Gordon Wharmby (6 November 1933 – 18 May 2002) was a British television actor. He was best known for the role of Wesley Pegden on ''

Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of ''Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes foll ...

''. He was born in

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, in 1933, and served in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

during his national service. Wharmby was originally employed as a painter and decorator and had no formal training as an actor. He gained stage experience with Oldham Repertory Theatre and worked part-time as a jobbing actor. Early television roles included bit-parts in programmes such as ''Bill Brand'' (1976), ''

The One and Only Phyllis Dixey ''The One and Only Phyllis Dixey'' is a 1978 British television film directed by Michael Tuchner and starring Lesley-Anne Down, Michael Elphick and Patricia Hodge. Based on the career of the burlesque artist Phyllis Dixey, it was produced by Thame ...

'' (1978), and ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

'' (1982), and ''

Heartbeat A heartbeat is one cardiac cycle of the heart. Heartbeat, heart beat, heartbeats, and heart beats may refer to: Computing *Heartbeat (computing), a periodic signal to indicate normal operation or to synchronize parts of a system *Heartbeat, clus ...

'' (1994). Wharmby made his debut in ''Last of the Summer Wine'' in 1982, after initially auditioning for a one-line part and impressing director Alan J.W. Bell. Bell cast him as

boilersuit A boilersuit (or boiler suit), also known as coveralls, is a loose fitting garment covering the whole body except for the head, hands and feet. Terminology The term ''boilersuit'' is most common in the UK, where the 1989 edition of the ''Oxfo ...

wearing, tinkering mechanic and would-be inventor Wesley Pegden. Wharmby appeared as a regular cast member for 16 series between 1985 and 2002 alongside

Dame Thora Hird Dame Thora Hird (28 May 1911 – 15 March 2003) was an English actress and comedian, presenter and writer. In a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in more than 100 film and television roles, becoming a household name and a Briti ...

as his nagging wife, Edie, from 1986. Although initially overawed at working with Hird, Wharmby eventually started giving her "notes", to the veteran actress's great amusement. Wharmby had small roles in programmes such as

Troy Kennedy Martin Troy Kennedy Martin (15 February 1932 – 15 September 2009) was a Scottish-born film and television screenwriter. He created the long-running BBC TV police series ''Z-Cars'' (1962–1978), and the award-winning 1985 anti-nuclear drama ''Edge of ...

's nuclear thriller ''

Edge of Darkness ''Edge of Darkness'' is a British television drama serial produced by BBC Television in association with Lionheart Television International and originally broadcast in six 55-minute episodes in late 1985. A mixture of crime drama and politica ...

'' (1985), ''

Brookside Brookside may refer to: Geography Canada * Brookside, Edmonton * Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador * Brookside, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Brookside, Berkshire, England *Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England United States * Brook ...

'' (1985), '' All Creatures Great and Small'' (1988), ''

A Very British Coup ''A Very British Coup'' is a 1982 novel by British politician Chris Mullin. The novel has twice been adapted for television; as ''A Very British Coup'' in 1988 and as '' Secret State'' in 2012. Plot Harry Perkins is the left-wing Leader of the ...

'' (1988), Coronation Street as a milkman (1982) ''

Agatha Christie's Poirot ''Poirot'' (also known as ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'') is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2013. David Suchet starred as the eponymous detective, Agatha Christie's fictional Her ...

'' (1990), ''

'' (1994), and ''

Hetty Wainthropp Investigates ''Hetty Wainthropp Investigates'' is a British crime drama television series, starring Patricia Routledge as the title character, Henrietta "Hetty" Wainthropp, that aired for four series between 3 January 1996 and 4 September 1998 on BBC One. T ...

'' (1996). At his time of death, he had been due to start recording the 24th series of ''Last of the Summer Wine''. Wharmby died of lung cancer on 18 May 2002, aged 68. Wharmby and his wife Muriel had no children.

References

External links

*
Obituary at bbc.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wharmby, Gordon Deaths from cancer in Wales Deaths from lung cancer English male television actors Male actors from Salford Actors from Manchester 1933 births 2002 deaths British male comedy actors 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors