Peter Coke

Infobox actor
name = Peter Coke
birthname = Peter John Coke
birthdate = 3 April 1913
birthplace = Southsea, Hampshire, England,
United Kingdom
deathdate = death date and age|2008|7|30|1913|4|3|df=yes
deathplace = Sharrington, Norfolk, England,
United Kingdom
occupation = Actor, playwright, artist
yearsactive = 1937 – 1988
domesticpartner = Fred Webb (died 2003)

Peter Coke (IPAEng|ˈkʊk) (3 April 1913 – 30 July 2008) was a British actor, playwright and artist.

Personal life

Peter John Coke was born in Southsea on 3 April 1913." [http://www.lastingtribute.co.uk/tribute/coke/2866230 Tribute to Peter Coke, memorial] ", "Lasting Tribute". URL last accessed 2008-08-01.] His father was a commander in the Navy, who took his family to Kenya to run a linen plantation, however, this venture failed and he began to run a coffee plantation. Coke was educated at Stowe School [" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7536818.stm Radio star Peter Coke dies at 95] ", "BBC News". URL last accessed 2008-08-01.] and later lived with his maternal grandmother in Menton, France." [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/2481462/Peter-Coke.html Obituaries: Peter Coke] ", "The Telegraph". URL last accessed 2008-08-01.]

Coke returned to England and took acting lessons from a grand actress in her eighties and was later admitted to study at RADA.

He lived with his partner Fred Webb for many years until Webb died in 2003. Coke died aged 95 at his home in Sharrington, Norfolk on 30 July 2008.

Career

Coke graduated from RADA aged 24 and was named one of the "Daily Mail"'s 'Stars of the Future'. He was also reportedly offered a seven year contract in Hollywood, though declined as he "will be a better actor in a few years, and Hollywood will still want him. If he goes now, he will be forgotten." Coke made his film debut in 1937's comedy "Missing, Believed Married" and later starred in 1938's "The Return of Carol Deane" and "Keep Smiling".

During World War II he served with the Royal Artillery in Italy and reached the rank of major. He was demobbed in 1944 and found that his time away from the cameras had affected his performance. He opened an antiques stall on Portobello market, later progressing to a shop on New King's Road. He returned to theatre in the 1940s, and in 1950 he started writing plays as a sideline. His first play, "The Isle of Umbrellas" (co-written with Mabel L Tyrell) was produced at the Embassy.

In 1954, Coke became the seventh actor to take the role of Paul Temple in the long-running radio drama series based on the novels of Francis Durbridge. The first radio play he starred in was "Paul Temple and the Gilbert Case". He played the role until 1968, when he appeared in "Paul Temple and the Alex Affair".

Between 1958 and 1988 he wrote eleven plays, including his most famous "Breath of Spring", which was successful in both the West End and Broadway. Coke continued to take film roles and television parts, including a minor role as Lt. Lashwood in "Carry On Admiral" in 1957.

Through his work with antiques, he became interested in shell art, and started to produce his own pieces. He had his own personal gallery next to his home at Sharrington Hall in Sharrington, Norfolk, where he worked daily producing pieces. In April 2006, he opened the Peter Coke Shell Gallery in part of the recently restored fishing sheds on West Cliff at Sheringham in north Norfolk. [" [http://www.northnorfolk.org/sheringhampreservation/default_1793.asp Peter Coke Shell Gallery] ", "Sheringham and District Preservation Society". URL last accessed 2008-08-01.] He later exhibited his works at the Sloane Club in Lower Sloane Street in December 2006. [" [http://web.ukonline.co.uk/suttonelms/articles27.html Peter Coke - After Paul Temple] ". URL last accessed 2008-08-01.]

Plays

* "The Isle of Umbrellas" (co-written by Mabel L Tyrell)
* "Breath of Spring" (1958)
* "Gentle Guardsmen" (1961)
* "Sleepy Mermaid" (1962)
* "Fool's Paradise" (1963)
* "In Confidence" (1964)
* "Face To Face" (1965)
* "Midsummer Mink" (1965)
* "The Man Who Wrote In Bed" (1968)
* "Taxpayers' Waltz" (1970)
* "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" (1978)
* "Autumn Manoeuvres" (1983)
* "Winter Glory" (1988)

References

External links

*
* [http://www.northnorfolk.org/sheringhampreservation/default_1793.asp The Peter Coke Shell Gallery]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbc7/listenagain/wednesday/rams/0900.ram "The Radio Detectives" - Send for Paul Temple] - streaming audio
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/2481462/Peter-Coke.html Peter Coke's obituary] at "The Telegraph"
* [http://www.thestage.co.uk/features/obituaries/feature.php/21542/peter-coke Obituary] in "The Stage"
* [http://www.lastingtribute.co.uk/tribute/coke/2866230 Peter Coke - Obituary and public tributes]

Persondata
NAME= Coke, Peter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Coke, Peter John
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Actor, playwright, artist
DATE OF BIRTH= 3 April 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH= Southsea, Hampshire, England
DATE OF DEATH= 30 July 2008
PLACE OF DEATH= Sharrington, Norfolk, England