PETER JONES

'Peter Jones' (12 June 1920 – 10 April 2000) was an English actor, playwright and broadcaster.
He was best known as the voice of The Book in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', for his lead role in the TV sitcom ''The Rag Trade'', and for his elegant repartee on the BBC Radio 4 programme ''Just a Minute'' (where he excelled at the amusing one liners, but seldom scored many points).
Between 1952 and 1955 Jones starred alongside Peter Ustinov in the BBC radio comedy ''In All Directions''. The show featured Jones and Ustinov as themselves in a car in London perpetually searching for Copthorne Avenue. The comedy derived from the characters they met along the way, often also played by themselves. The show was unusual for the time in that it was largely improvised – with the tape subsequently edited for broadcast by Frank Muir and Denis Norden, who also sometimes took part. Two of the more popular characters were Morris and Dudley Grosvenor, two rather stupid East End spivs whose sketches always ended with the phrase "Run for it Rorry" (or Dudley as appropriate). Sadly no recording is known to survive ([1]).
Still on the radio, he played Bunter in Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey stories, and appeared in Doctor at Sea with Richard Briers. He went on to write and star in ''J Kingston Platt's Showbiz Handbook''.
Following his seminal portrayal of 'The Book' in the original BBC radio and subsequent television and LP adaptations of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', he narrated (in similar style) Douglas Adams's radio series ''Last Chance to See''.
On television, he had roles in the British comedy series ''The Goodies'' and the courtroom drama ''Rumpole of the Bailey''. A talented scriptwriter, he wrote and starred in the sitcom ''Mr Big''. He also occasionally narrated television documentaries, such as the ''Equinox'' episode "Unravelling the Universe", first broadcast in December 1991.
In addition to appearing in television series such as ''Holby City'', ''Whoops Apocalypse'' and ''The Bill'', Jones featured in a number of films, including ''Private's Progress'', ''School for Scoundrels'' (reprising his Dudley Grosvenor character as a used-car salesman), ''Chariots of Fire'' and ''The Return of the Pink Panther''.
Jones also narrated various programmes, including Discovery Channel's "Planes That Never Flew". His distinctive voice is readily recognised, despite the show credits.
Jones was born in Wem, Shropshire. He died of undisclosed causes, aged 79, in 2000. His daughter, Selena Carey-Jones, is an actress. He and his wife also had two sons. His wife, Jeri, died in 1999.

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★ ''Obituary'' by Denis Gifford, ''The Independent'', April 12, 2000