Ian Bryce Wallace, also known as Ian Wallace, was born on July 10, 1919, in Marylebone, London, and was an English bass‑baritone, concert singer, actor, and broadcaster of Scottish extraction. He initially studied law at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, but pursued a career in entertainment after serving in the Royal Artillery during World War II. He made his operatic debut in 1946 as Schaunard in La bohème and became particularly known for comic basso buffo roles at Glyndebourne and other international opera houses. Alongside opera, he performed in theatre, revue, pantomime, and one-man shows. He was also widely known as a panellist on the BBC radio programme My Music and for performing songs by Flanders and Swann, especially "The Hippopotamus." He died on October 12, 2009, at the age of 90.
