Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Compo’s Savile Row costume going up for auction
AN original ‘Compo’ costume from BBC sitcom Summer Wine is being auctioned.
The famous tramp-like outfit was worn by actor Bill Owen in the series which ran for nearly 300 episodes over four decades.
The scruffy trousers, jumper, jacket, knitted cap and rope belt were designed to look shabby – but were actually made for the BBC at a tailor’s in London’s Savile Row.
Items from the estates of the late Bill and his son Tom, who also played the character, are set to sell for thousands at Auctioneum Ltd in Bristol next month.
Bill Owen MBE appeared as the long-serving character William ‘Compo’ Simmonite from the show’s very first episode in 1973 until his death in 1999.
His son Tom then took the reins and appeared in the show until its end in 2010. Tom died last year.
Auctioneer Andrew Stowe said: “Compo is an absolute icon of British comedy.
“He appeared in nearly 200 episodes of the sitcom and made millions of people laugh. To be able to handle his personal collection is a real honour.’’
One of the most sought-after items for fans of the series is an original costume used by Bill in his final series.
Andrew said: “‘What people don’t realise is that each series would require a ‘new’ suit for Bill to wear.
“The production team actually had each costume custom-made by Savile Row tailors at a cost of thousands.
“Every tear, every patch was painstaking replicated each year for filming.
‘The costume is responsible for making millions of people all around the world laugh – that makes it very special indeed.
“It’s the quintessential ‘tramp’ costume – Compo was the modern-day Charlie Chaplin, and this costume has flavours of Chaplin all throughout.
“My personal favourite touch is the belt made from a length of rope.”
Other items from the actor’s collection going under the hammer include scrapbooks that he made at the very start of his career in the 1960s.
“When Bill was cast in Last Of The Summer Wine he was nearly 60 years old and he’d already had a very successful career – long before he became a national treasure,” added Andrew.
Bill was a respected stage and film actor who had toured the world in various productions, notably starring alongside Katharine Hepburn in a 1950 production of Shakespeare’s
As You Like It. A signed photograph from the Hollywood star to Bill is also included in the auction.
Bill died in 1999 just shortly after filming a Millennium special episode of Last Of The Summer Wine.
Tom, also a respected theatre and film actor, was invited to join the series playing Compo’s long-lost son, a role that he would keep until the sitcom ended.
“Tom was also a great scrapbook keeper,” said Andrew, “and what’s so special is that his albums tell a really personal story.
“In one scrapbook we see the clippings celebrating his father’s work, then an album filled with cuttings surrounding his father’s death and then a new album celebrating Tom’s role in the series.
“It’s easy to forget the humans behind some of our favourite comedy characters – it’s a very poignant collection.”
Tom kept and used many of his father’s belongings – notably a director’s chair made for Bill to sit in while resting on-set of
Wine.
Tom used to take the chair on tour with him to theatres, or even used it in his dressing room while getting ready.
Items from the estates of Bill and Tom Owen feature in Auctioneum’s British Comedy Auction on December 8 in Bristol.