Bill Pertwee was born on July 21, 1926 in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England as William Desmond Anthony Pertwee. He was an actor, known for Dad's Army (1968), You Rang, M'Lord? (1988) and Dad's Army (1971). He was married to Marion Pertwee. He died on May 27, 2013 in Truro, Cornwall, England.
[on his cousin Jon Pertwee] He was an actor's actor. He was brilliant on radio - a great voices man. He was also marvellous on stage and television.
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Things began to disintegrate in the later 1950s. It was when we stopped communicating with each other. The wealth roller-coaster of the 1980s made it worse. It's a great country, but we've lost our way a bit.
In addition to playing ARP Warden Hodges in Dad's Army (1968), Bill was also the audience warm-up man.
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West Horsley, Surrey, England. [June 2007]
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In 1957, he wrote to BBC director/producer Richard Afton hoping for his big TV break. In the letter, he mentioned his cousin, actor Jon Pertwee, who became a star of the hit radio comedy "The Navy Lark" before taking on the title role in Doctor Who (1963) in 1970. At that point Bill had only been an entertainer for a couple of years, appearing in variety halls.
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He met his wife Marion in 1955 when they both appeared in a variety show in Norfolk. They married later that same year.
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He was evacuated to Sussex during World War II. One of his older brothers died while serving in the RAF.
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His mother was Brazilian and his English father had French ancestry.
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Was an account's clerk at the stock exchange prior to his acting career.
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Considered unfit for military service as the result of an accident, he worked during World War II in a factory which made parts for Spitfire cannons.
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His hobbies were cricket and writing. He wrote books about seaside entertainment, the history of Royal Command performances, military entertainers, and the making of Dad's Army (1968).
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Founder member and president of the Dad's Army Appreciation Society.
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Following the death of his wife Marion, his companion was Maggie Bourgein.
$1.3 Million
