Tony Capstick


Joseph Anthony Capstick was an English comedian, actor, musician and broadcaster.

Life and career

First son of Joe Capstick, a wireless operator in the RAF, and his wife, June, née Duncan, he was born in Rotherham, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, and spent most of his childhood in Swinton, South Yorkshire, near Mexborough, also in the West Riding, and for over thirty years he was a presenter on BBC Radio Sheffield. In the 1970s he presented Folkweave for BBC Radio 2 and continued to work for that station sporadically until the early 1990s. Outside Sheffield, he is perhaps better known as one of the policemen in the long-running British sitcom, Last of the Summer Wine, where he played the role until his death in October 2003, with his final appearance on the show broadcast in April 2004.

Biography

A regular performer on the folk circuit, he recorded many albums. The first was for the Newcastle based record label Rubber Records. In 1981, he reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart with "The Sheffield Grinder" / "Capstick Comes Home". It was recorded with the Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band. His recitation, "Capstick Comes Home", was based on the well-known Hovis wholemeal bread television commercials directed by Ridley Scott.
As a comedian, he had an eight-part television series, Capstick's Capers, on Channel 4 in 1983. Capstick was also a prolific bit-part actor, with a career including minor roles in the soap operas Emmerdale and Coronation Street. In the latter he played the recurring character of the brewer Harvey Nuttall.
His career at Radio Sheffield came to an end in January 2003, when he was dismissed for an alleged drop in quality, following the latest in a string of drink driving offences. He continued to write a regular column in a local weekly newspaper, the Rotherham Advertiser.
Capstick was an author, with Paul Donoghue, of a book on the Appleby Horse Fair.
On 23 October 2003, Capstick was found dead at his cottage in Hoober, near Wentworth, South Yorkshire. He was survived by wife Gillian and two of his children from his first marriage.

Discography