Peter Vaughan | |
---|---|
Born |
Peter Ewart Ohm 4 April 1923 Wem, Shropshire, England, United Kingdom |
Died | 6 December 2016 Mannings Heath, West Sussex, England, United Kingdom |
(aged 93)
Alma mater | Uttoxeter Grammar School |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1931–2015 |
Home town | Staffordshire, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom |
Spouse(s) |
Billie Whitelaw (1952–1966) Lillias Walker (until 2016; his death) |
Children | With Walker: 1 (step-daughter) |
Peter Vaughan (born Peter Ewart Ohm; 4 April 1923 – 6 December 2016) was a British character actor, known for many supporting roles in British film and television productions. He also worked extensively on the stage.
He was best known for his role as Grouty in the sitcom Porridge (despite appearing in only three episodes and the 1979 film) and also had a recurring role alongside Robert Lindsay in Citizen Smith, written by John Sullivan. He also had parts as Tom Franklin in Chancer (1990–91), playing the father of Anthony Hopkins's character in The Remains of the Day, and as Maester Aemon in HBO's Game of Thrones (2011–15).
He was born Peter Ewart Ohm on 4 April 1923, in Wem, Shropshire, the son of a bank clerk, Max Ohm, who was an Austrian immigrant, and Eva Wright, a nurse. The family later moved to Wellington in the same county, where he began schooling; he later said it was while reciting a poem at infant school in Wellington that he experienced the applause and admiration coming from a good performance. He was brought up from the age of seven in Staffordshire where he attended Uttoxeter Grammar School.
After leaving school he joined Wolverhampton Repertory theatre and gained experience in other repertory theatres before army service in the Second World War. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Royal Corps of Signals on 9 June 1943, and served in Normandy, Belgium and the Far East. At the end of the war, he was in Singapore and present during the liberation of Changi Prison.