Peter Gilmore Passes On

Actor Peter Gilmore, who starred in the series The Onedin Line and many "Carry On" films, died on 3 February 2013 at the age of 81.

Peter Gilmore was born on  25 August 1931 in Leipzig, Germany to British parents. From when he was six years old he lived in Nunthorpe, Middlesborough, North Yorkshire. He studied at the Friends’ School in Great Ayton, North Yorkshire. He left school when he was 14 to work in London in a factory. It was after his National Service in the British Army he attended PARADA, a preparatory academy for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). He was expelled from the academy after two terms. He then began a career as a vocalist. He appeared with the George Mitchell Singers, Harry Secombe, and comic Al Read. From 1954 to 1956 he was with the Crazy Gang revue Jokers Wild at Victoria Palace Theatre. It was in the mid-Fifties that he began acting in commercials in the Republic of Ireland, West Germany, and the United States.

It was in 1958 he made his television debut in an episode of Ivanhoe. The executive producer of the show was Peter Rogers, the producer of the "Carry On" films. Over the next several years Mr. Gilmore appeared on the shows If the Crown Fits, The Rag Trade, and Emergency-Ward 10. He made his film debut in Bomb in the High Street (1961). In 1963 he appeared in his first "Carry On" film, Carry On Cabby. He went onto appear in Carry on Jack (1963), Carry on Cleo (1964), Carry on Cowboy (1966), Follow That Camel (1967), Carry on Doctor (1967), Carry On... Up the Khyber (1968), Carry On Again Doctor (1969),  and Carry on Henry VIII (1971).  During the Sixties he also appeared in such films as Every Day's a Holiday (1965), You Must Be Joking! (1965), Doctor in Clover (1966), The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery (1966), I've Gotta Horse (1966), The Jokers (1967), Oh! What a Lovely War (1969), and My Lover My Son (1970).

For most of the Seventies Peter Gilmore was the star of The Onedin Line. He also appeared on the series The Persuaders, Dead of Night, and The Main Chance. He appeared in the films Freelance (1971), The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971), and Warlords of Atlantis (1978). In the Eighties he starred on the show One by One. He appeared in the programmes The Manions of America, Doctor Who, and Haggard. He appeared in the film The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987). In the Nineties he appeared in his last "Carry On" film Carry On Columbus (1992). He appeared on the shows Casualty, Heartbeat, and Ruth Rendell Mysteries.

Peer Gilmore was fine actor who had a talent for both drama and comedy. I will always remember him for the "Carry On" films, where he had impeccable timing and a delivery that was perfect for comedy. At the same time, however, he did very well in his many years on The Onedin Line and the other dramatic roles in which he appeared. He was a versatile actor who could do a number of roles and do them all very well.