Peter Bowles

Peter John Bowles (16 October 1936 – 17 March 2022) was an English screen and stage actor. He gained prominence for television dramas such as Callan: A Magnum for Schneider and I, Claudius. He is however, best remembered for his roles in sitcoms and television comedy dramas, including: Rumpole of the Bailey, Only When I Laugh, To the Manor Born, The Bounder, The Irish R.M., Lytton's Diary, Executive Stress and Perfect Scoundrels.

Early life and education
Bowles was born in Kensington, London, England, but lived for a while at Boddington manor in Warwickshire, where his father Herbert Reginald Bowles, worked as a butler and chauffeur for David Margesson, 1st Viscount Margesson. His father was next employed as a valet-companion and chauffeur to Drogo Montagu, son of George Montagu, 9th Earl of Sandwich, and later butler to Montagu's widow, a daughter of Lord Beaverbrook.

Bowles' mother, Sarah Jane (née Harrison), was from Scotland, and served as a nanny to the family of the Duke of Argyll, before working for Beaverbrook's family in England, which is how they met.

In Nottingham, the family lived in the working-class area of Hyson Green. Bowles attended Berridge Road Juniors and High Pavement Grammar School.

Personal life and death
Bowles married Susan Bennett on 8 April 1961. The couple lived in Barnes, south-west London and had three children together.

Bowles died aged 85, on 17 March 2022, from cancer.

Awards and honours

 * RADA Scholarship (1954)
 * Madge Kendal Prize (1955)
 * Male Comedy Star Award (1983)
 * ITV Personality of the Year (1984)
 * The Golden Gate Award (San Francisco International Film Festival, 1993)
 * Hon. Doctor of Literature, for contributions to the theatre, television drama and entertainment. (Nottingham Trent University, 2002)

Books

 * Autobiography: Ask Me if I'm Happy (Simon & Schuster, 2010)
 * Behind the Curtain: The Job of Acting (Oberon Masters Series, 2012)