Peter Bowles (16 October 1936 – 17 March 2022) was an English television and stage actor. He gained prominence for television dramas such as ''
Callan: A Magnum for Schneider'' and ''
I, Claudius
''I, Claudius'' is a historical novel by English writer Robert Graves, published in 1934. Written in the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius, it tells the history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the early years of the Roma ...
''. He is however, best remembered for his roles in sitcoms and television
dramadies, including: ''
Rumpole of the Bailey
''Rumpole of the Bailey'' is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. It starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, a middle-aged London barrister who defended a broad variety of clients, o ...
'', ''
Only When I Laugh'', ''
To the Manor Born
''To the Manor Born'' is a BBC television sitcom that first aired on BBC1 from 1979 to 1981. A special one-off episode was produced in 2007. Starring Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles, the first 20 episodes and the 2007 special were written by ...
'', ''
The Bounder
''The Bounder'' is a British sitcom which ran from 16 April 1982 to 28 October 1983, made by Yorkshire Television. The series starred Peter Bowles (of ''To the Manor Born'' fame) as Howard Booth, an ex-convict who served two years in jail. He li ...
'', ''
The Irish R.M.
''The Irish R.M.'' is a trilogy of books by the Anglo-Irish novelists Somerville and Ross and a 1983 television comedy-drama series based on them. They are set in the turn-of-the-twentieth-century west of Ireland.
Books
The television series ...
'', ''
Lytton's Diary
''Lytton's Diary'' is a drama TV series made by Thames Television for the ITV network about the life of a newspaper gossip columnist.
Cast
Episodes
''Storyboard''
Lytton's Diary (30 August 1983) – director Brian Parker
Series One
#Rabid D ...
'', ''
Executive Stress
''Executive Stress'' is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1986 to 1988. Produced by Thames Television, it first aired on 20 October 1986. After three series, the last episode aired on 27 December 1988.
Written by George Layton, ''Executi ...
'' and ''
Perfect Scoundrels
''Perfect Scoundrels'' is an early-1990s British television comedy-drama following two con-men's travels while conning various people. Produced by TVS Television for the ITV network, it ran for three series between 22 April 1990 and 30 May 19 ...
''.
Early life and education
Bowles was born in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England. His father, Herbert Reginald Bowles, was a valet-companion and chauffeur to Drogo Montagu, son of the
George Montagu, 9th Earl of Sandwich
George Charles Montagu, 9th Earl of Sandwich (29 December 1874 – 15 June 1962), known as George Montagu until 1916, was a British Conservative politician.
Sandwich was the son of Rear-Admiral the Hon. Victor Alexander Montagu, second son of ...
, and later butler to Montagu’s widow, a daughter of
Lord Beaverbrook
William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (25 May 1879 – 9 June 1964), generally known as Lord Beaverbrook, was a Canadian-British newspaper publisher and backstage politician who was an influential figure in British media and politics o ...
. His mother, Sarah Jane (née Harrison), was from Scotland, and served as a nanny to the family of the
Duke of Argyll
Duke of Argyll ( gd, Diùc Earraghàidheil) is a title created in the peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. The earls, marquesses, and dukes of Argyll were for several centuries among the most powerful ...
, before working for Beaverbrook's family in England, which is how they met. In October 1939, the family lived in
Brackley
Brackley is a market town and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, bordering Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, from Oxford and from Northampton. Historically a market town based on the wool and lace trade, it was built on the inters ...
,
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
, moving to
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
a few months later. In Nottingham, they lived in the working-class area of
Hyson Green
Hyson Green is a neighbourhood in Nottingham, England. It is home to a variety of cultures with a thriving local economy. Hyson Green has the largest ethnic minority population in the city. Since 2006 Hyson Green has seen a larger rise in develop ...
. He attended Berridge Road Juniors and High Pavement Grammar School.
Personal life and death
Bowles married Susan Bennett on 8 April 1961. The couple lived in
Barnes
Barnes may refer to:
People
* Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name)
Places
United Kingdom
*Barnes, London, England
**Barnes railway station
** Barnes Bridge railway station
** Barnes Railway Bri ...
, south-west London and had three children together. He died on 17 March 2022, aged 85, from cancer.
Filmography
Film
Television
Awards and honours
* RADA Scholarship (1954)
*
Madge Kendal
Dame Madge Kendal, (born Margaret Shafto Robertson; 15 March 1848 – 14 September 1935) was an English actress of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, best known for her roles in Shakespeare and English comedies. Together with her husband, W. ...
Prize (1955)
* Male Comedy Star Award (1983)
*
ITV Personality of the Year
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
**ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Island ...
(1984)
* The Golden Gate Award (San Francisco International Film Festival, 1993)
* Hon. Doctor of Literature, for contributions to the theatre, television drama and entertainment. (
Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as a new university in 1992, although its roots go back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham Government School of Design, w ...
, 2002)
Books
* Autobiography: ''Ask Me if I'm Happy'' (Simon & Schuster, 2010)
* ''Behind the Curtain: The Job of Acting''
Date accessed: July 2014 (Oberon Masters Series, 2012)
References
External links
*
*
Selected roles in Bristol University Theatre Archive
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowles, Peter
1936 births
2022 deaths
20th-century English male actors
21st-century English male actors
Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Deaths from cancer in England
English male stage actors
English male television actors
English people of Scottish descent
Male actors from London
People educated at Nottingham High Pavement Grammar School