Peter Collingwood
Peter Trevor Collingwood (6 May 1920 – 23 September 2016) was an English-born Australian actor who appeared on stage in England and Australia and in a number of British and Australian films, miniseries and serials from 1938 to 2003. Known for his portrayal of judges, military man and upper crust usually befuddled type's.
Biography
Peter Collingwood was born in Kent, England in 1920. He enrolled in the Embassy School of Acting at the Embassy Theatre (London) in 1937. His first professional acting job was in The Western Chamber, Chinese play, in 1938. During the Second World War he served in the British Navy and then on the Greek submarine Matrozos as liaison officer. After the war he joined Amersham Repertory Theatre, followed by the Young Vic Company and a number of other companies. In 1950 he married Margery Shaw. They moved to Perth Scotland where he worked for the Perth Repertory Company. During this time he wrote the farce Gathering Nuts which was performed by the company as well as by a number of other repertory companies. He returned with his family (daughter Julia, step-sons Christopher and Michael) to London in 1953 where he worked regularly on stage and in film and television. In 1961 with Margery and step-son Michael he traveled overland to Sri Lanka then by ship to Perth, Western Australia.
From late 1961 to 1963 he worked at the Perth Playhouse. The family returned to England for two years during which he appeared in a number of successful West end shows including 'Inadmissible Evidence', 'Meals on Wheels' and 'I Love you Mrs Patterson'. He emigrated to Australia, first living in Perth before settling in Sydney in Balmain, New South Wales, in 1967. He worked for many Sydney theatre companies including the Old Tote, Nimrod Theatre, Belvoir Theatre Company, Sydney Theatre Company, the Independent and between 1970 and 1972 he was director of the Marian Street Theatre.
Has appeared in numerous serial roles including Home and Away and Always Greener. [1]
Television roles also include Lord John Russell in Edward the Seventh and Mr. Dunkley in Are You Being Served?.
Collingwood retired in 2003 and died 23 September 2016 at the age of 96.[2]
Selected filmography
Appearances in movies
- River Beat (1954) - Coroner
- Up the Creek (1958) - Chippy
- Further Up the Creek (1958) - Chippy
- The Green Helmet (1961) - Charlie
- Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment (1966) - Geoffrey
- Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) - Colonel Fitzhubert
Appearances in miniseries
- The Timeless Land, ABC Television (Australia), 1980 - Governor Phillip
- Under Capricorn, 1982 - Governor
- Coral Island, 1983 - Reverend McNab
- The Dismissal, 1983 - Tun Abdul Razak
- A Difficult Woman, ABC Television (Australia), 1998 - Chris Fitzgerald
Notes and references
- ↑ Collingwood, Peter, 1920-; Waites, James, 1955- (2004), Interview with Peter Collingwood, actor [sound recording] / interviewer, James Waites
- ↑ http://tributes.smh.com.au/obituaries/smh-au/obituary.aspx?n=Peter-Trevor-COLLINGWOOD&pid=181628130