This Is Your Life: Peter Finch

Peter FINCH (1916-1977)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Peter Finch, actor, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at his home in North London.

Peter spent his teenage years in Australia where he developed an interest in acting. He appeared in various stage productions in Sydney, before gaining work in several radio plays for the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Following World War II, Peter established himself as Australia’s leading actor in radio. He co-founded the Mercury Theatre Company in Sydney, through which he came to the attention of Laurence Olivier, who encouraged him to move to London.

He achieved success in the London theatre under the mentorship of Olivier, and by the early 1950s was also gaining popularity as a film actor. Throughout the rest of the decade Peter became one of the top ranked film stars of the British cinema, and won the BAFTA award for best actor for his roles in A Town Like Alice and The Trials of Oscar Wilde.

programme details...

Edition No: 173
Subject No: 174
Broadcast live: Mon 4 Dec 1961
Broadcast time: 7.55-8.30pm
Venue: BBC Television Theatre
Series: 7
Edition: 10

on the guest list...

Dame Edith Evans
Donald Friend
Lyn Foster
Bill Kerr
Sydney John Kay
Wing Commander Michael Ingle Finch DFC & bar – brother
Maxine Audley
Harold Huth
Tony Britton
Sam Savory
Yolande Turner - wife
Bert le Blanc
Alex MacDonald
Norman Johnson
Max Osbison

production team...

Researcher: John Ralph
Writer: John Sandilands
Director: Yvonne Littlewood
Producer: T Leslie Jackson

names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life

related pages...

An Actor's Life For Me

spotlight on the stars

Tony Britton

Eamonn Andrews, Peter Finch and guest Bill Kerr on This Is Your Life

The writer Elaine Dundy, briefly recalls This Is Your Life in her biography, Finch, Bloody Finch...

A year before, that popular programme This Is Your Life had as its Christmas subject Peter Finch.

And on came Bill Kerr, his old Australian mate … and on came Tony Britton, his English mate … and they had even flown over Donald Friend from Ceylon!

And Bert le Blanc, the vaudeville comedian was flown in from Australia … And directors he’d worked with, and actors he’d worked with were there … all telling wonderful stories about him, saying wonderful and funny things about him.

It was marvellous! Hilarious! And … “Peter Finch, This Is Your Life!” said Eamonn Andrews amidst studio cheers.

Series 7 subjects