Compo Simmonite
| Compo Simmonite | |
|---|---|
| 'Last of the Summer Wine' character | |
| First appearance |
Of Funerals and Fish (Comedy Playhouse) 4 January 1973 |
| Last appearance |
Magic and the Morris Minor 16 April 2000 |
| Created by | Roy Clarke |
| Portrayed by |
Bill Owen (Last of the Summer Wine) Paul Wyett (First of the Summer Wine) |
| Information | |
| Aliases | William Simmonite "that tatty little 'Erbert" |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Unemployed |
| Family | Dudley (brother) Phyllis (sister) Barry (brother) Les (brother) Harold (brother) Hilda (sister) Walter (brother) Wendy (sister) Ernie (brother) Ethel (sister) Peggy (sister) Ada (sister) Lionel (brother) Nellie (sister) |
| Spouse(s) | Mrs. Simmonite (separated) |
| Children | Tom Simmonite |
| Relatives | Ruby Simmonite (aunt) Beth Simmonite (aunt) Connie (aunt) Lizzie (aunt) Gladys (aunt) Wilfred (uncle) Dudley (uncle) Percy (uncle) Ned (uncle) Big Malcolm Simmonite (cousin) Chip Simmonite (nephew) Connie Simmonite (niece-in-law) Gordon Simmonite (nephew) Julie Simmonite (niece) Annie (cousin) Arnold (cousin) Eric Simmonite (relationship unknown) Four unnamed great-nephews |
William Simmonite, better known by his nickname of Compo, is a character in the world's longest-running sitcom, Last of the Summer Wine.
Compo was born into a poor, lower-class family in Holmfirth. He claims that his mother, a rag-and-bone woman, said that after he was born the sun began to shine and that a swallow began to sing. His family was and is a large one. He had several encounters in his schooldays, which he remembers fondly - with the exception of one with Aggie Duckett who, he claims, "used to make his nose bleed". This was due to the fact that she was always thumping him because he laughed at her dad's boots, not knowing she was wearing them at the time. His school friends included Norman Clegg (Peter Sallis), Cyril Blamire (Michael Bates), Foggy Dewhurst (Brian Wilde) and Seymour Utterthwaite (Michael Aldridge).
Compo married soon after the war, but the marriage did not last long and he does not remember her, as she "ran off with a chuffin' Pole!" in 1947. He had several flings in his youth, one of which went to the next level and resulted in the birth of his son, Tom. Tom tracked his father down and wrote to him, but he arrives in Holmfirth just after his father's funeral. Out of loneliness, he once hires a housekeeper (Liz Smith). He takes her out for a meal at Sid's Café and tries to start a relationship. However, she does a moonlight flit with all his newly-bought possessions.
Despite never actually divorcing his wife, he has an unrequited love for his neighbour of many a year, Nora Batty (Kathy Staff). He even photographs her when she is least expecting it. Despite constant reminders that it would never happen or, in earlier days, that she was married, Compo persisted in his attempts to elope with Nora. However, he may only like Nora because he knows it won't progress further. When he thought that Nora's downtrodden husband, Wally (Joe Gladwin), had left her and emigrated to New Zealand, he was originally going around in Wally's old clothes and tidying up. But when Clegg and Blamire tricked him into believing that Nora was intent on marriage, he panicked and tried his hardest to remove Nora from the dinner to which he had invited her (Wally had in fact gone to his mother's for a couple of days, and Compo knew that he was coming back after all).
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