Peter Trevor Collingwood (6 May 1920 – 23 September 2016) was an English-born actor who appeared in theatre roles, films, miniseries and serials from 1938 to 2003 in his native England and Australia. Collingwood was known for his portrayal of judges, military men and upper-crust befuddled types. He was also a playwright.

Biography

Early life

Collingwood was born in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

(some sources give, Farnham, Surrey), England on 6 May 1920. He enrolled in the Embassy School of Acting at the Embassy Theatre, London, in 1937. His first professional acting job was in

Wang Shifu Wang Shifu (), courtesy name of Wang Dexin (1250-1337?), was a successful Chinese playwright of the Yuan dynasty. He is a representative of “Wencaipai” (Literal talent group) in Chinese opera literature. He was born in Dadu (present-day Beijin ...

's Chinese play '' The Western Chamber'' at London's Torch Theatre in 1938.

Navy service

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Collingwood served in the

British Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

, including on the Greek submarine as liaison officer, but was discharged due to eye sight problems.

Theatre and film roles

After the war, Collingwood joined Amersham Repertory Theatre, followed by the Young Vic Company, and a number of other companies. In 1950 he married Margery Shaw. They moved to Perth, Scotland where he worked for the Perth Repertory Company. During this time, he wrote the farce ''Gathering Nuts'', which was performed by the company, as well as by a number of other repertory companies. In 1953, Collingwood returned to London with his family—daughter Julia, stepsons Christopher and Michael—where he worked regularly on stage, in film, and on television. In 1961, with Margery and step-son Michael, Collingwood travelled overland to Sri Lanka, then by ship to

Perth, Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. From late 1961 to 1963, he worked at the Perth Playhouse. The family returned to England for two years, during which he appeared in a number of successful West End shows, including ''

Inadmissible Evidence Admissible evidence, in a court of law, is any testimonial, documentary, or tangible evidence that may be introduced to a factfinder—usually a judge or jury—to establish or to bolster a point put forth by a party to the proceeding. Fo ...

'', ''Meals on Wheels'', and ''I Love you Mrs Patterson''. In 1967, Collingwood emigrated to Australia, first living in Perth before settling near Sydney in

Balmain, New South Wales Balmain is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Balmain is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Inner West Council. It is located on the Balmain peninsula su ...

. He worked for many Sydney theatre companies including the Old Tote,

Nimrod Theatre The Nimrod Theatre Company, commonly known as The Nimrod, was an Australian theatre company based in Sydney. It was founded by in 1970 by Australian actor John Bell, Richard Wherrett and Ken Horler, and gained a reputation for producing more "g ...

, Belvoir Theatre Company, the independent and Sydney Theatre Company Between 1970 and 1972 he was director of the

Marian Street Theatre The Marian Street Theatre is located in the Sydney suburb of Killara. The theatre previously played a significant role in the cultural life of the North Shore and is widely remembered by former patrons and theatre lovers across Sydney. Built i ...

Television

Collingwood appeared in serial roles, both dramatic and comedic, including '' Homicide'', ''

Division 4 ''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes. Synopsis The series was one of the first dramas to follow up on the enormous success o ...

'', ''

Mother and Son ''Mother and Son'' is an Australian television sitcom that was broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) from 16 January 1984 until 21 March 1994. The show stars Ruth Cracknell, Garry McDonald, Henri Szeps and Judy Morris. It ...

'', '' A Country Practice'', ''

Police Rescue ''Police Rescue'' is an Australian television series which originally aired on ABC TV between 1989 and 1996. It was produced by ABC and Southern Star Xanadu in association with the BBC. Apart from the 61 episodes, there was a 90-minute pi ...

'', '' Home and Away'' (as Bert King), and ''

Always Greener ''Always Greener'' was an Australian television drama/ comedy series that aired on the Seven Network which followed the fortunes of two families, one from the city and the other from the country, when they decide to switch homes and start a new ...

''. Television roles also included Lord John Russell in ''

Edward the Seventh ''Edward the Seventh'' is a 1975 British historical drama series, made by ATV in 13 episodes. Based on the biography of King Edward VII by Philip Magnus, it starred Annette Crosbie as Queen Victoria, Timothy West as the elder Edward VII, w ...

'' and Mr. Dunkley in ''

Are You Being Served? ''Are You Being Served?'' is a British sitcom created and written by executive producer David Croft (Croft also directed some episodes) and Jeremy Lloyd, with contributions from Michael Knowles and John Chapman, for the BBC. Set in London ...

''.

Death

Collingwood retired in 2003 and died 23 September 2016 at the age of 96.

Selected filmography

Appearances in movies

* ''

River Beat ''River Beat'' is a 1954 British noir crime film directed by Guy Green and starring John Bentley, Phyllis Kirk and Leonard White. The screenplay concerns a river police inspector who faces a moral dilemma when a woman he knows gets caught u ...

'' (1954) - Coroner * '' Up the Creek'' (1958) - Chippy * '' Further Up the Creek'' (1958) - Chippy * '' The Green Helmet'' (1961) - Charlie * ''

Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment Morgan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Morgan (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Morgan le Fay, a powerful witch in Arthurian legend * Morgan (surname), a surname of Welsh origin * Morgan (singer) ...

'' (1966) - Geoffrey * '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975) - Colonel Fitzhubert * ''

Fast Talking ''Fast Talking'' is a 1984 Australian film written and directed by Ken Cameron. It starred Rod Zuanic and Steve Bisley and Tracy Mann Production Cameron had been a school teacher before he became a filmmaker and the script was based on his pers ...

'' (1984) - School Principal

Appearances in miniseries

* ''

The Timeless Land ''The Timeless Land'' (1941) is a work of historical fiction by Eleanor Dark (1901–1985). The novel ''The Timeless Land'' is the first of ''The Timeless Land'' trilogy of novels about European settlement and exploration of Australia. Story ...

'',

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

(Australia), 1980 - Governor Phillip * ''

Under Capricorn ''Under Capricorn'' is a 1949 British historical thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock about a couple in Australia who started out as lady and stable boy in Ireland, and who are now bound together by a horrible secret. The film is based on ...

'', 1983 - Governor * ''

Coral Island A coral island is a type of island formed from coral detritus and associated organic material. It occurs in tropical and sub-tropical areas, typically as part of a coral reef which has grown to cover a far larger area under the sea. Ecosystem ...

'', 1983 - Reverend McNab * '' The Dismissal'', 1983 - Tun Abdul Razak * '' A Difficult Woman'',

(Australia), 1998 - Chris Fitzgerald

Notes and references

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Collingwood, Peter 1920 births 2016 deaths Place of death missing Australian male television actors English male television actors 20th-century Australian male actors 20th-century English male actors British emigrants to Australia Male actors from Kent Royal Navy officers of World War II