Theatre After studying at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Peter Sallis made his first appearance on the professional stage at the
Arts Theatre in September 1946 in the small roles of Soldier and Servant in
R. B. Sheridan's
The Scheming Lieutenant. After three years in provincial repertory theatres and appearing on tour he returned to London in May 1951 as Fedotik in a revival of
The Three Sisters at the
Aldwych Theatre. At the
Aldwych Theatre in April 1954, he played the 1st Soldier in
Peter Brook's production of
The Dark is Light Enough, and at the
Haymarket he played Joe Scanlon in
The Matchmaker in November 1954. He acted in new plays and classics; among the latter he played Fag in a revival of
The Rivals in 1956, Simon and Barere in ''
Danton's Death, Thrifty in The Cheats of Scapin and Doctor and Provost in Brand'' (1959).
Television and films Sallis appeared in more than 150 films and in more than 170 television shows. From 1955–1979 Sallis appeared in many of the
ITV and
BBC playhouse/play/theatre programmes including
ITV Television Playhouse,
Play of the Week,
Sunday Night Theatre,
World Theatre,
BBC Sunday Night Play,
Musical Playhouse,
Armchair Theatre,
The Wednesday Play,
Play of the Month,
Plays of Today,
Thirty Minute Theatre,
Comedy Playhouse,
Play for Today,
Armchair Cinema,
Playhouse,
BBC2 Playhouse,
Jackanory Playhouse and
Premiere. and in 1983 was due to play the role of Striker in another
Doctor Who serial, "
Enlightenment", but had to withdraw. Sallis appeared as schoolteacher Mr Gladstone in an episode of the first series of
Catweazle in 1970. He was cast in the BBC comedy sitcom series
The Culture Vultures (1970), 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 completed. He appeared twice in the series
Hadleigh, first in 1971 in the episode "Bow to the Lady" as Dakin and again in 1976 in the episode "The Charm Factor" as Strapper Strapton. Sallis acted alongside
Roger Moore and
Tony Curtis in an episode of
The Persuaders! ("The Long Goodbye", 1971). He appeared in many British films of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s including ''
Child's Play (1954), Anastasia (1956), The Doctor's Dilemma (1958), The Scapegoat (1959), Doctor in Love (1960), No Love for Johnnie'', Sallis appeared in many British TV movies/TV plays of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, including
Fcb TV Show No.1 (1955),
Kitty Clive (1956),
Cinderella (1958),
David and Broccoli (1960),
Candida (1961),
Heart to Heart (1962),
Who Killed Lamb?,
Graceless Go I (1974),
The Secret Agent (1975),
Across a Crowded Room (1978),
She Loves Me (1979),
The Secret Diaries of the Film Censors,
A Dangerous Kind of Love, ''That's Television Entertainment
(1986), A Tale of Two Toads (1989) and Belonging'' (2004). Sallis played a priest in the TV film
Frankenstein: The True Story (1973), and the following year played Mr Bonteen in the BBC period drama
The Pallisers. The pilot was successful and the BBC commissioned a series. Sallis had already worked on stage with
Michael Bates, who played the self-appointed leader Blamire in the first two series. Sallis played the role of Clegg from 1973 to 2010, and was the only cast member to appear in every episode. Sallis appeared twice in the TV series
Crown Court first in 1974 in "Triangle" as Gerald Prosser in all three parts and again in 1977 in "Such a Charming Man" as Insp. George Storton in all three parts. Sallis also appeared in the TV series
Yanks Go Home where he played Randell Todd in four episodes in 1977. The programme ran for four series, ending in 1980. Sallis also played the part of the ghost-hunter Milton Guest in the children's paranormal drama series
The Clifton House Mystery (1978). In 1980, he appeared in
Lady Killers in the episode "Not for the Nervous" (1980) as O'Brien and that same year he also appeared in
Tales of the Unexpected in the episode "A Picture of a Place" (1980). In 1984, Sallis played Leonard March in three episodes of the TV series
Strangers and Brothers.
Voice acting In 1954 he voiced Lane the butler opposite
John Gielgud in the audio cassette series
The Importance Of Being Earnest. In his autobiography,
Fading into the Limelight, Sallis recounts a meeting with
Orson Welles, where he received a mysterious telephone call summoning him to the deserted
Gare d'Orsay in
Paris where Welles announced he wanted him to dub
Hungarian bit-players in his film adaptation of
Franz Kafka's
The Trial (1962). Sallis wrote that "the episode was Kafka-esque, to coin a phrase". In 1970 Sallis narrated a UK
Public information film called
Menace. The short film was about the safety of householders to reduce the risk of burglary by locking all windows and points of entry. In 1971 he voiced
King Henry in the
BBC TV movie
The Bristol Entertainment. Sallis was the narrator on
Rocky Hollow (1983) for all 26 episodes. He voiced Rat in
The Wind in the Willows (1984–90), based on the book by
Kenneth Grahame and produced by
Cosgrove Hall Films, alongside
Michael Hordern as Badger,
David Jason as Toad and
Richard Pearson as Mole. He also voiced Rat in the second
Wind in the Willows movie
A Tale of Two Toads in 1989. From 1986–1987 Sallis voiced Harold in all six episodes of the BBC Radio series
Living with Betty and he also voiced the lead character
Hercule Poirot, alongside Manning Wilson as Col Johnson, in a BBC Radio 4 audio cassette titled ''Hercule Poirot's Christmas''. In 1996 Sallis narrated two audiobooks from the Little Bear book series those being Little Bear and Little Bear's Visit. Sallis appeared in the last episode of
Rumpole of the Bailey (1992) and he later starred alongside
Brenda Blethyn,
Kevin Whately and
Anna Massey in the one-off ITV1 drama
Belonging (2004). During the 1980s to the 1990s, Sallis provided the voiceover for a series of television adverts for
Polo mints. He also provided voiceover for many other adverts such as Lift Lemon Tea, Hotpoint, Persil Liquid, Super Poli-Grip and Shredded Wheat Gold. Sallis also voiced Hugo in the animated series
Victor and Hugo: Bunglers in Crime. He narrated "Postman Pat's Parcel of Stories", a cassette tape story compilation based on
Postman Pat. In 1996 he narrated two audio cassette tapes of the
Frog and Toad book series those being
Days With Frog and Toad and
Frog and Toad All Year which were both published by
Abbey Home Entertainment. Around the same time period he also narrated another two audio cassette tapes, those being
Little Bear and ''Little Bear's Visit
which were both stories from the Little Bear book series. That same year he also starred alongside John Moffatt, Graham Crowden, Jeremy Clyde, Roger May, Bill Nighy and Diana Quick in a BBC Radio adaptation of Death at Broadcasting House where he provided the voice of Detective Inspector Spears. It was also shown as an episode of the BBC Radio series Saturday Playhouse''. Sallis also appeared in the
Saturday Playhouse episode "The Trials of Oscar Wilde: The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name" where he voiced
Edward Clarke alongside
Simon Russell Beale and
Nigel Davenport 2005 Sallis narrated the audio CD of
Six-Dinner Sid based on the book of the same name by
Inga Moore. The following year when Sallis released his autobiography book titled
Fading into the Limelight: Peter Sallis the Autobiography he also narrated his autobiography book for an audio CD that was released the same year. In 2001, Sallis had a cameo voiceover role in the TV movie
Hotel! where he provided the radio voice of Little Ashford Flying Club. While a student in 1983,
Nick Park wrote to Sallis asking him if he would voice his character Wallace, an eccentric inventor. Sallis agreed to do so for a donation of £50 to his favourite charity. The work was eventually released in 1989 and Aardman Animations'
Wallace & Gromit: A Grand Day Out went on to win a
BAFTA award. Sallis reprised his role in the
Oscar and BAFTA Award-winning films
The Wrong Trousers in 1993 and
A Close Shave in 1995. Throughout the late 1990s to the early 2000s, Sallis continued to voice Wallace in many
Wallace & Gromit video games, adverts and audio cassettes, and returned to voice Wallace in 2002 TV series ''
Wallace & Gromit's Cracking Contraptions and in the Oscar-winning 2005 motion picture film Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, for which he won an Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production. In 2008, Sallis voiced a new Wallace & Gromit adventure, A Matter of Loaf and Death. Following the Curse of the Were-Rabbit'', Sallis's eyesight began to fail as a result of
macular degeneration and he used a talking portable typewriter with a specially illuminated scanner to continue working. In 2009, he played Gloria Millington's father Cyril in the TV series
Kingdom in the episode "Episode 3.1". His last role as Wallace was in 2010's ''
Wallace & Gromit's World of Invention''. Two years later, Sallis retired from acting due to ill health, with
Ben Whitehead taking over as the voice of Wallace. ==Autobiography==