Peter John Dennis (25 October 1933 – 18 April 2009) was a

Screen Actors Guild Award Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

and

Drama-Logue Award The Drama-Logue Award was an American theater award established in 1977, given by the publishers of Drama-Logue newspaper, a weekly west-coast theater trade publication. Winners were selected by the publication's theater critics, and would recei ...

winning English

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, television, theatre and voice actor. His extensive career spanned both sides of the Atlantic with projects ranging from ''

The Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes ** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...

'' to '' Sideways''. He was perhaps best known for his more than three decades association performing the works of A. A. Milne on stage in his one-man show entitled ''

Bother! The Brain of Pooh ''Bother! The Brain of Pooh'' is a one-man show created and performed by the English actor Peter Dennis with selections from the works about Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne. It premiered on October 14, 1976 at the ADC Theatre, Cambridge University, ...

''.

Early life

Peter Dennis was born in

Dorking Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England, about south of London. It is in Mole Valley District and the council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs roughly east–west, parallel to the Pipp Br ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, the son of Michael Henry Dennis, a mechanical engineer, and Violet Frances Lockwood, a housewife. He was one of four children including two brothers, Michael and David, and a sister, Dorothy. His early education was in a Roman Catholic convent. He continued his early studies in Portobello Road, London at the North Kensington Secondary School, until the age of 14. He spent the next four years training as an accountant and as a surveyor. While employed at T. S. Appleton & Son Ltd. in

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, i ...

, he was called up for his national service in the British Army. He served as a

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

in Nigeria from January 1952 to March 1958, Royal Army Ordnance Corps,

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

. His duties included drill and weapons training, shorthand writing in the service of Lieutenant General Sir Roderick McLeod and General Sir

Nigel Poett General Sir Joseph Howard Nigel Poett, (20 August 1907 – 29 October 1991) was a British Army officer who commanded the 5th Parachute Brigade during the Second World War. Early life Poett was born on 20 August 1907, at a rented family house i ...

, Director of Military Operations, and as a Personal Assistant to General Sir Kenneth Exham, General Officer Commanding the Royal West African Frontier Force, Nigerian Military Forces. Upon his return to civilian life, he worked as Personal Assistant to Harry Arkle, European Managing Director,

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

and Bill Nicol, Deputy Chairman of Guest, Keen & Nettlefolds, Redditch, near Birmingham. On his 29th birthday, Dennis saw his first play, a production of '' Look Back in Anger'' at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre starring Derek Jacobi, and dictated his resignation the following day. By the following autumn, he was in attendance at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art graduating two years later in 1965.

Career

After graduating from RADA, he returned to the Birmingham Rep to play numerous leading roles. He went on to perform at the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool, the Liverpool Repertory Theatre, and in London's West End. He also began to be a regular presence on British television, appearing in ''

'' among many other shows. 14 October 1976 marked the premiere of his one-man show ''

'' at the ADC Theatre, Cambridge, given in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the publication of '' Winnie-the-Pooh'' written by A. A. Milne. It contained selected readings from '' When We Were Very Young'', '' Winnie-the-Pooh'', '' Now We Are Six'', and '' The House at Pooh Corner''. At the invitation of

Anna Strasberg The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute (originally the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute) is an acting school founded in 1969 by actor, director, and acting teacher Lee Strasberg. The Institute is located in Union Square on East 15th Street, a ...

, Head of the

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded ...

, ''Bother!'' received its American premiere in December 1986 at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in Hollywood, where it was honoured with the

and the Los Angeles Theatre Award. He continued to perform ''Bother!'' throughout the following decades at more than eighty venues throughout America and Europe, from the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

under the baton of conductor George Daugherty to the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

in London at the invitation of the Prime Minister. His American television career grew to include appearances on a number of popular series including ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...

'', ''

Murphy Brown ''Murphy Brown'' is an American television sitcom created by Diane English that premiered on November 14, 1988, on CBS. The series stars Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for ''FYI'', a ...

'', ''

Alias Alias may refer to: * Pseudonym * Pen name * Nickname Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Alias'' (2013 film), a 2013 Canadian documentary film * ''Alias'' (TV series), an American action thriller series 2001–2006 * ''Alias the ...

'', ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

'', '' Prime Suspect'', and ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

''. Highlights of his film career include '' Sideways'' and '' Shrek''. Dennis often wore bow ties, and many of his roles featured him wearing one.

Death

Dennis died on 18 April 2009 in

Shadow Hills Shadow Hills (originally Hansen Heights) is a neighborhood in the Verdugo Mountains and northeastern San Fernando Valley, within the city of Los Angeles, California. Geography Shadow Hills is in the northwestern Verdugo Mountains, near the western ...

, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Awards

LA Weekly Theatre Award LA Weekly Theater Award was an annual critics' award system established in 1979, organized by the ''LA Weekly'' for outstanding achievements in small theatre productions in Southern California. Nominees were typically announced in January for Eq ...

* Corporation for Public Broadcasting Silver Award *Achievement of Merit Ohio State Award * Audie Award * Parents' Choice Award Gold Award * Screen Actors Guild Ensemble Award ''Sideways''

Filmography

* '' Confessions of a Window Cleaner'' (1974) – Waiter * '' The Stud'' (1978) – Marc * '' Scandalous'' (1984) – Maitre D' * ''

A Man Called Sarge ''A Man Called Sarge'' is a 1990 American parody film, written and directed by Stuart Gillard, starring Gary Kroeger, Marc Singer, Gretchen German and introducing a young Natasha Lyonne. The humour is built on slapstick and verbal puns, in the ...

'' (1990) – Montgomery * ''

The Rainbow Thief ''The Rainbow Thief'' is a 1990 film directed by filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky and written by Berta Domínguez D. It reunites ''Lawrence of Arabia'' co-stars Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif in a fable of friendship. Christopher Lee also plays a ...

'' (1990) – Winter * ''The Emissary: A Biblical Epic'' (1997) – Master * ''The Effects of Magic'' (1998) – Gough * '' Second Generation'' (2000) – Bus conductor * '' Shrek'' (2001) – Ogre Hunter (voice) * ''Hellborn'' (2003) – Dr. Flannery * '' Sideways'' (2004) – Leslie Brough * '' Psychonauts'' (2005) – Collie (voice) * '' Eragon'' (2006) – (voice) * ''

Man in the Chair ''Man in the Chair'' is a 2007 independent film written and directed by Michael Schroeder. The film stars Christopher Plummer, Michael Angarano, M. Emmet Walsh, and Robert Wagner. Premise The drama stars Christopher Plummer as Flash, a man who ...

'' (2007) – Bernie * ''Monster Safari'' (2007) – Basil Pennyfarthing * ''Ten Inch Hero'' (2007) – Mr. Julius * ''

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. The ...

'' (2007) – (voice)

Television

* '' No Hiding Place'' (1965) – Police doctor * '' The Rat Catchers'' (1966) – Teniente * ''

'' (1967) – Private * '' The Troubleshooters'' (1968) – TV Interviewer * ''

Detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

'' (1968) – Personal Assistant * '' Hadleigh'' (1973–1976) – Sutton * ''Hold the Front Page'' (1974) – The Judge * '' Dial M for Murder'' (1974) – Insp. Palmer * ''How's Your Father'' (1975) – Doctor Clegg * ''

The Famous Five ''The Famous Five'' is a series of children's Adventure fiction, adventure novels and short stories written by English author Enid Blyton. The first book, ''Five on a Treasure Island'', was published in 1942. The novels feature the adventures ...

'' (1978) – Roland * '' Grange Hill'' (1982) – Mr Brocklehurst * ''

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...

'' (1982) – Dr. Edwin Harper * '' Never the Twain'' (1982) – Vicar * '' Yes Minister'' (1982) – Undersecretary Air Division * '' The Cleopatras'' (1983) – Diomedes * '' Minder'' (1984–1985) – Club owner / Geoffrey * '' Minder on the Orient Express'' (1985) – Club owner (uncredited) * ''

C.A.T.S. Eyes ''C.A.T.S. Eyes'' is a British television series made by TVS for ITV between 1985 and 1987. The series was a spin-off from ''The Gentle Touch'', and saw Jill Gascoine reprise her role as Maggie Forbes, portrayed as having left the police forc ...

'' (1985–87) – Hathcott / Desmond Proudfoot * '' The Great Escape II: The Untold Story'' (1988) – Group Capt. Massey * '' War and Remembrance'' (1988) – Gen. Sir Bernard Law Montgomery * '' Prime Suspect'' (1991) – Toastmaster * '' To Be the Best'' (1991) – Doctor * ''

'' (1992) – Albert * ''

'' (1992) – Psychiatrist #3 * ''

Melrose Place ''Melrose Place'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on Fox from July 8, 1992, to May 24, 1999, for seven seasons. The show follows the lives of a group of young adults living in an apartment complex on Melrose Place, in ...

'' (1992) – Jeweler #1 * ''

The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. ''The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.'', often referred to as just ''Brisco'' or ''Brisco County'', is an American weird western television series created by Jeffrey Boam and Carlton Cuse. It ran for 27 episodes on the Fox network starting i ...

'' (1993–1994) – Reginald * ''

Acapulco H.E.A.T. ''Acapulco H.E.A.T.'' is a 1993 syndicated television series. It followed the adventures of the "Hemisphere Emergency Action Team" (H.E.A.T.), a group of top-secret agents based in Acapulco in Mexico, recruited by "C-5", a secret, inter-governmen ...

'' (1994) – Dr. Monroe * ''Young Indiana Jones and the Hollywood Follies'' (1994) – Pete * '' Prehysteria! 3'' (1995) – Snooty Driver * '' Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' (1995) – Mr Hathaway * '' Mad TV'' (1995) – Announcer * '' Step by Step'' (1996) – Auctioneer * '' Townies'' (1996) – Dealer * ''

'' (1996) – Sherman Whitfield * ''

Mr. Rhodes ''Mr. Rhodes'' is an American television sitcom which was aired by NBC as part of its 1996–97 lineup. Summary ''Mr. Rhodes'' starred comedian Tom Rhodes as an eponymous character who taught at a small-town preparatory school after having fai ...

'' (1996) – Flemings * '' Star Trek: Voyager'' (1996-2001) – Admiral Hendricks / Isaac Newton * '' Profiler'' (1997) – Dr. Joel Kaiser * '' In the House'' (1997) – Violinist * '' Tracey Takes On...'' (1997) – Lord Percy * '' Family Matters'' (1997) – Captain Hightower * ''

'' (1997) – Lew * ''

H.M.S. Pinafore ''H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which ...

'' (1997) – Sailor * '' Felicity'' (1999) – ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' Fan * ''

'' (2001) – Professor Bloom

Theatre

* ''

The Body The Body may refer to: Literature * ''The Body'' (short story), a short story by Camillo Boito * ''The Body'' (novella), a novel written by Stephen King * ''The Body'' (Sapir novel), a novel by Richard Sapir * ''The Body'' (Kureishi novel), ...

'' (2004) * ''

'' (1976–2009) * ''

Speak of the Devil "Speak of the devil" is the short form of the English-language idiom "Speak of the devil and he doth appear" (or its alternative form "speak of the devil and he shall appear"). The form "talk of the devil" is also in use in England. It is used ...

Recordings

*"The Complete Works of Winnie-the-Pooh" by A. A. Milne *" The Tigger Movie", Walt Disney Records *"

102 Dalmatians ''102 Dalmatians'' is a 2000 American crime comedy film directed by Kevin Lima and produced by Edward S. Feldman and Walt Disney Pictures. The sequel to the 1996 film '' 101 Dalmatians'', a live-action remake of the 1961 Disney animated film of ...

", Walt Disney Records *" The Seven Deadly Sins", Jazz Suite with Phil Woods *"The Children’s Suite" by Phil Woods *"The Strange Affliction" by Norman Corwin, with Samantha Eggar, Carl Reiner and

Norman Lloyd Norman Nathan Lloyd (' Perlmutter; November 8, 1914 – May 11, 2021) was an American actor, producer, director, and centenarian with a career in entertainment spanning nearly a century. He worked in every major facet of the industry, including ...

References

External links

Pooh Corner
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dennis, Peter People from Dorking Alumni of RADA English male film actors English male television actors English male stage actors English male voice actors English expatriates in the United States British expatriate male actors in the United States Royal Army Ordnance Corps soldiers Royal Army Service Corps soldiers Male actors from Surrey 1933 births 2009 deaths British colonial army soldiers 20th-century British Army personnel