Wally Peterson was an American actor, singer and stage manager. A frequent performer and producer on Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

, Peterson was also known for his West End

West End theatre

West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

 performances in the London productions of Oklahoma!

Oklahoma!

Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...

and South Pacific

South Pacific (musical)

South Pacific is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The story draws from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific, weaving together characters and elements from several of its...

.

Peterson was married to the Australian performer Joy Nichols

Joy Nichols

Joy Eileen Nichols born in Sydney, Australia was a comedienne and actress who worked in Australia, Britain and the United States. She is best known as a star of Take It From Here on BBC Radio....

from 1949 until the mid-1970s when they divorced. They had three children: two daughters and a son. Peterson died in New York City on March 30, 2011 at the age of 93.