- Peter Hawkins
Infobox actor
name = Peter Hawkins
imagesize = 200px
caption = Peter Hawkins in 1996
birthname =
birthdate = birth date|1924|4|3|df=y
birthplace =
deathdate = Death date and age|2006|7|8|1924|4|3|df=yes
deathplace =
othername =
occupation =Voice Actor Peter John Hawkins (
3 April 1924 –8 July 2006 ) was an English actor and voice artist, whose voice may be more familiar than his name.Born in
London and a native ofBrixton , Hawkins' long association with British children's television began in 1952 when he voiced both Bill and Ben, theFlower Pot Men . He also provided all the voices for the animated series "Captain Pugwash " and "Bleep and Booster ", the latter of which was a regular feature of the long-running children's magazine series "Blue Peter " in the 1960s and early 70s.He voiced several characters on "
Doctor Who " in the show's early years, most notably theDalek s and the Cybermen. (download .) He was also the original voice of Zippy on "Rainbow" during the first year of its run (1972). Coincidently his replacement on "Rainbow",Roy Skelton , also went on to voice the Daleks. Hawkins and Skelton also voiced the Cybermen in "The Tenth Planet ".Hawkins was the original voice for the character of Frankie Mouse in the "fourth radio episode" of "
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ", originally broadcast in March 1978.Hawkins was also the owner of a fine art collection, including works by
Monet ,Pissarro , Sisley,Sutherland ,Epstein andElisabeth Frink . He also owned a collection of Japanese sword guards and was very keen on Japanese delicacy.Hawkins retired from the acting profession in 1992 due to illness [http://www.toonhound.com/sept2005.htm] , which also prevented him from contributing to any DVD release of "Doctor Who" outside of archive footage. He died in London, aged 82, on
8 July 2006 , coincidentally the same day that the 2006 season finale of "Doctor Who", "Doomsday", the first to feature Daleks and Cybermen confronting each other, was transmitted.Nicholas Briggs , the current voice of the Daleks, paid tribute to him in "Doctor Who Magazine ", praising him as the best Dalek voice artist, saying "...all of us who've provided Dalek voices over the last 40 years owe him a massive debt. None of us have been as good as Peter, but he supplied our inspiration. He was truly the Emperor of the Daleks." [cite journal|last=Briggs|first=Nicholas|authorlink=Nicholas Briggs|title=Peter Hawkins|journal=Doctor Who Magazine |issue=373|pages=7|publisher=Panini Comics |date=2006-09-13 cover date]References
External links
*imdb name|0370199
* [http://www.theregister.com/2006/07/20/dalek_voice_dies/ Voice of the Daleks dies at 82] Lester Haines (The Register ) Thursday 20th July 2006 10:35 GMT
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/news/2006/07/18/db1804.xml "Daily Telegraph" obituary]
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-2277196,00.html "Times" obituary]
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