Peter Sallis, who voiced Wallace in the “Wallace & Gromit” films and co-starred on the British comedy series “Last of the Summer Wine,” died on Friday. He was 96.
His agents said in a statement: “It is with sadness that we announce that our client Peter Sallis died peacefully, with his family by his side, at Denville Hall on Friday, June 2.”
Sallis portrayed Norman Clegg as part of the original cast on “Summer Wine,” Britain’s longest-running sitcom. He played the role from the show’s first episode in 1973 through its finale in 2010.
He is also known for voicing the cheese-adoring Wallace in Nick Park’s “Wallace & Gromit” animated films. He originated the role in 1989’s short “A Grand Day Out,” followed by “The Wrong Trousers” (1993) and “A Close Shave” (1995). The latter two both won Oscar and BAFTA awards.
He reprised the character in the 2005 feature-length film “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit,” which earned the Oscar for best animated film. Sallis most recently voiced Wallace in 2008’s “A Matter of Loaf and Death.”