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Compo actor Bill Owen dies at 85

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The actor Bill Owen, who starred in Britain's longest running sitcom, Last of the Summer Wine, died yesterday at the age of 85.

Owen, who played the loveable rogue Compo in the BBC comedy, had been ill with stomach and bowel cancer and had undergone emergency surgery.

He died yesterday afternoon at King Edward VII hospital in central London, his son, Tom Owen, announced. Bill Owen had starred in the comedy, set in Holmfirth, in the Yorkshire Pennines, for 26 years.

He fell ill last month in France during shooting of a millennium special of the series. But he insisted on finishing filming in France despite being in pain. Once he returned to Britain, tests revealed the severity of his condition. His illness stopped filming of a new series of the comedy, now in its 27th season.

His co-star Peter Sallis said: "Bill said to me on location the other day 'I want to go on living', but I'm afraid his great will was not strong enough."

The character of Compo, with his dirty wellies, scruffy clothes and woolly hat made Bill Owen a household name. Owen described the character as a "geriatric Just William".

Owen bought a cottage in Holmfirth and took the area to his heart, despite being born in Acton, west London. Two years ago he said he loved Holmfirth so much, that he planned to be buried there.

Before appearing in the sitcom, Owen had been a successful film actor, dramatist and even a songwriter, co-writing the lyrics for dozens of pop songs for the likes of Engelbert Humperdinck, Sacha Distel and Pat Boone, as well as Sir Cliff Richard's 1960s hit Marianne.

His steadfast support for the Labour Party and socialism led him to write and perform in political pantomimes and revues.

He also adapted Robert Tressell's novel The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists for the stage.

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