Kenneth Waller, 72: "Old Mr. Grace"
saintkiss
The obit mentions he played Mr. Grace on 'Are You Being Served?",
Harold Bennett played the "Young" Mr. Grace, and Waller was "Old"
Mr. Grace. At the time, Waller was in his forties (the aging makeup
is obvious), and Bennett was in his seventies.
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KENNETH WALLER
Kenneth Waller, actor, was born in Huddersfield on
November 5, 1927. He died on January 28 aged 72
KENNETH WALLER was one of
those admirable character actors
who plied his trade for decades
without attracting much notice and
then became a household name late
in his career thanks to one hugely
successful television series.
This was Bread, Carla Lane's sitcom about about the
unemployed Boswell family on Merseyside, which at its
peak in the late 1980s attracted an audience of 21 million.
It was an ensemble piece rather than a star vehicle, and
Waller's Grandad was an essential element.
A pensioner who lived next door to the Boswells in their
working-class terrace, Grandad was forever dropping in
to cadge a meal and his "hey, where's me tea?" became a
catchphrase. Waller's skilled playing transcended what
could have been a comic caricature by investing the
character with a shrewd mixture of irascibility and pathos.
It was clever acting in a physical sense as well, for viewers
who saw only a 75- year-old with unkempt white hair and
a bushy moustache might not have guessed that the hair
was dyed, the moustache a fake and that Waller was not
yet 60 when he first played the part.
Grandad came to Waller rather by chance. He had been
due to make a film in Spain when a fellow actor, Art
Malik, broke his arm and shooting was postponed. This
left Waller free for other work and available when Bread
was being cast.
The series began in 1986 and survived a tepid critical
reception and local objections to perceived Scouse
stereotyping to became the most popular BBC comedy of
its day. Waller played Grandad until the final episode in
December 1991.
Kenneth Waller came to acting late, after National Service
in the RAF and working in the accounts department of an
auctioneering firm where a colleague was Thelma Barlow,
later Mavis Riley of Coronation Street. He started in
repertory, appeared at the Oxford Playhouse under Frank
Hauser, and showed equal proficiency in musicals and
straight plays.
He made his West End debut in the Julian Slade musical
Free As Air at the Savoy Theatre in 1957 and played in
more than 20 other London productions, including Salad
Days, The Solid Gold Cadillac, Anne of Green Gables
and The Importance of Being Earnest. He played
Shakespeare in India, Jordan, Turkey and Egypt.
Waller was an accomplished pianist who played with
leading orchestras in Peter and the Wolf, a lover of opera
and a keen follower in his home town of the Huddersfield
Choral Society. Another institution he cherished was the
Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park, which he served as
both actor and supporter.
He made the first of more than 200 television appearances
in a comedy show starring Terry Scott, and had parts in
many popular series, including All Creatures Great and
Small, Juliet Bravo and Dr Who. But it was not until the
early 1980s that his career began to take off, playing Mr
Grace, the store owner in the sitcom Are You Being
Served?, and Ferret, the old Cockney in the
comedy-drama Big Deal.
During 1988 he was in Coronation Street playing the
father of Curly Watts. With his brown hair this time dyed
ginger, he could never be mistaken for Bread's Grandad.
After Bread finished he was with Barbara Windsor in a
successful touring production of Joe Orton's black
comedy, Entertaining Mr Sloane.
Despite his late fame and the wealth that went with it,
Waller lived modestly in a rented two-bedroom
maisonette opposite Chalk Farm Tube station in London.
His idea of a treat was a fresh Scotch salmon from Marks
& Spencer and a half bottle of champagne.
He never married.
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Before you buy.
Dave
David
"You thought you were going to see a science fiction movie. Let me tell you
what you are going to Be - you are going to BE a science fiction movie. It's
called science friction." -- Raleigh Theodore Sakers
saintkiss
Dave wrote in message <20000203063320...@ng-fl1.aol.com>...
>Has anyone else from the show died?
>
Grainger),
Arthur English (Mr. Harman) and Alfie Bass (Mr. Goldberg) have passed on.
Brad Ferguson
<dbls...@aol.comPRODIGAL> wrote:
> Has anyone else from the show died?
Harold Bennett, who played Young Mr. Grace; Arthur English, who was the
(second) union shop steward; and the fellow who played Mr. Grainger.
The departure point for the successor series, _Are You Being Served?
Again!_ was the death of Old Mr. Grace. (The store's pension fund had
disappeared, and the employees had been left Grace's only remaining
asset: a broken-down resort.)