William Wallis (20 November 1936 – 6 September 2013) was an English actor who appeared in numerous radio[3] and television roles,[4][5][6] as well as in the theatre.
Some of Wallis's most frequent appearances were on BBC Radio 4 for The Afternoon Play and the Classic Serial, but he was also in the cast of the long-running sketch show Week Ending, and in the first episode of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in 1978, originating the roles of Mr. Prosser and Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz. He reprised the latter in the second episode and in one episode of the second series; however, due to unavailability, the roles of Jeltz and (briefly) Prosser were taken over by Toby Longworth. He played Winston Hayballs in Peter Tinniswood's Winston series. He also featured as the third party in the "...is approached by Ivor Cutler" series of short humorous pieces, including playing the Miner, the Farmer and the Sheet Metal Worker.
Wallis also read audiobooks, among them unabridged productions of Robert Harris's first two novels about the life of Cicero, Imperium (2006) and Lustrum (2009). The third and final novel, Dictator (2015) was not published until after Wallis's death. Wallis's role as narrator was taken over by David Rintoul. He has also read several audiobooks in John Mortimer's "Rumpole of the Bailey" series.
Wallis had two children with his first wife, the cellist Jean Spalding, and two children with his second wife, Karen Wallis (née Mills), whom he married in 1979.[7] He suffered from multiple myeloma, a form of bone marrow cancer, but was able to continue performing in audio and radio work.[1] Wallis died at his home in Bath on 6 September 2013.[2][8]
