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==Early life and career== Born at [[Acton Green, London]] to a working-class family (his father a staunchly left-wing tram driver),<ref>Last of the Summer Wine: The Inside Story of the World's Longest-Running Comedy Series, Andrew Vine, Aurum Press, 2011</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/jul/13/guardianobituaries1|title=Bill Owen|first=Dennis|last=Barker|date=13 July 1999|access-date=15 July 2020|website=The Guardian}}</ref> Owen made his first film appearance in 1945, but did not achieve lasting fame until 1973, when he took the co-starring role of [[Compo Simmonite|William "Compo" Simmonite]] in the long-running British sitcom ''[[Last of the Summer Wine]]''. Compo is a scruffy working-class pensioner, often exploited by the bossy characters played by [[Michael Bates (actor)|Michael Bates]], [[Brian Wilde]], [[Michael Aldridge]] and [[Frank Thornton]] for dirty jobs, stunts and escapades, while their indomitably docile friend [[Norman Clegg]], played by [[Peter Sallis]], follows and watches with a smirk. He wore a woollen hat and spent much of his time lusting after dowdy housewife [[Nora Batty]]. The series, starting in 1973 and finishing in 2010, became the world's longest-running comedy series. Owen became an icon, a darling of its audience and central to its success and episodes for 26 years, until his death.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.icons.org.uk/nom/nominations/last-of-the-summer-wine-1/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927004434/http://www.icons.org.uk/nom/nominations/last-of-the-summer-wine-1|url-status=dead|title=Index of /nom/nominations/last-of-the-summer-wine-1|archive-date=27 September 2007|website=Icons.org.uk|access-date=15 July 2020}}</ref> Owen served in the [[Royal Army Ordnance Corps]] during [[World War II]], where he was injured in an explosion during a battle training course. His first screen role was in the 1941 short ''Tank Patrol'', produced by the [[Ministry of Information (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Information]]. During the 1960s, Owen had a successful second career as a songwriter, with compositions including the hit "[[Marianne (1968 song)|Marianne]]", recorded by [[Cliff Richard]]. At this time he also collaborated with songwriter Tony Russell on the musical ''[[The Matchgirls]]'' about the [[London matchgirls strike of 1888]]. Owen also recorded a [[novelty song]] with [[Kathy Staff]] in 1983 called "Nora Batty's Stockings". He was "a spry, dry little gnome of a Ko-Ko" for [[Sadler's Wells Opera]] in their 1962 Christmas season ''[[The Mikado|Mikado]]'', "skimpering through the piece and playing conventional comic tricks".<ref>[[Andrew Porter (music critic)|Porter, Andrew]]. Review: The Mikado β Sadler's Wells. ''[[Opera (British magazine)|Opera]]'', January 1963, Vol 14 No 1, p58-59.</ref> He co-starred as [[Spike Milligan]]'s straight man in the West End hit ''Son of Oblomov'' in 1964. Owen was a regular in the early ''[[Carry On (film series)|Carry On]]'' films β ''[[Carry On Sergeant|Sergeant]]'' (1958), ''[[Carry On Nurse|Nurse]]'' (1959), ''[[Carry On Regardless|Regardless]]'' (1961) and ''[[Carry On Cabby|Cabby]]'' (1963) and also featured in several [[Lindsay Anderson]] films including ''[[O Lucky Man!]]'' (1973) and ''[[In Celebration]]'' (1974). On TV had had regular roles playing Fred Cuddell in 13 episodes of ''Taxi!'' (1963); Sergeant Sam Short in 13 episodes of ''Copper's End'' (1971), George Edwards in 4 episodes of [[Emergency-Ward 10]] and George Chambers (Thelma's father) in 4 episodes of [[Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?]]. He also had a cameo appearance in ''[[Brideshead Revisited (TV serial)|Brideshead Revisited]]'' as Lunt, Charles Ryder's [[bedder|scout]] during his days at the [[University of Oxford]].
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