VO Artist Peter Hawkins Dies

Posted:
Jul 16, 2006

Peter Hawkins, the voice behind such classics as Bleep and Booster, Captain Pugwash, the original Bill and Ben the Flowerpot Men and others has died on July 8th. Doctor Who's Daleks and Cybermen and Hergé's Adventures of Tintin (Series) as well as Jimbo and the Jet Set were other showcases for his talents.

Born in London in 1924, Peter Hawkins was the son of a police inspector and enjoyed acting in school productions, then in troop shows, while serving with the Royal Navy during the Second World War. He trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, made his West End stage début as Joe Gorme in Sit Down a Minute, Adrian (Comedy Theatre, 1948) and was first seen on television as Albert Tuggeridge in a BBC adaptation of J.B. Priestley's The Good Companions (1949).

He was 82.

Born Peter John Hawkins in London on April 3, 1924, he was the narrator on Bleep and Booster (1963).

The Flowerpot Men was a 1950s children puppet show featuring two creatures with flowerpot legs.

Hawkins did all the voices for Captain Pugwash, a pirate cartoon series that ran from 1957 to 1966. These included Captain Pugwash, Master Mate, Pirate Barnabas, Pirate Willy and Tom the Cabin Boy. He provided the voice of Dennis in the 1990 animated series Penny Crayon.

He was the narrator of the 1983 animated series SuperTed and 1987's The Adventures of Spot (the British version). He both narrated and voiced various characters in Windfalls (1988).

Other cartoon series voiced by Hawkins included Tomfoolery (1970), The Adventures of Sir Prancelot (1972), The Perishers (1978), The Family-Ness (1984) and Jimbo and the Jet Set (1986).

For Sir Prancelot, he did all the voices. These included the title character, The Lady Hysteria, Master Girth, Bert and Harry, Count Otto Ze Blott, The French Customs Official, Luigi da Squigi, Duke Uglio, the Hippy, Otto's minions, Hakim, the Vizeer, The Caliph Haroon al Rachid, Ali Baba and the Jester (narrator)!

His live-action appearances included three seasons (1972-75) of the comedy sketch series Dave Allen at Large. He played such characters such as a cone-headed bishop, Friar Tuck and the captain of a Mexican firing squad.

Early in his career, Hawkins provided voices for the BBC children's puppet series The Woodentops and the voice of Mr. Turnip on the popular live BBC children's magazine program Whirligig.

In 1956, he married Rosemary Miller. Peter Hawkins is survived by his son Silas, also an actor and voice artist.