TOM OWEN INTERVIEW - JUNE 2002

A new one-man show pays tribute to the late Bill Owen from Last Of The Summer Wine.  Summer Wine Online talks to the show’s creator and star - Bill’s son Tom.
Note, our interview was previously published in the Yorkshire Post newspaper.

Tom Owen pauses for a second and stares into the middle distance.

“The reason I have done this is because so many words have been written about my father since he died, so many people have paid tribute - both here where he worked in Holmfirth, and in London, that I felt I needed to pay my own tribute, and this is it.”

Tom, 53, who plays Tom Simmonite in the popular TV series Last Of The Summer Wine, is talking about his one-man show 14x3 which opens in Holmfirth this week, and tours all over the country in the autumn.

The production tells the story of his father Bill – who played the lovable rogue Compo, for 27 years before he died in 1999.  And it is also the story of Tom who made television history by stepping into the role of Compo’s fictional son just three months after his father’s death.

“That was the most difficult step I have ever had to take both personally because of the emotion and professionally because I was having to follow Compo and how could anyone do that?

“It was a bizarre situation, almost surreal in a way and the only way I could tackle it was as a professional actor and not let myself get sidetracked – that’s what got me through.

“I also felt honoured and privileged that – by default – I went into the world’s longest running comedy series and helped turn something around that could have meant the end of the series. 

“And now things have settled down, I hope that our viewers accept me as part of the team and a character in my own right.  The cast and crew have been wonderful and Compo remains with us if only in spirit.”

We are chatting in a café theatre bar just minutes from the bungalow where Bill made his home during the years he played Compo.

Tom, who bears an uncanny resemblance to his father, speaks with the same rich, graveled, London accent and dresses off-camera with identical smart perfection, believes the venue is a natural choice for the show which premiered in Blackpool last year.  However he is keen to stress that his father’s life was not solely confined to the antics of his scruffy alter ego.

“Most people will remember Bill Owen for his portrayal of Compo but there was so much more to him than that geriatric Just William.  His career spanned over 60 years on stage, film and television,” - which is spookily similar to the employment history also enjoyed by his son…

Tom ventured into the acting profession when he was 16 years old and after homegrown theatrical success, followed in his father’s footsteps to Broadway where he played in a Royal Shakespeare Company production alongside the great British actor Donald Sinden  

Like his father, he also went into the film business and eventually moved to Hollywood to live with good friend Davy Jones from the popular sixties band, The Monkees.  Whilst there he did voice-overs for Hanna Barbara before returning to England.

He then taught at drama schools in the capital – displaying an identical interest in the country’s youth which earned his father an MBE - and set up his own company.  The acting had all but dried up before the call came to once again follow his father, this time into Summer Wine.

The similarities between father and son are obvious but they also extend beyond the professional - both actors had failed first marriages and affairs before settling down with other partners.  Bill was born in Acton.  Tom now lives there.  Both are/were strong believers in Socialism.

Tom said, reflectively: “There are many coincidences and similarities between my life and that of my father’s, and I explore that in the show - whose title is derived from the fact that my father was born on March 14, 1914 and weighed an incredible 14lbs.

“But we can’t ignore Summer Wine and this is also the story of how the series has kept us together even after my father’s death.”

Last Of The Summer Wine celebrates its 30^th anniversary this year. Tom believes its success lies in the fact it provides pure family escapism – and it never rains!  The series, he believes, will continue provided Roy Clarke continues to write, and the viewing figures stay up.

Tom, who is married to Mary and has two grown-up sons, said: “Summer Wine has evolved from being about three old men who talked about life to a show with 14 regulars who all come together in half an hour of pure, unexpurgated pleasure.  There is never any nastiness and the whole family can sit down to watch without fear of embarrassment.

“The viewing figures are good, even for the repeats, and we live in a country with an increasing elderly population – which accounts for a lot of our audience.  But I don’t think the series could continue without the writer Roy Clarke.  If he decides that he’s had enough, I think we will have to stop."