Bill Owen - William "Compo" Simmonite

London born actor Bill Owen played Compo Simmonite in the Roy Clarke scripted Last of the Summer Wine. The character of "Compo" was that of a scruffy, working class, lad who had never really grown up.  From the tip of his woolly hat to the soles of his wellington boots, Compo was and will always be one of british Televisions most enduring and beloved characters.

it is unclear as to whether Compo ever really worked for a living, and it is suggested that the name Compo may have come from the nickname "Compensation" as he lived of money from some unspecified work releated injury. A bachelor, by nature if not design, he certainly had an interest in the opposite sex, and it was his pursuit of Nora Batty that added much of the comedy to the show. In fact it was said that the sight of Nora Batty dressed as a chorus girl which finished him off.

Compo fits in perfectly with his two companions, Clegg gives him someone to argue with and Blamire and Foggy give him much needed authority to fight against. One mystery which will never be solved is, what exactly did he have in the match box which so upset the ladies?

Bill Owen was born William John Owen Rowbotham in London on the 14th March 1914 and passed away on the 12th of July 1999. Bill Owen had a long and successful career in the British film industry during the second world war when he appeared in "Tank Patrol" 1941 and "The Way to the Stars" 1945 he did serve his country but was injured in a training accident and returned to acting. After the war he played drums and sang in bands in order to make ends meet and began acting again in local theatres around post war Britain.  In the golden era of the 40's, 50's and 60's Bill Owen carved out a career as a character and comic actor, appearing in everything from Sherlock Holmes" to the Carry on Movies. He appeared on TV in Coronation Street, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads, and Angels and Catweazle. After landing the role of Compo in Last of the Summer Wine he continued to appear, although not so often in other TV shows, including Brideshead Revisited, The Handmaids tale and tales of the Unexpected.

Bill owen could also write and one of his few screen play collaborations was on the film "Romance With a Double Bass" based on a Checkhov short story. He cowrote the screenplay with John Cleese and Connie Booth (who went on to write Fawlty Towers), interestingly the film also starred Adrew Sachs.

Bill Owen was married twice first to Edith Stevenson who he married in 1946 and divorced in 1964, they had two children, one of whome, Tom, went on to appear in Last of the Summer Wine, and Kathleen O Donoghue' who he married in 1977 and with whom he was happliy married until his death in 1999.

His last wish was fulfilled, when he was buried in Holmfirth, the location of Last of the Summer Wine in 1999.

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