] to [[St John's College, Cambridge]], and while at [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]] met [[Peter Cook]] and [[David Frost]].<ref name="Coveney"/> When Cook and the team took ''[[Beyond the Fringe]]'' to [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], Wallis took over the roles played by [[Alan Bennett]].

Wallis appeared in a number of television programmes including ''[[Chelmsford 123]]'', ''[[Doctor at Large (TV series)|Doctor at Large]]'' (1971), [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]'s production of ''[[The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole (TV series)|The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole]]'', the BBC's adaptation of [[John Masefield]]'s book ''[[The Box of Delights (TV series)|The Box of Delights]]'' (1984), the first series of ''[[The Archbishop|Blackadder]]'' (drunken knight), ''[[Blackadder II]]'' (Ploppy the Gaoler), ''[[Blackadder Goes Forth]]'' (Agent Brigadier Smith), ''[[Juliet Bravo]]'', ''[[Just Good Friends]]'' (A. J. Styles) ''[[Yes Minister|Yes, Prime Minister]]'', and ''[[The Beiderbecke Tapes]]'' (1987), in which he played a beleaguered Amsterdam hotelier. One longstanding role was that of the hard-drinking Dr Nick McKenzie in the BBC drama ''[[Dangerfield (TV series)|Dangerfield]]'', from 1995 until 1998. He appeared as Gestapo-man Werner Beck in award-winning ''[[War and Remembrance (miniseries)|War and Remembrance]]'' (1988). He also appeared briefly in the first episode of [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]'s ''[[Midsomer Murders]]'', apparently driving a [[Morgan Motor Company|Morgan]] sports car. In fact this was pushed by other cast members, as he did not hold a driving licence. He appeared in ''[[Not Only... But Also]]'' with Peter Cook and [[Dudley Moore]], alongside comic actors [[John Wells (satirist)|John Wells]] and [[Joe Melia]], singing the [[Absurdism|absurdist]] comic song "Alan a' Dale". He appeared in the original London cast of the unsuccessful [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]]/[[Alan Ayckbourn]] musical ''[[By Jeeves|Jeeves]]'' in 1975. He presented and narrated a semi-dramatised documentary titled ''A Pleasant Terror'' on the life and works of [[M. R. James]], broadcast by [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] in December 1995.

Some of his most frequent appearances were on [[BBC Radio 4]] for ''The Afternoon Play'' and the ''Classic Serial'', but he was also in the cast of the long-running sketch show ''[[Week Ending]]'', and in the first episode of ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series)|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' in 1978, originating the roles of Mr. Prosser and Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz. He reprised the latter in the second episode and in one episode of the second series; however, due to unavailability, the roles of Jeltz and (briefly) Prosser were taken over by [[Toby Longworth]]. He played Winston Hayballs in [[Peter Tinniswood]]'s ''Winston'' series. He also featured as the third party in the "...is approached by Ivor Cutler" series of short humorous pieces, including playing the Miner, the Farmer and the Sheet Metal Worker.

Wallis also read audiobooks, among them unabridged productions of [[Robert Harris (novelist)|Robert Harris]]'s first two novels about the life of [[Cicero]], ''[[Imperium (Harris novel)|Imperium]]'' (2006) and ''[[Lustrum (novel)|Lustrum]]'' (2009). The third and final novel, ''[[Dictator (Harris novel)|Dictator]]'' (2015) was not published until after Wallis's death. Wallis's role as narrator was taken over by [[David Rintoul]]. He has also read several audiobooks in John Mortimer's "Rumpole of the Bailey" series.

His film appearances include ''[[The Bed-Sitting Room (film)|The Bed Sitting Room]]'' (1969), ''[[The Romantic Englishwoman]]'' (1975), ''[[The Orchard End Murder]]'' (1981), ''[[Brazil (1985 film)|Brazil]]'' (1985), ''[[The Whistle Blower]]'' (1986), ''[[The Great Escape II: The Untold Story]]'' (1988), ''[[The Fool (1990 film)|The Fool]]'' (1990), ''[[Splitting Heirs]]'' (1993), ''[[Keep the Aspidistra Flying]]'' (1997) and ''[[The Other Boleyn Girl (2008 film)|The Other Boleyn Girl]]'' (2008).

He had two children with his first wife, the cellist Jean Spalding, and two children with his second wife, the artist and lecturer Dr Karen Wallis (née Mills), whom he married in 1979.<ref>{{cite web|title=Karen Wallis|url=http://www.karenwallis.co.uk/index.htm|accessdate=16 September 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225060540/http://www.karenwallis.co.uk/index.htm|archivedate=25 February 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref> He suffered from [[multiple myeloma]], a form of bone marrow cancer, but was able to continue performing in audio and radio work.<ref name="Coveney"/> Wallis died at his home in [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] on 6 September 2013.<ref name=fh/><ref>[http://www.bathchronicle.co.uk/Actor-Wallis-dies-home-Bath/story-19816480-detail/story.html 'Actor Bill Wallis dies at home in Bath' = ''[[Bath Chronicle]]'' - 19 September 2013]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1969|| ''[[The Bed-Sitting Room (film)|The Bed Sitting Room]]'' || The Prime Minister ||
|-
|1975|| ''[[Galileo (1975 film)|Galileo]]'' || Supporting Monk ||
|-
|1975|| ''[[The Romantic Englishwoman]]'' || Hendrick ||
|-
|1981|| ''[[The Orchard End Murder]]'' || Railway Gatekeeper ||
|-
|1984|| ''[[The Box of Delights (TV series)|The Box of Delights]]'' || Rat || TV series
|-
|1985|| ''[[Brazil (1985 film)|Brazil]]'' || Bespectacled Lurker ||
|-
|1986|| ''[[The Whistle Blower]]'' || Ramsay Dodgson ||
|-
|1988|| ''[[The Great Escape II: The Untold Story]]'' || Schatz || TV movie
|-
|1990|| ''Crimestrike'' || Edward Lovegarden ||
|-
|1990|| ''[[The Fool (1990 film)|The Fool]]'' || Henry Beauchamp-Harper ||
|-
|1993|| ''[[Splitting Heirs]]'' || Vicar at Hunt ||
|-
|1993|| ''[[Son of the Pink Panther]]'' || President ||
|-
|1997|| ''[[Keep the Aspidistra Flying]]'' || Mr. Cheeseman ||
|-
|2003|| ''[[Wondrous Oblivion]]'' || Newsreel Commentary || Voice
|-
|2008|| ''[[The Other Boleyn Girl (2008 film)|The Other Boleyn Girl]]'' || Archbishop Cranmer || (final film role)
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|0909245}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallis, Bill}}
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Deaths from multiple myeloma]]
[[Category:English male radio actors]]
[[Category:English male stage actors]]
[[Category:English male television actors]]
[[Category:Actors from Guildford]]

Bill Wallis - Revision history

Kurt: /* Biography */

Kurt at 05:00, 19 February 2023

Kurt: /* External links */

Kurt: 1 revision imported

109.255.17.75 at 17:47, 5 June 2022