Wednesday 30 October 2013

Peter Blake



Peter Blake, actor, Dear John, Kirk St Moritz


Peter Blake: 

† Dec 8 1948 – Jul 21 2018

The tall dark and handsome type, from the same shelf as Paul Nicholas and David Essex perhaps, but not destined for top billing. Peter Blake is probably most remembered as the insufferably cocky Kirk St Moritz in the lonely hearts sitcom 'Dear John' with Ralph Bates and Belinda Lang. I seem to remember it being a genuinely jaw-dropping plot twist when Kirk was revealed to be the alter-ego of a timid sad-sack who lived with his elderly mother at the end of the series.
   

Other solid TV credits include 'Minder', 'The Professionals', 'Shoestring', 'Out', 'Bergerac', 'Agony' (as sleazy DJ Andy Evol), 'A Very Peculiar Practice' and a short stint in 'EastEnders' in 2010, playing Peggy Mitchell's love interest Ken Tate.
 

With Belinda Lang and the late Ralph Bates in 'Dear John'

With Barabara Windsor in 'EastEnders'

After drama school he started out in trendy stage productions like 'Jesus Christ Superstar', 'Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' and 'Rocky Horror', while snagging TV extra roles and working as a stage manager in Soho strip clubs. Perhaps his contacts there led to his first film part in the sex comedy 'Intimate Games' (1976) a typical affair with the usual mix of goose-pimpled dollybirds and veteran character actors (in this case, Mary Millington meets George Baker, Hugh Lloyd, Queenie Watts, and Johnny Vyvyan).   

Probably seeing some bosoms in 'Intimate Games' (1976)

In the forgotten office sitcom, 'Fiddlers Three'. A re-jigged version of 'The Squirrels'

An interesting aside: He was Eddie, the rock'n'roll revival Pepsi drinker in their successful '70s advertising campaign. Like this one.   

There was even a spin-off single… here's his performance on 'Top of the Pops'… Lipsmackin'


Peter Blake - imdb


4 comments:

  1. ...and one of the very few Familiar Unknowns to have appeared on TOTP!!!!!!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbcVmrcQk1M

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  2. There's already a link in the copy. And to the related Pepsi ad.

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  3. Does anyone happen to know what the cause of Peter's death was? Only 69.

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  4. I'm currently watching Dear John on DVD and it's got me googling up the actor who played Kirk St Moritz. Am saddened to read that he had passed away at a relatively young age only 4 years ago. Hope he is chatting up the chicks at his current cosmic address.

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