Kenneth Waller, (5 November 1927 — 28 January 2000), was a British actor best known for playing Old Mr. Grace in Are You Being Served? and Grandad in Bread (1986).
His acting career began in local repertory theatre at the Oxford Playhouse. After success there, he moved to London, making his West End debut in the musical Free as Air. Other shows he appeared in include Give a Dog a Bone, Salad Days, and Anne of Green Gables.
Starting in 1958, Waller began making small appearances on TV and in films. On the cinema screen, he had small, often Uncredited Roles in films such as Carry On Behind, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Fiddler on the Roof, Room at the Top, and Scrooge (1970), while on TV he had credits in All Creatures Great and Small (1978), Big Deal, Crossroads, Dixon of Dock Green, Doctor Who, The Fenn Street Gang, Juliet Bravo, On the Buses, The Professionals, and Z Cars.
After many years of small roles, he got a main role in Are You Being Served?'s eighth series in 1981, replacing a departing Harold Bennett, who was getting too old to stay on the show. Waller played Bennett's older brother, ironic as Bennett was 29 years older than Waller at the time! Waller proved an unpopular replacement and did not return for the final two series. Waller's next big role came in 1986 when he was cast as Grandad in Bread, a role which he played for all 74 episodes.
He died after an illness at the age of 72.
Works on TV Tropes he appeared in:
Films- Room at the Top (1958) — Reggie (Uncredited Role)
- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) — Inventor
- Scrooge (1970) — Party Guest (Uncredited Role)
- Fiddler on the Roof (1971) — Man in Dream (Uncredited Role)
- Carry On Behind (1975) — Barman
- Z Cars, 4 episodes:
- "Follow My Leader" (1963) — Stanley Collins
- "The Battleground: Part 2" (1968) — Fred Jones
- "Haggar" (1972) — Pianist (Uncredited Role)
- "Rage" (1977) — Wilfred Wilson
- Crossroads, 1 episode (1967) — Mr. Hargreaves
- The Onedin Line, 2 episodesshow list (1971) — Drayman
- On the Buses, episode "Boxing Day Social" (1971) — Busman
- Dixon of Dock Green, 2 episodes:
- "Sgt. George Dixon" (1972) — Porter
- "The Unwanted" (1974) — Dealer
- The Train Now Standing..., episode "Send Him Victorious" (1972) — Fireman
- Doctor in Charge, episode "This Is Your Wife" (1972) — Mr. Dutton
- Doctor on the Go, episode "What's Op Doc?" (1975) — Mr. Pole
- Doctor Who, 1 episode of 4-episode story "The Invisible Enemy" (1977) — Hedges
- The Professionals, episode "Killer with a Long Arm" (1978) — Caretaker (Uncredited Role)
- All Creatures Great and Small, 2 episodesshow list (1980) — Mr. Roland Beresford
- Are You Being Served?, 8 episodesshow list (1981) — Old Mr. Henry Grace Jr.
- Minder, episode "A Number of Old Wives Tales" (1984) — Roland
- Bread, 74 episodes (1986-91) — Grandad William Duvall
- Coronation Street, 4 episodes (1988) — Mr. Watts
- The Queen's Nose, episode "Harmony's Return" (1999) — Park Attendant
