Editing Bill Owen (actor) (section)

== Personal life ==
Owen was a staunch socialist and supporter of the Labour Party. [[Peter Sallis]] described Owen as being "slightly to the left of [[Vladimir Lenin|Lenin]]" and claimed that Owen's left-wing views contrasted so much with the right-wing opinions of [[Michael Bates (actor)|Michael Bates]] that ''Last of the Summer Wine'' was almost not made because of their arguments.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8054225.stm|title=Argument 'threatened Summer Wine'|date=17 May 2009|access-date=26 October 2018|publisher=BBC News}}</ref> Owen was a founding member of the [[Keep Sunday Special]] campaign group, and president of Arts for Labour, a campaign group of performers linked to the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Grant |first=Linda |date=1991-05-05 |title=Politics Reaches for the Stars |pages=86 |work=[[The Observer]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105964289/politics-reaches-for-the-stars/ |access-date=2022-07-20}}</ref> He was appointed an MBE in 1977.<ref>United Kingdom: "No. 47102". ''The London Gazette'' (Supplement). 30 December 1976. p.16</ref>

He was the subject of ''[[This Is Your Life (British TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'' in 1980 when he was surprised by [[Eamonn Andrews]] in [[Trafalgar Square]].<ref>''This is Your Life:  Bill Owen.''  Season 21, Episode 13.  Aired 7 January 1981.  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0721496/ Retrieved 31 March 2025.</ref>
[[File:Bill Owen's grave.jpg|thumb|Bill Owen's grave in the churchyard of St John's Parish Church, Upperthong Lane, [[Holmfirth]]]]