 Last Of The Summer Wine
1 9 7 3 - 2 0 1 0 (UK)
Last Of The Summer Wine began life as a one-off episode
of the BBC's Comedy Playhouse entitled Of Funerals And
Fish, in January 1973. It now has the distinction of being
Britain's longest running comedy series.
 Dealing initially with the misadventures of three ageing
delinquents in the small Yorkshire town of Holmfirth, the series
initially featured philosophical humour revolving around the
original core trio of scruffy layabout Compo Simmonite (Bill
Owen), timid widower Norman Clegg (played by Peter Sallis - the
voice of Wallace in Wallace and Gromit) and Cyril Blamire (Michael
Bates - who had previously appeared blacked-up in It Ain't Half
Hot, Mum).
Dad's Army had demonstrated that veteran actors could
bring out the best in a comedy script, and the three (slightly
younger) stars of Last Of The Summer Wine provided further
proof.
The trio steadfastly refused to grow old gracefully and instead
embraced an almost child-like retirement devoted to acting on
their slightest whims and indulging in wry discourse on the nature
of the universe - all set against the breath-taking backdrop of
Yorkshire's legendary scenic beauty.
Following Michael Bates' untimely death, another British
television veteran joined the show - Brian Wilde (best known as
Mr. Barroclough from Porridge) came aboard as the pompous,
yarn spinning Foggy Dewhurst. With Foggy on board the show scaled
new heights, and this trio came to be regarded as the classic
combination.
The introduction of a large supporting cast including some of
the industry's most accomplished character actors - including Dame
Thora Hird, Stephen Lewis (Blakey in On The Buses), Jean
Alexander (Hilda Ogden in Coronation Street) - and guest
appearances by performers such as the legendary Norman Wisdom,
ensured a consistent excellence in performance, and a continual
level of quality.
When Brian Wilde left the series he was replaced by the
character of ex-headmaster and oddball inventor, Seymour
Utterthwaite (Michael Aldridge). Wilde did return but was forced
to leave a second time due to ill health, this time to be replaced
by Are You Being Served? star Frank Thornton as yet another
inept authority figure, ex-police inspector, "Truly of the
Yard", Truelove.
But whichever trio was operating, there was always a fourth
star: the Yorkshire town of Holmfirth and its surroundings, which
were used as the location. Holmfirth possesses a timeless, stark
quality that contrasts with the surrounding sweeping countryside
and made it a favourite place for film and TV directors long
before Last Of The Summer Wine came along.
However, the success of the show (after a slow start, it became
a ratings smash) really put Holmfirth into the public
consciousness and since the 1980s it has become a regular and
popular stop on the tourist map.
In a case of life imitating art, certain aspects of the village
eventually took on their TV roles: Ivy's café, for instance, was
actually a paint shop dressed for effect but eventually it was
turned into a real café to cash in on tourist interest.
Complementing the central trio and the superb location were a
bevy of minor characters drawn from Yorkshire folklore and
Clarke's distorted comedic imagination: formidable wives,
henpecked husbands, sexually-charged mistresses, inventors, pigeon
fanciers, balding Lotharios and more.
 The
largest of these larger-than-life caricatures was Nora Batty
(pictured at right), the daunting, uncompromising,
wrinkled-stocking housewife who, in Compo's lustful eye, was a
veritable sex-bomb.
Poor Nora had to use a broom to beat off the tiny, sex-starved
smelly one who launched himself at her in a frenzy of groping
hands, like an octogenarian octopus. Other recurring characters
included Nora's husband Wally, who was unconcerned over Compo's
advances, half hoping that he would succeed; and the ménage a
trois comprising Howard, his wife Pearl and his floozy
Marina.
As the show progressed some of these lesser characters enjoyed
ever greater roles, and when Thora Hird joined the cast the lads
finally found a permanent and serious threat to their shenanigans.
The sad death of Bill Owen on 12 July 1999 proved the greatest
trial for the successful series. By the time of his death Owen's
portrayal of Compo had earned him a place in the nation's
collective heart, and he idea of the series continuing without the
presence of Owen was unthinkable.
But following three sensitively written, brilliantly played
episodes dealing with the aftermath of Compo's death on his
friends, Owen was replaced by his own real-life son,
actor/producer, Tom Owen, as Compo's long lost son, Tom.
The transition was successful and the show continued into the
new millennium much as it had the last quarter of the previous
century.
Brian Wilde died in his sleep in March 2008, after suffering a
fall some weeks earlier. He was 80.
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