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For nearly half a century, my father, Wally Peterson, who has died aged 93, was involved in all aspects of the theatre as a singer, actor, writer, musician and stage manager. He was a totally theatrical being, whose unflagging tenacity throughout the decades was tempered by a personable character and enormous charm.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, he had his own weekly radio series by the age of 15. He was called up in 1942 during the second world war for the entertainment service and a year later was presenting shows for US soldiers stationed throughout Europe, draping curtains over trees and setting up pianos in grassy clearings. He managed to attain the rank of corporal and always admitted that he had had a "good" war as, even when involved in the conflict in Europe, he continued to do what he loved best, perform for his peers.
Wally was an original member of the London company of Oklahoma!, which opened at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in the West End in 1947. The production was ground-breaking, with its American cast of young, exuberant performers. Pictures of Drury Lane in Covent Garden at that time show the peeling paint and crumbling pavements of postwar London, but Oklahoma! lifted the spirits of all who saw it.
Between 1948 and 1950, Wally's life changed forever. He met the vivacious young Australian singer and actor Joy Nichols, who was starring in a brand new hit radio programme, Take it from Here. They married in 1949 and Wally moved into radio, writing and performing shows for the BBC and Radio Luxembourg, where he was a rare American presenter.
He recorded many songs on the Decca and Parlophone labels, including his own compositions, This Is the First Time and A Tale of Tahiti.
His success as a songwriter placed him firmly at the centre of the glory years of Tin Pan Alley, and his experiences formed the basis for his one-man show, Tin Pan Alley and the Silver Screen, which he took on a tour of the university circuit in the US before a successful run at the Arts theatre, London, in 1992, at the age of 75. Singing and playing the guitar instead of the piano ("I can move quicker with a guitar"), he told intriguing stories of the songwriting teams who worked during Hollywood's great golden era of the movie musical.
Wally and Joy divorced in 1976. He is survived by me, my sister, Victoria, my brother, Richard, two grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
