Peter Blythe Video | Celebrity Interview and Paparazzi

Peter Blythe (14 September 1934 – 27 June 2004) was a British character actor, best known as Samuel "Soapy Sam" Ballard on Rumpole of the Bailey. Born in Yorkshire, Blythe studied drama on scholarship at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art after serving in the Royal Air Force. He began his professional career as a repertory player with the Living Theatre Company, the Nottingham Playhouse, and the Royal Shakespeare Company. He made his West End debut in 1965. Blythe was frequently associated with the director Peter Hall and the playwright Alan Ayckbourn. Blythe worked in films only rarely... MORE

Peter Blythe (14 September 1934 – 27 June 2004) was a British character actor, best known as Samuel "Soapy Sam" Ballard on Rumpole of the Bailey. Born in Yorkshire, Blythe studied drama on scholarship at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art after serving in the Royal Air Force. He began his professional career as a repertory player with the Living Theatre Company, the Nottingham Playhouse, and the Royal Shakespeare Company. He made his West End debut in 1965. Blythe was frequently associated with the director Peter Hall and the playwright Alan Ayckbourn. Blythe worked in films only rarely and usually in minor roles; his most substantial part was also in his last film appearance, The Luzhin Defence (2000). Other film credits include two movies for Hammer Film Productions, A Challenge for Robin Hood (1967) and Frankenstein Created Woman (also 1967); his most successful film was Carrington (1995). By contrast, Blythe appeared in several dozen television series, miniseries, and movies, most notably as Samuel Ballard, QC in Rumpole of the Bailey (1983-92). He guest-starred in episodes of The Avengers, UFO, Callan, New Scotland Yard, Special Branch, Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime, LESS