Monday 9 September 2013

Peter Greene





Peter Greene: 

October 28 1945 - March 19 2009

Here's a difficult one. I'm assuming with fingers crossed that Mr Greene is still with us, but I haven't been able to verify it. Things are confused by the fact that there is another Peter Greene in the movies (the American one who played bad guy Zed in 'Pulp Fiction'). 
The one I'm saluting here is the lanky red-headed chap you've seen playing the clueless chaplain of St Swithin's Hospital in ITV's 'Doctor in Charge', or perhaps as Grace Brothers' resident boffin, demonstrating a dummy that drops its own trousers in 'Are You Being Served?'.  


Chrissie's pipe-smoking boyfriend in 'Man About the House'


He appeared in two episodes of 'The Young Ones': as a teacher in a 'Grange Hill' spoof scene with Ben Elton; and as the vicar in Rik's favourite sitcom 'Oh Crikey!'


As the man from the BBC in the 'Dad's Army' skit from
'A Christmas Night With The Stars' in 1972 

The trail goes cold with this sketchy imdb snippet from 2002: 'Works for an independent research company, but still does corporate work and directs local shows.' 



Postscript and apologia:
In my initial post, I inexcusably gave Mr Greene the credit for one of British cinema's finest 'Fwooooaarr!'s as Henry the clumsy ambulance driver in 'Carry On Doctor' (1967)Click here.  This is of course the late Peter Gilmore. I'm indebted to r lewis for the correction.

*Further postscript:
Sorry to hear, via the contribution in comments below, that Peter Greene passed away in 2009  

7 comments:

  1. This is all wrong! You're confusing Peter Greene with the actor Peter Gilmore who's the ambulance guy in the Carry On clip. Gilmore went on to star in The Onedin Line

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  2. Blimey. What a clanger. You're quite right,of course. Will make changes accordingly.

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  3. There is definitely a resemblance between the 2 Peters. I only spotted this because I've gotten a bit obsessed with the movie version of Oh What A Lovely War in which Gilmore appears as a sarcastic WW1 Tommy. Amazing to think he was filming this alongside appearing in Carry On Up The Khyber as Private Ginger Hale!

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  4. I knew Peter Greene as Peter Birch, his real name, worked with him in the research company he was a gas, Sadly he had a stroke and died in 2009 aged 63, he had hundreds attend his funeral though and was much loved

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  5. He was my Grandmother's nephew Peter Birch and took on his Mother's maiden name Greene as his stage name.I remember meeting him as a young girl when visiting my great Aunt Margie.

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  6. I met Peter a couple of times in the 1960s down in Ramsgate where he was in summer season in a couple of comedy plays. At the time he was dating my sister Laurie, who also in the same plays. A real nice guy. A great shame he passed away so young.

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  7. I worked with Peter in 1967 for the summer season at the Spa Theatre in Bridlington Yorks. in a repetoire of truly exerable "farces". He and I shared a flat and got on very well for the whole of the run, he was a lovely man, very funny and charming.

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