the musings of a Junior

[Norm]

Many LOTSW fans have a favourite character, and as my forum name suggests mine is Clegg, and as is my wont in the quiet moments of the evening I wondered why ? With so many marvellous characters why Clegg?? Is it the character that appeals, the Actor, or both. For me it is both: I think Clegg is wonderful, he has retained his childhood sense of fun and mischievousness and managed to combine it with the wry wit and world weariness of adulthood. He can play the fool with Compo and then a moment later come out with some poignant statement ie about the war as in "Getting Sam Home". This is of course Roy Clarkes amazing writing, but then it is Peter Sallis who has made Clegg so believable and I understand on his own admission their is much of Clegg in him, so do we too see something of ourselves in our favourite character ?
For me yes quite a bit but then I also realised what I was also seeing was my own Father, some years older than Mr Sallis and now sadly gone, but their was the same wry wit , the kindness, the quintessential Englishness (and incidental the OBE) and the same sense of fun as Clegg (but not however the timidity of the later series or the terror of the female sex !!).
So do we who have favourites see something of ourselves or even a close family relative in the characters/Actors we love ??
Ooops !! I have done it again sorry for the rather long muse.

 

[onyx(John)]

Excellent post 'Norm' .I never thought of it before but my dad would have had a lot of Cleggy's traits also .A dry wit for sure and a deep thinker, measured in his response, kind, gentle in his ways and slow to criticise . I'm quite sure though, his favourite character was Compo. His roguishness and devil may care attitude to life would have appealed to him enormously .

 

[Adanor]

My dear uncle, back in the '60's, wore the same pair of glasses for many years and oddly enough, they are exactly like the pair (the dark frames) that Foggy wore. And every time I see Foggy wearing those glasses, I think back and fondly remember my uncle.

 

[toodlepip]

For me it´s Clegg too, and yes, he reminds me a little of myself. And yes, there is a lot of Peter Sallis in him. It always makes me smile also when I see Clegg carrying his mac, because that is exactly what I often have to do, I tend to overdress or at least to always bring a mac of some kind, "just in case". But it is the rest too of course, the humour, the musing... I think, if he reminds me of anyone else of my family, it would have been my grandmother. A similar sense of humour and an unexpected childishness. She would have tobogganed down the hill on a plastic bag with them I´m sure! And at the same time a very warm and gentle person.