Editing Bill Pertwee

{{Short description|English actor (1926–2013)}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Bill Pertwee 
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|MBE}}
| image       = Bill Pertwee.jpg
| occupation  = Actor
| birth_name  = William Desmond Anthony Pertwee
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1926|07|21|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Amersham]], [[Buckinghamshire]], England
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|2013|05|27|1926|07|21|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Truro]], [[Cornwall]], England
| spouse      = {{marriage|Marion Rose|1955|2005|end=her death}}
| children    = 1
| relatives   = {{Unbulleted list|[[Michael Pertwee]]|[[Jon Pertwee]]|[[Sean Pertwee]]|[[Roland Pertwee]] (cousins)}}
| years_active = 1959–1997
| website     = 
}}

'''William Desmond Anthony Pertwee''' (21 July 1926 – 27 May 2013) was an English actor and comedian. He is best remembered for playing [[Chief ARP Warden Hodges]] in ''[[Dad's Army]]'' and P.C. Wilson in ''[[You Rang, M'Lord?]]''.<ref name="Stevens">{{cite book
|last= Stevens	
|first= Christopher
|title= Born Brilliant: The Life of Kenneth Williams
|publisher= John Murray
|year= 2010
|isbn = 978-1-84854-195-5
|page=370
}}</ref>

==Early life==
Pertwee was born in [[Amersham]], [[Buckinghamshire]], on 21 July 1926.<ref name=BBC>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22680499 "Dad's Army star Bill Pertwee dies aged 86"], BBC News, 27 May 2013</ref> Born the youngest of three boys of a Brazilian mother and an English father, James Francis Carter Pertwee, who travelled the country as a salesman until he became ill and died in 1938, when Bill Pertwee was 12. The family moved home many times during Pertwee's childhood and he lived in [[Hereford]], [[Glasbury]], [[Colnbrook]], [[Newbury, Berkshire|Newbury]], [[Erith]], [[Belvedere, London|Belvedere]], [[Blackheath, London|Blackheath]], [[Storrington]], [[Westcliff-on-Sea]], [[Wilmington, Kent|Wilmington]] and [[Worthing]].

His education was disrupted by the moves and he attended many schools including an independent convent school, a small independent school, followed by [[Frensham Heights School]] in Surrey, Dartford Technical College and Southend College.

Pertwee left school during the [[Second World War]] and worked for a company that made parts for [[Spitfire]] cannons. He was declared unfit for RAF service as he was on medication following a swimming accident, but was a member of the Air Training Corps (UK Air Cadets). He later worked as an accounts clerk at the Stock Exchange and as a salesman for the clothing retailer [[Burberry]] in [[London]].

==Entertainment career==
Pertwee appeared in the radio comedy series ''[[Beyond Our Ken]]'' (1959–1964) and ''[[Round the Horne]]'' (1965–1967). He was also a [[warm-up]] act for many television shows.

His most prominent role was that of [[Chief ARP Warden Hodges|ARP Warden Hodges]] in ''Dad's Army'', which he played in both the original television series from 1968 to 1977, and the radio adaptations, as well as the radio sequel ''[[It Sticks Out Half a Mile]]'', set after the war. Pertwee was president of the [[Dad's Army Appreciation Society]] and the author of the book ''Dad's Army – The Making of a Television Legend''.

In July 2008 he and other surviving members of the ''Dad's Army'' cast gathered together at the [[Imperial War Museum]] on the 40th anniversary of the show's first broadcast in 1968.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/2275962/Dads-Armys-Ian-Lavender-criticises-falling-TV-standards.html|title=Dad's Army's Ian Lavender criticises falling TV standards|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|first=Nicole|last=Martin|date=9 July 2008|access-date=21 December 2011}}</ref> He also made appearances on ''[[This Morning (TV programme)|This Morning]]''. In 1975 he took part in the [[Dad's Army stage show|''Dad's Army'' stage show]] and with [[Norman Macleod (musician)|Norman Macleod]] released the Dad's Army single "Get Out And Get Under The Moon", with Pertwee's B-side song "Hooligans" on EMI.

Pertwee appeared in two [[Carry On films|''Carry On'' films]] – ''[[Carry On Loving]]'' (1970) and ''[[Carry On Girls]]'' (1973). His appearance in ''[[Carry On at Your Convenience]]'' (1971) was cut from the final film. His other film appearances include  ''[[The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins]]'' (1971), ''[[Psychomania]]'' (1973), as postmen in the film versions of ''[[Love Thy Neighbour (1973 film)|Love Thy Neighbour]]'' and ''[[Man About the House]]'', ''[[Confessions of a Pop Performer]]'' (1975), ''[[What's Up Nurse!]]'' (1977) and ''[[What's Up Superdoc!]]'' (1978).

On television Pertwee appeared in the final episode of ''[[It Ain't Half Hot Mum]]'' (1981) and an episode of ''[[Hi-de-Hi!]]'' (1986). He played PC Wilson in ''[[You Rang, M'Lord?]]'' (1988–1993), another creation of [[Jimmy Perry]] and [[David Croft (TV producer)|David Croft]].

The subject of ''[[This Is Your Life (British TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'' in 1999, Pertwee was surprised by [[Michael Aspel]] at the [[Imperial War Museum]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}} In 2006, he performed in the World Cup song, "[[Who Do You Think You Are Kidding Jurgen Klinsmann?]]"

In 2011 a portrait of Pertwee, painted by a local artist, was unveiled in the [[Dad's Army Museum]], [[Thetford]] where it now resides. Pertwee was patron of the museum and of the DAAS ([[Dad's Army Appreciation Society]]) until his death.

==Personal life==

Pertwee married Marion Macleod, sister of [[John Macleod (songwriter)|John]] and [[Norman Macleod (musician)|Norman Macleod]] of the Maple Leaf Four, in 1955.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://scottishmusichallsociety.webs.com/inmemorium.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930065133/http://scottishmusichallsociety.webs.com/inmemorium.htm|url-status=dead|title=Marion Pertwee in Memoriam 2005|archive-date=30 September 2012}}</ref> They had a son, Jonathan James Pertwee (born in 1966), who has appeared in various TV programmes.<ref name=funnyliving>{{cite book|year=1996|first=Bill |last=Pertwee|isbn=1-85778-268-2|title=A funny way to make a living!-An Autobiography|publisher=Sunburst Books}}</ref>

Following the death of his wife, he lived in [[Topsham, Devon]]. He was awarded an [[Order of the British Empire|MBE]] in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours list for his services to charity. He was vice-president of the "Railway Ramblers"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.railwayramblers.org.uk/ |title=Railway Ramblers |publisher=Railway Ramblers |access-date=27 May 2013}}</ref> and a member of the executive committee of the [[Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund]] ('The Royal Variety Charity') and was initiated in 1976 as a member of the [[Grand Order of Water Rats]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gowr.co.uk/all-water-rats/v/44|title=Biography of a Water Rat|website=www.gowr.co.uk}}</ref>

Pertwee died aged 86 on 27 May 2013.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/may/27/dads-army-star-bill-pertwee-dies|title=Bill Pertwee, star of Dad's Army, dies aged 86|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=27 May 2013|access-date=31 May 2013}}</ref> He had been ill since the previous year and died peacefully at his home in Cornwall. Three days previously he had attended a parade in Thetford (home of the Dad's Army Museum) where spectators and museum volunteers remarked how frail he was looking. His death, and those of [[Pamela Cundell]] in 2015 and [[Frank Williams (actor)|Frank Williams]] in 2022, left [[Ian Lavender]] (who died in 2024), who played Private Pike, as the only surviving ''Dad's Army'' cast member.

Pertwee's brother James Raymond "Jiggy" Pertwee was an [[RAF]] [[Whitley Bomber]] pilot who was killed in a crash on a hillside close to a disused quarry above Bank Foot, near [[Ingleby Greenhow]] in [[North Yorkshire]], following a [[leaflet drop]] over [[Dortmund]], Germany, in June 1941.<ref>{{CWGC|id=2407566|name=Pertwee, James Raymond|access-date=18 November 2024}}</ref>

He was related to [[Michael Pertwee]] and [[Jon Pertwee]], being a second cousin of Michael's and Jon's father, the screenwriter and actor [[Roland Pertwee]].<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/bill-pertwee-actor-best-known-for-his-role-as-the-curmudgeonly-warden-hodges-in-dads-army-8633569.html "Bill Pertwee: Actor best known for his role as the curmudgeonly Warden Hodges in Dad's Army", ''The Independent'', 28 May 2013]. Accessed 28 May 2013</ref> He was [[Godparent|godfather]] to one of the sons of his ''Dad's Army'' co-star [[Ian Lavender]].

==Film/TV/radio==

===Film===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| 1970 || ''[[Carry On Loving]]'' || Barman ||
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1971 || ''[[Dad's Army (1971 film)|Dad's Army]]'' || ARP Warden Hodges ||
|-
| ''[[The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins]]'' || Cockney Man || (segment "Lust")
|-
| ''[[Carry On at Your Convenience]]'' || Manager of Whippit Inn || (scenes deleted)
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1973 || ''[[Psychomania]]'' || Publican ||
|-
| ''[[Love Thy Neighbour (1973 film)|Love Thy Neighbour]]'' || Postman ||
|-
| ''[[Carry On Girls]]'' || Fire Chief ||
|-
| 1974 || ''[[Man About the House (film)|Man About the House]]'' || Postman ||
|-
| 1975 || ''[[Confessions of a Pop Performer]]'' || Husband with javelin ||
|-
| 1977 || ''[[What's Up Nurse!]]'' || Flash Harry Harrison ||
|-
| 1978 || ''[[What's Up Superdoc!]]'' || Woodie ||
|-
| 2012 || ''[[Run for Your Wife (2012 film)|Run for Your Wife]]'' || 1st man getting off bus || (final film role)
|-
|}

===Television===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| 1968–1977 || ''[[Dad's Army]]'' || ARP Warden Hodges || Recurring role, 60 episodes
|-
| 1969 || ''[[Two in Clover]]'' || Policeman || 5 episodes
|-
| 1971 || ''[[Bless This House (British TV series)|Bless This House]]'' || Mr Crawford || Episode: ''The Morning After The Night Before''
|-
| 1972 || ''[[The Generation Game]] || Courtroom Clerk || Series 2, Episode 2
|-
| 1973 || ''[[Sykes (TV series)|Sykes]]'' || Builder || Episode: ''Protest''
|-
| 1984–1986 || ''[[Chance in a Million]]'' || Sergeant Gough || 6 episodes
|-
| 1987 || ''[[Edward and Friends]]'' || Voice || 9 episodes
|-
| 1988–1993 || ''[[You Rang, M'Lord?]]'' || P.C.Wilson || 26 episodes
|-
| 1990 || ''[[Fred The Steam Fugitive]]'' || Mr Jenkins || ''Time to Go'' TV short
|-
| 1994 || ''[[Woof!]]'' || Arthur || Episode: ''Getting up Steam''
|-
|}

===Radio===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| 1959–64 || ''[[Beyond Our Ken]]'' || Various || 100 episodes
|-
| 1965–67 || ''[[Round the Horne]]'' || Various || 50 episodes
|-
| 1971, 1972 || ''The Motorway Men'' || Reg Ponsonby || 8 episodes + pilot
|-
| 1983-4 || ''[[It Sticks Out Half a Mile]]'' || Bert Hodges || 13 episodes
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|0675723|Bill Pertwee}}
*{{British Comedy Guide|people|bill_pertwee}}
* {{Discogs artist|Bill Pertwee}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pertwee, Bill}}
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:Actors educated at Frensham Heights School]]
[[Category:Actors from Amersham]]
[[Category:Comedians from Buckinghamshire]]
[[Category:Comedians from Cornwall]]
[[Category:English male comedians]]
[[Category:English male radio actors]]
[[Category:English male television actors]]
[[Category:English people of Brazilian descent]]
[[Category:English writers]]
[[Category:Male actors from Buckinghamshire]]
[[Category:Male actors from Cornwall]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Buckinghamshire]]
[[Category:People from Truro]]
[[Category:Pertwee family|Bill]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force airmen]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force personnel of World War II]]