British actor Peter Sallis, who played irrepressible, cheese-loving inventor Wallace in the "Wallace and Gromit" cartoons, has died, his agent said Monday. He was 96.
Sallis' talent agency, Jonathan Altaras Associates, said he died Friday at a retirement home for actors in London.
Born in London in 1921, Sallis began his working life in a bank, but caught the acting bug as a Royal Air Force serviceman during World War II. After the war, he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and built up a diverse career onstage and in British film and television.
He became famous in Britain as a star of the long-running sitcom "Last of the Summer Wine." Sallis was proud to have appeared in every episode during the show's 37-year run.
Millions around the world know his voice from animator Nick Park's "Wallace and Gromit," which charted the adventures of a cheese-loving Yorkshireman with a passion for inventing wild contraptions and his level-headed, silent dog, Gromit.
With their old-fashioned stop-motion animation and lightly anarchic British humor, Park's short films, feature and BBC series gained fans around the world.
Two of the films, "The Wrong Trousers" and "A Close Shave" won Academy Awards.
The bald, green-vested character Sallis voiced between 1989 and 2010 was instantly recognizable from his down-to-earth Yorkshire accent and frequent exclamation of "Cheese, Gromit!"
Park said Sallis "was always my first and only choice for Wallace."
"He brought his unique gift and humor to all that he did, and encapsulated the very British art of the droll and understated," he said.
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More