Bill Wallis (born 1936 in Farnham, Surrey, England) is a British character actor and comedian who has appeared in numerous radio[1] and television roles,[2][3][4] as well as in the theatre.
He attended Farnham Grammar School from 1948 to 1955. He gained a State Scholarship and went to Cambridge University where he met Peter Cook. When Cook and the team took Beyond the Fringe to Broadway, Wallis took over the roles played by Alan Bennett.
Wallis has frequently appeared on television, film, and theatre, but is perhaps most well-known for his work for radio.
He has two children by his first wife, Jean Spalding, a noted cellist.
Radio Career[]
Some of Wallis's most frequent appearances have been on BBC Radio 4 for The Afternoon Play and the Classic Serial, but he was also in the cast of the long-running sketch show Week Ending, and in the first episode of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, originating the roles of Mr. Prosser and Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz. He reprised the latter in the second episode and in one episode of the second series.
Perhaps his most famous and enduring role is as the iconoclastic Peter Tinniswood character, Winston Hayballs. First appearing in 1987, Tinniswood's creation has been played by Wallis in many subsequent series.
Radio Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ The radio companion By Paul Donovan. HarperCollins, 1991
- ↑ Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams By M. J. Simpson
- ↑ Bill Wallis, Short Biography: BBC Audiobooks America
- ↑ Bill Wallis Interview Actor Bill Wallis discusses his work as a reader for audiobooks.