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Wallas Eaton

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Wallas Eaton
Born(1917-02-18)18 February 1917[1]
Leicester, Leicestershire, England[1]
Died3 November 1995(1995-11-03) (aged 78)[1]
Australia[1]
Other names • Wallace Eaton
 • Wallis Eaton
Occupationactor

Wallas Eaton (18 February 1917 – 3 November 1995),[1] sometimes credited as Wallace Eaton or Wallis Eaton,[2] was an English film, radio, television and theatre actor.

He is perhaps best remembered for his voice roles between 1949 and 1960 in the BBC radio-comedy serial Take It from Here.[1]

Early life and education

Eaton was born in Leicester, Leicestershire, England.[1] He was educated at the Alderman Newton School, and later would read History and English at Christ's College, Cambridge.

Career

Military service

Eaton joined the Army in 1940, and served with distinction during World War II, eventually becoming a major in charge of a searchlight battery.[1]

Acting

His first stage appearance was at the Theatre Royal in his home town of Leicester in 1936. Three years later he made his London debut playing the small part of the Announcer in "The Ascent of F6" at the Old Vic. The following year Eaton played the Second Priest in "Murder in the Cathedral" and he followed this what was his first comedy role, in "The Body Was Well Nourished".

In 1944 he appeared in "Too True To Be Good" at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith. Eaton enjoyed a series of good, if small, roles, including appearing alongside Vivien Leigh at the Phoenix in 1945, in Thornton Wilder's 'history of our world in comic strip', "The Skin of Our Teeth". In films, Eaton enjoyed a promising debut in Caesar and Cleopatra (1945) but thereafter the studios failed to capitalize on this and make the best use of him.

In addition to his work in radio on the long-running BBC radio comedy Take It from Here, Eaton appeared in over twenty-five films and over fifty television productions. He guest starred in 'The Young Doctors' in 1979 as Roland Perry, a rich friend of principal character Ada Simmonds.[2] He also made a few appearances in later episodes of the Australian television drama serial "A Country Practice".

Eaton had a promising debut for BBC Television in Arthur Askey's top- rated series "Before Your Very Eyes" in 1952, and though he had parts in "The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes" and later in the Frankie Howerd series "Up Pompeii", like his film career Eaton's television appearances were not very frequent.

Personal life

Eaton's favourite pastime was sailing, and made a trip to Australia in 1975 to pursue his interest, after which he settled there permanently.[1] He died in Australia in November 1995, aged 78.[1]

Selected filmography

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Gifford, Denis (9 December 1995). "Obituary: Wallas Eaton". The Independent. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Wallas Eaton 1917-1995". IMDb. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
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