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{{short description|British opera singer and actor}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
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[[Image:peter-pratt-as-bunthorne.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Peter Pratt as Bunthorne in ''[[Patience (opera)|Patience]]'']]
[[Image:peter-pratt-as-bunthorne.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Peter Pratt as Bunthorne in ''[[Patience (opera)|Patience]]'']]

'''Peter Pratt''' (21 March 1923 – 11 January 1995) was an English actor and singer. He was best known for his comic roles in the [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] [[comic opera]]s.
'''Peter Pratt''' (21 March 1923 – 11 January 1995) was an English actor and singer. He was best known for his comic roles in the [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] [[comic opera]]s.


Pratt started his career in the chorus of the [[D'Oyly Carte Opera Company]] in 1945, moving up to small roles and then understudying [[Martyn Green]], the principal comedian. From 1951 to 1959, he was the company's principal comedian, earning critical praise in the famous "[[patter song|patter]]" roles. After leaving the company, he moved on to a career in theatre, television, concert and radio, although he continued to perform the Gilbert and Sullivan roles throughout his career.
Pratt started his career in the chorus of the [[D'Oyly Carte Opera Company]] in 1945, moving up to small roles and then understudying [[Martyn Green]], the principal comedian. From 1951 to 1959, he was the company's principal comedian, earning critical praise in the famous "[[patter song|patter]]" roles. After leaving the company, he moved on to a career in theatre, television, concert and radio, although he continued to perform the Gilbert and Sullivan roles throughout his career.

Among his television roles Pratt was the second actor to play [[The Master (Doctor Who)|the Master]] in the [[science fiction]] series ''[[Doctor Who]]''.


==Biography==
==Biography==
Line 12: Line 15:
===D'Oyly Carte years===
===D'Oyly Carte years===
[[File:Skitch-mikado.jpg|right|thumb|[[Jeffrey Skitch]] (l) with [[Fisher Morgan]] and Pratt (r) in ''[[The Mikado]]'']]
[[File:Skitch-mikado.jpg|right|thumb|[[Jeffrey Skitch]] (l) with [[Fisher Morgan]] and Pratt (r) in ''[[The Mikado]]'']]
Peter Pratt joined the [[D'Oyly Carte Opera Company]] in the chorus in September 1945, at the age of 22. He began to play small roles with the company in 1947, including Go-To in ''[[The Mikado]]''. In the 1948&ndash;49 season, he became second understudy to [[Martyn Green]] and continued to play several of the smaller roles, including Bouncer in ''[[Cox and Box]]'', Bill Bobstay in ''[[H.M.S. Pinafore]]'' and Major Murgatroyd in ''[[Patience (opera)|Patience]]''.<ref name=memories/> He got his big break when he was called upon to play Robin Oakapple in ''[[Ruddigore]]'' on short notice in May 1949 (and several of the other "patter" roles that summer), when both Green and the principal understudy fell ill.<ref name=Ayre311/> He was soon given the primary understudy responsibilities, filling in for most of the comic "patter" roles, as well as playing several of the other smaller roles from time to time.<ref name=Who>Stone, David. [http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/whowaswho/P-Q/PrattPeter.htm Peter Pratt] at ''Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company (2007)</ref>
Peter Pratt joined the [[D'Oyly Carte Opera Company]] in the chorus in September 1945, at the age of 22. He began to play small roles with the company in 1947, including Go-To in ''[[The Mikado]]''. In the 1948&ndash;49 season, he became second understudy to [[Martyn Green]] and continued to play several of the smaller roles, including Bouncer in ''[[Cox and Box]]'', Bill Bobstay in ''[[H.M.S. Pinafore]]'' and Major Murgatroyd in ''[[Patience (opera)|Patience]]''.<ref name=memories/> He got his big break when he was called upon to play Robin Oakapple in ''[[Ruddigore]]'' on short notice in May 1949 (and several of the other "patter" roles that summer), when both Green and the principal understudy fell ill.<ref>Ayre, p. 311</ref> He was soon given the primary understudy responsibilities, filling in for most of the comic "patter" roles, as well as playing several of the other smaller roles from time to time.<ref name=Who>Stone, David. [http://www.gsarchive.net/whowaswho/P-Q/PrattPeter.htm Peter Pratt] at ''Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company'' (2007)</ref>


In September 1951, exactly six years after joining the company, Pratt became the principal comedian following Green's departure,<ref>''The Times'', 31 Augusts 1951, p. 7, col. B</ref> and he served in that capacity for the next eight seasons, playing Sir Joseph Porter in ''Pinafore'', the Major-General in ''[[The Pirates of Penzance]]'', Bunthorne in ''Patience'', the Lord Chancellor in ''[[Iolanthe]]'', Ko-Ko in ''The Mikado'', Robin in ''Ruddigore'', Jack Point in ''[[The Yeomen of the Guard]]'', the Duke of Plaza-Toro in ''[[The Gondoliers]]'' and King Gama in ''[[Princess Ida]]''.<ref name=Who/><ref>Pratt never played Wells on stage, since the company did not perform ''The Sorcerer'' from 1939 until 1970; its costumes and sets for the show were destroyed in the London blitz in 1940.</ref> In 1953, his first London season as principal comedian, ''[[The Times]]'' reviewed him in the role of the Lord Chancellor: "Mr. Peter Pratt... had a good delivery, a quiet manner, and a nimble pair of legs that contrasted suddenly and superbly with his dry demeanour. He refrained from overplaying the part".<ref>"Sadler's Wells Theatre: ''Iolanthe''", ''The Times'', 23 June 1953, p. 2, col. F</ref> In reviewing a 1956 ''Ruddigore'', ''The Times'' wrote, "Mr. Pratt showed true operatic talent in the [twin roles] changing the colour of his tone and the expression of his face with decisive skill."<ref>"Princes Theatre: ''Ruddigore''", ''The Times'', 4 December 1956, p. 3, col. A</ref> In a 1957 review, a correspondent for ''The Times'' called Pratt's Jack Point, in ''Yeomen'', "very human, not over-dramatized".<ref>"The Lasting Charm of Gilbert and Sullivan", ''The Times'', 14 February 1957, p. 5</ref>
In September 1951, exactly six years after joining the company, Pratt became the principal comedian following Green's departure,<ref>''The Times'', 31 Augusts 1951, p. 7, col. B</ref> and he served in that capacity for the next eight seasons, playing Sir Joseph Porter in ''Pinafore'', the Major-General in ''[[The Pirates of Penzance]]'', Bunthorne in ''Patience'', the Lord Chancellor in ''[[Iolanthe]]'', Ko-Ko in ''The Mikado'', Robin in ''Ruddigore'', Jack Point in ''[[The Yeomen of the Guard]]'', the Duke of Plaza-Toro in ''[[The Gondoliers]]'' and King Gama in ''[[Princess Ida]]''.<ref name=Who/><ref>Pratt never played Wells on stage, since the company did not perform ''The Sorcerer'' from 1939 until 1970; its costumes and sets for the show were destroyed in the London blitz in 1940.</ref> In 1953, his first London season as principal comedian, ''[[The Times]]'' reviewed him in the role of the Lord Chancellor: "Mr. Peter Pratt... had a good delivery, a quiet manner, and a nimble pair of legs that contrasted suddenly and superbly with his dry demeanour. He refrained from overplaying the part".<ref>"Sadler's Wells Theatre: ''Iolanthe''", ''The Times'', 23 June 1953, p. 2, col. F</ref> In reviewing a 1956 ''Ruddigore'', ''The Times'' wrote, "Mr. Pratt showed true operatic talent in the [twin roles] changing the colour of his tone and the expression of his face with decisive skill."<ref>"Princes Theatre: ''Ruddigore''", ''The Times'', 4 December 1956, p. 3, col. A</ref> In a 1957 review, a correspondent for ''The Times'' called Pratt's Jack Point, in ''Yeomen'', "very human, not over-dramatized".<ref>"The Lasting Charm of Gilbert and Sullivan", ''The Times'', 14 February 1957, p. 5</ref>
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===Later years===
===Later years===
After leaving the D'Oyly Carte organisation, Pratt turned his attention to theatre, television, concert, and radio work. In 1964, for example, he appeared in ''All in Love'', a musical based on [[Richard Brinsley Sheridan|Sheridan]]'s ''[[The Rivals]]''.<ref>"Sheridan Play Turned into a Musical", ''The Times'', 17 February 1964, p. 14, col. B</ref> In 1965, he was seen in the comic play ''[[A Month in the Country (play)|A Month in the Country]]'' at the Cambridge Theatre in London.<ref>"Behind the Glitter of a Theatre Opening", ''The Times'', 3 June 1965, p. 17</ref> He was a member of the [[BBC]] Drama Repertory Company in the early 1960s.<ref>Roberto, John Rocco. [http://www.historyvortex.org/SixFaces.html "The Six Faces of The Master: A Chronological History of The Doctor’s Greatest Enemy"], Visagraph Films International (2003)</ref>
After leaving the D'Oyly Carte organisation, Pratt turned his attention to theatre, television, concert, and radio work. In 1964, for example, he appeared in ''All in Love'', a musical based on [[Richard Brinsley Sheridan|Sheridan]]'s ''[[The Rivals]]''.<ref>"Sheridan Play Turned into a Musical", ''The Times'', 17 February 1964, p. 14, col. B</ref> In 1965, he was seen in the comic play ''[[A Month in the Country (play)|A Month in the Country]]'' at the Cambridge Theatre in London.<ref>"Behind the Glitter of a Theatre Opening", ''The Times'', 3 June 1965, p. 17</ref> He was a member of the [[Radio Drama Company|BBC Drama Repertory Company]] in the early 1960s.<ref>Roberto, John Rocco. [http://www.historyvortex.org/SixFaces.html "The Six Faces of The Master: A Chronological History of The Doctor’s Greatest Enemy"], Visagraph Films International (2003)</ref>


In 1966, [[BBC Radio]] presented a complete cycle of the thirteen extant Gilbert and Sullivan operas, with dialogue, with Pratt starring in ten of them and working behind the scenes as co-producer. Pratt became possibly the first professional since early in the 20th century to have sung leading roles in all thirteen Gilbert and Sullivan operas when he recorded ''[[Utopia Limited]]'' (as King Paramount) and ''[[The Grand Duke]]'' (as Rudolph) for that series.<ref name=Ayre311>Ayre, p. 311. This feat was accomplished by [[Henry Lytton]] (see Stone, David. [http://www.gsarchive.net/whowaswho/L/LyttonHenryA.htm "Henry A. Lytton"], ''Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, 30 November 2005, accessed 1 January 2018); [[Rutland Barrington]] (see Stone, David. [http://www.gsarchive.net/whowaswho/B/BarringtonRutland.htm "Rutland Barrington"], ''Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, 27 July 2002, accessed 1 January 2018); and [[Charles Walenn]] (see Stone, David. [http://www.gsarchive.net/whowaswho/W/WalennCharlesR.htm "Charles R. Walenn"], Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, 29 December 2007, accessed 3 January 2018</ref><ref>Shepherd, Marc. [http://gasdisc.oakapplepress.com/narradio.htm#bbc "The G&S Operas on Radio"], ''Gilbert and Sullivan Discography'', 10 September 2008, accessed 9 December 2016. It is possible that someone at the [[American Savoyards]] or [[J. C. Williamson]] company had sung roles in all of the operas in the decades prior to Pratt.</ref> His love of [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] continued during his later career, and he frequently turned to their operas for inspiration. As a writer, narrator, and performer he presented a television play called ''Jack Point'' (1973), and radio programmes such as ''Afternoon at the Savoy'', ''Evening at the Savoy'', and ''Take a Sparkling Pair''. Pratt also toured his own companies, "Music Mosaic" and "The World of Gilbert and Sullivan" presenting Gilbert and Sullivan and other works to audiences in Britain, North America, and Australia.<ref name=Who/><ref>Joseph, Tony. "Obituaries: Ralph Mason", ''Gilbert & Sullivan News'', Vol. V, No.12, Autumn/Winter 2016, p. 18</ref> He appeared in a full costume production of ''The Mikado'' at [[Royal Albert Hall]]. As part of the 1975 centennial season, before the first of the four performances of ''Trial by Jury'', a specially-written curtain raiser by [[William Douglas-Home]], called ''Dramatic Licence'', was played by Pratt as [[Richard D'Oyly Carte]], [[Kenneth Sandford]] as Gilbert and [[John Ayldon]] as Sullivan, in which Gilbert, Sullivan and Carte plan the birth of ''Trial'' in 1875.<ref>Forbes, Elizabeth. [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/kenneth-sandford-550525.html Kenneth Sandford obituary,] ''The Independent'', 23 September 2004</ref>
In 1966, [[BBC Radio]] presented a complete cycle of the thirteen extant Gilbert and Sullivan operas, with dialogue, with Pratt starring in ten of them and working behind the scenes as co-producer.<ref>Shepherd, Marc. [http://gasdisc.oakapplepress.com/narradio.htm#bbc "The G&S Operas on Radio"], ''Gilbert and Sullivan Discography'', 10 September 2008, accessed 9 December 2016</ref> His love of [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] continued during his later career, and he frequently turned to their operas for inspiration. As a writer, narrator, and performer he presented a television play called ''Jack Point'' (1973), and radio programmes such as ''Afternoon at the Savoy'', ''Evening at the Savoy'', and ''Take a Sparkling Pair''. Pratt also toured his own companies, "Music Mosaic" and "The World of Gilbert and Sullivan" presenting Gilbert and Sullivan and other works to audiences in Britain, North America, and Australia.<ref name=Who/><ref>Joseph, Tony. "Obituaries: Ralph Mason", ''Gilbert & Sullivan News'', Vol. V, No.12, Autumn/Winter 2016, p. 18</ref> He appeared in a full costume production of ''The Mikado'' at [[Royal Albert Hall]]. As part of the 1975 centennial season, before the first of the four performances of ''Trial by Jury'', a specially-written curtain raiser by [[William Douglas-Home]], called ''Dramatic Licence'', was played by Pratt as [[Richard D'Oyly Carte]], [[Kenneth Sandford]] as Gilbert and [[John Ayldon]] as Sullivan, in which Gilbert, Sullivan and Carte plan the birth of ''Trial'' in 1875.<ref>Forbes, Elizabeth. [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/kenneth-sandford-550525.html Kenneth Sandford obituary], ''The Independent'', 23 September 2004</ref>


In 1976, Pratt appeared in the [[BBC]] science fiction television series ''[[Doctor Who]]''. He was cast as the second actor to play [[The Master (Doctor Who)|the Master]], replacing the late [[Roger Delgado]], for the serial ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]''. Pratt was chosen for his strong voice because the character's face was unseen for most of the serial and, even when seen, the actor was required to deliver clear dialogue through the thick face mask he wore. In 1977, Pratt appeared with [[Hinge and Bracket]] in an episode of "The Stackton Music Festival, A sonic jamboree" for BBC Radio.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04nd4k2 "The Stackton Music Festival"], ''The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket'', Series 1 Episode 4 of 13, BBC (2014)</ref> In 1981, he toured with a group called the "London Savoyards".<ref>''The Times'', 13 November 1981, p. XIV, col. H</ref> He also appeared as a soloist in the concert video recording "Gilbert & Sullivan Present their Greatest Hits," made at Royal Albert Hall in 1982.
In 1976, Pratt appeared in the serial ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'' from the [[BBC]]'s long-running science fiction television series ''[[Doctor Who]]'', replacing the late [[Roger Delgado]] to become the second actor to play [[The Master (Doctor Who)|the Master]].<ref name=DrWho2>Ware, Peter. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/episodes/2007/facts/fact_311.shtml "Fact File: Utopia"], [[BBC]], accessed 31 May 2020</ref> Pratt received praise for the performance, which relied heavily on his voice because of the restrictive nature of his mask and costume.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/deadlyassassin/detail.shtml | title= The Deadly Assassin | work=BBC Online | accessdate=12 October 2020}}</ref> In 1977, Pratt appeared with [[Hinge and Bracket]] in an episode of "The Stackton Music Festival, A sonic jamboree" for BBC Radio.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04nd4k2 "The Stackton Music Festival"], ''The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket'', Series 1 Episode 4 of 13, BBC (2014)</ref> In 1981, he toured with a group called the "London Savoyards".<ref>''The Times'', 13 November 1981, p. XIV, col. H</ref> He also appeared as a soloist in the concert video recording "Gilbert & Sullivan Present their Greatest Hits," made at Royal Albert Hall in 1982.


Pratt died in London in 1995, aged 71.
Pratt died in London in 1995, aged 71.
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==Filmography==
==Filmography==
*''The Stackton Music Festival'' The Enchanting World of Hinge & Bracket TV – Himself
*''The Stackton Music Festival'' The Enchanting World of Hinge & Bracket TV – Himself
* ''[[The Ordeal of Richard Feverel (TV series)|The Ordeal of Richard Feverel]]'' (1964) TV – Peter Brayder
*''The Edwardians'' (1972) TV – Charlie Coburn
*''The Edwardians'' (1972) TV – Charlie Coburn
*''[[Van der Valk (TV series)|Van der Valk]]'' Blue Notes (1972) TV – Westermann
*''[[Van der Valk (1972 TV series)|Van der Valk]]'' Blue Notes (1972) TV – Westermann
*''[[Murder Must Advertise]]'' (1973) TV – Mr. Pym
*''[[Murder Must Advertise]]'' (1973) TV – Mr. Pym
*''The Brontes of Haworth'' (1973) TV – Mr. Woolven
*''The Brontes of Haworth'' (1973) TV – Mr. Woolven
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* {{IMDb name|id=0695523|name=Peter Pratt}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0695523|name=Peter Pratt}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070926234403/http://www.hostultra.com/~daisybtoes/Koko2.html Photos of Pratt as Ko-Ko and "The Master"]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070926234403/http://www.hostultra.com/~daisybtoes/Koko2.html Photos of Pratt as Ko-Ko and "The Master"]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090329084553/http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/iolanthe/doc_prod/doc_iol.html Photo of Pratt in ''Iolanthe'']
*[https://www.gsarchive.net/iolanthe/doc_prod/doc_iol.html Photo of Pratt in ''Iolanthe'']{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:1923 births]]
[[Category:1923 births]]
[[Category:1995 deaths]]
[[Category:1995 deaths]]
[[Category:Gilbert and Sullivan performers]]
[[Category:20th-century British male opera singers]]
[[Category:English male stage actors]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:English opera singers]]
[[Category:Classical music radio presenters]]
[[Category:Classical music radio presenters]]
[[Category:People from Eastbourne]]
[[Category:English male stage actors]]
[[Category:English male television actors]]
[[Category:English male television actors]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from Eastbourne]]
[[Category:20th-century English singers]]
[[Category:20th-century opera singers]]

Latest revision as of 22:53, 8 March 2024

Peter Pratt as Bunthorne in Patience

Peter Pratt (21 March 1923 – 11 January 1995) was an English actor and singer. He was best known for his comic roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas.

Pratt started his career in the chorus of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in 1945, moving up to small roles and then understudying Martyn Green, the principal comedian. From 1951 to 1959, he was the company's principal comedian, earning critical praise in the famous "patter" roles. After leaving the company, he moved on to a career in theatre, television, concert and radio, although he continued to perform the Gilbert and Sullivan roles throughout his career.

Among his television roles Pratt was the second actor to play the Master in the science fiction series Doctor Who.

Biography[edit]

Pratt was born and grew up in Eastbourne, England, where he began to study singing as a child and was a soloist in his church choir. He was also involved in amateur theatrical societies.[1]

D'Oyly Carte years[edit]

Jeffrey Skitch (l) with Fisher Morgan and Pratt (r) in The Mikado

Peter Pratt joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in the chorus in September 1945, at the age of 22. He began to play small roles with the company in 1947, including Go-To in The Mikado. In the 1948–49 season, he became second understudy to Martyn Green and continued to play several of the smaller roles, including Bouncer in Cox and Box, Bill Bobstay in H.M.S. Pinafore and Major Murgatroyd in Patience.[1] He got his big break when he was called upon to play Robin Oakapple in Ruddigore on short notice in May 1949 (and several of the other "patter" roles that summer), when both Green and the principal understudy fell ill.[2] He was soon given the primary understudy responsibilities, filling in for most of the comic "patter" roles, as well as playing several of the other smaller roles from time to time.[3]

In September 1951, exactly six years after joining the company, Pratt became the principal comedian following Green's departure,[4] and he served in that capacity for the next eight seasons, playing Sir Joseph Porter in Pinafore, the Major-General in The Pirates of Penzance, Bunthorne in Patience, the Lord Chancellor in Iolanthe, Ko-Ko in The Mikado, Robin in Ruddigore, Jack Point in The Yeomen of the Guard, the Duke of Plaza-Toro in The Gondoliers and King Gama in Princess Ida.[3][5] In 1953, his first London season as principal comedian, The Times reviewed him in the role of the Lord Chancellor: "Mr. Peter Pratt... had a good delivery, a quiet manner, and a nimble pair of legs that contrasted suddenly and superbly with his dry demeanour. He refrained from overplaying the part".[6] In reviewing a 1956 Ruddigore, The Times wrote, "Mr. Pratt showed true operatic talent in the [twin roles] changing the colour of his tone and the expression of his face with decisive skill."[7] In a 1957 review, a correspondent for The Times called Pratt's Jack Point, in Yeomen, "very human, not over-dramatized".[8]

Pratt suffered an illness in the spring of 1959, and in May he announced that he had decided not to rejoin the company the next season.[9] His last appearance with the company was on 30 May 1959. During his tenure with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, Pratt recorded the roles of Major Murgatroyd (Patience, 1951), John Wellington Wells (The Sorcerer, 1953), King Gama (Princess Ida, 1955), Ko-Ko (The Mikado, 1957), and Major-General Stanley (Pirates, 1957).[3]

Later years[edit]

After leaving the D'Oyly Carte organisation, Pratt turned his attention to theatre, television, concert, and radio work. In 1964, for example, he appeared in All in Love, a musical based on Sheridan's The Rivals.[10] In 1965, he was seen in the comic play A Month in the Country at the Cambridge Theatre in London.[11] He was a member of the BBC Drama Repertory Company in the early 1960s.[12]

In 1966, BBC Radio presented a complete cycle of the thirteen extant Gilbert and Sullivan operas, with dialogue, with Pratt starring in ten of them and working behind the scenes as co-producer.[13] His love of Gilbert and Sullivan continued during his later career, and he frequently turned to their operas for inspiration. As a writer, narrator, and performer he presented a television play called Jack Point (1973), and radio programmes such as Afternoon at the Savoy, Evening at the Savoy, and Take a Sparkling Pair. Pratt also toured his own companies, "Music Mosaic" and "The World of Gilbert and Sullivan" presenting Gilbert and Sullivan and other works to audiences in Britain, North America, and Australia.[3][14] He appeared in a full costume production of The Mikado at Royal Albert Hall. As part of the 1975 centennial season, before the first of the four performances of Trial by Jury, a specially-written curtain raiser by William Douglas-Home, called Dramatic Licence, was played by Pratt as Richard D'Oyly Carte, Kenneth Sandford as Gilbert and John Ayldon as Sullivan, in which Gilbert, Sullivan and Carte plan the birth of Trial in 1875.[15]

In 1976, Pratt appeared in the serial The Deadly Assassin from the BBC's long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who, replacing the late Roger Delgado to become the second actor to play the Master.[16] Pratt received praise for the performance, which relied heavily on his voice because of the restrictive nature of his mask and costume.[17] In 1977, Pratt appeared with Hinge and Bracket in an episode of "The Stackton Music Festival, A sonic jamboree" for BBC Radio.[18] In 1981, he toured with a group called the "London Savoyards".[19] He also appeared as a soloist in the concert video recording "Gilbert & Sullivan Present their Greatest Hits," made at Royal Albert Hall in 1982.

Pratt died in London in 1995, aged 71.

Personal life[edit]

Pratt was married to D'Oyly Carte soubrette Joyce Wright during his days with that company. He later married Patience Sheffield, a BBC drama Studio Manager and daughter of former D'Oyly Carte baritone Leo Sheffield.[3]

Filmography[edit]

  • The Stackton Music Festival The Enchanting World of Hinge & Bracket TV – Himself
  • The Ordeal of Richard Feverel (1964) TV – Peter Brayder
  • The Edwardians (1972) TV – Charlie Coburn
  • Van der Valk Blue Notes (1972) TV – Westermann
  • Murder Must Advertise (1973) TV – Mr. Pym
  • The Brontes of Haworth (1973) TV – Mr. Woolven
  • Menace The Solarium (1973) TV – Singer
  • Play for Today Jack Point (1973) TV – Fenner
  • Z-Cars Cadet (1973) TV – Fisherman
  • Fall of Eagles (1974) TV – Singer
  • Doctor Who The Deadly Assassin (1976) TV – The Master
  • The Story of Ruth (1981) – Dr. Peter Ferris
  • Squadron The Veteran (1982) TV – Len Travis
  • The Best of Gilbert and Sullivan (1983) (V) – Soloist

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b Peter Pratt at the Memories of the D'Oyly Carte website
  2. ^ Ayre, p. 311
  3. ^ a b c d e Stone, David. Peter Pratt at Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company (2007)
  4. ^ The Times, 31 Augusts 1951, p. 7, col. B
  5. ^ Pratt never played Wells on stage, since the company did not perform The Sorcerer from 1939 until 1970; its costumes and sets for the show were destroyed in the London blitz in 1940.
  6. ^ "Sadler's Wells Theatre: Iolanthe", The Times, 23 June 1953, p. 2, col. F
  7. ^ "Princes Theatre: Ruddigore", The Times, 4 December 1956, p. 3, col. A
  8. ^ "The Lasting Charm of Gilbert and Sullivan", The Times, 14 February 1957, p. 5
  9. ^ "D'Oyly Carte to Lose Mr. Peter Pratt", The Times, 14 May 1959, p. 16, col. G
  10. ^ "Sheridan Play Turned into a Musical", The Times, 17 February 1964, p. 14, col. B
  11. ^ "Behind the Glitter of a Theatre Opening", The Times, 3 June 1965, p. 17
  12. ^ Roberto, John Rocco. "The Six Faces of The Master: A Chronological History of The Doctor’s Greatest Enemy", Visagraph Films International (2003)
  13. ^ Shepherd, Marc. "The G&S Operas on Radio", Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 10 September 2008, accessed 9 December 2016
  14. ^ Joseph, Tony. "Obituaries: Ralph Mason", Gilbert & Sullivan News, Vol. V, No.12, Autumn/Winter 2016, p. 18
  15. ^ Forbes, Elizabeth. Kenneth Sandford obituary, The Independent, 23 September 2004
  16. ^ Ware, Peter. "Fact File: Utopia", BBC, accessed 31 May 2020
  17. ^ "The Deadly Assassin". BBC Online. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  18. ^ "The Stackton Music Festival", The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket, Series 1 Episode 4 of 13, BBC (2014)
  19. ^ The Times, 13 November 1981, p. XIV, col. H

References[edit]

  • Ayre, Leslie (1972). The Gilbert & Sullivan Companion. London: W.H. Allen & Co Ltd. Introduction by Martyn Green.
  • Pedrick, Gale. "The Comedian Who Never has a Flop", Everybody's magazine, April 1959

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peter_Pratt&oldid=1212648532"