Harry Secombe
Acting
Biography
From Wikipedia Sir Harry Donald Secombe, CBE (8 September 1921 – 11 April 2001) was a Welsh comedian and singer. He played Neddie Seagoon, a central character in the BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show (1951–60). He also appeared in musicals and films and, in his later years, was a presenter of television shows incorporating hymns and other devotional songs. With the success of The Goon Show, Secombe developed a dual career as both a comedy actor and a singer. At the beginning of his career as an entertainer, his act would end with a joke version of the duet Sweethearts, in which he sang both the baritone and falsetto parts. Trained under Italian maestro Manlio di Veroli, he emerged as a bel canto tenor (characteristically, he insisted that in his case this meant "can belto") and had a long list of best-selling record albums to his credit. In 1958 he appeared in the film Jet Storm, which starred Dame Sybil Thorndike and Richard Attenborough and in the same year Secombe starred in the title role in Davy, one of Ealing Studios' last films. In 1963 he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). He was knighted in 1981, and jokingly referred to himself as Sir Cumference (in recognition of his rotund figure). The motto he chose for his coat of arms was "GO ON", a reference to goon.
Known For
Chat show hosted by Terry Wogan, featuring live studio interviews with famous and notable personalities.
Wogan
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows. In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
The Ed Sullivan Show
Musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, a classic tale of an orphan who runs away from the workhouse and joins up with a group of boys headed by the Artful Dodger and trained to be pickpockets by master thief Fagin.
Oliver!
Highway is a British television series, broadcast from 1983 until 1993. Presented by Sir Harry Secombe, the show was a mixture of hymns and chat from various locations across Britain, produced by their respective regional ITV franchise holders. The programme was administered by Tyne Tees Television in Newcastle upon Tyne, who had a track-record for organising cross-franchise series for the ITV network. Guests sang religious songs, gave readings or talked about their lifestyles and spiritual feelings. The series was broadcast on Sunday evenings. The final series was moved to Sunday afternoons. Highway was replaced by Sunday Morning with Secombe in which he would broadcast from the venue of the following Morning Worship service.
Highway
Friday Night, Saturday Morning was a television chat show with a revolving guest host. It ran on BBC2 from 28 September 1979 to 2 April 1982, broadcast live from the Greenwood Theatre, a part of Guy's Hospital. It was most notable for being the only television show to be hosted by a former British Prime Minister and for an argument about the blasphemy claims surrounding the movie Monty Python's Life of Brian. The programme was the idea of Iain Johnstone and Will Wyatt, who insisted on a changing presenter every fortnight. Another innovation was that the presenters chose the guests they were to interview.
Friday Night, Saturday Morning
Beginning in 1959 as Bruce's Show, mixing music, dancing and comedy in the time honoured tradition, this series focused on laughter, glamour and big name guests.
The Bruce Forsyth Show
In the hazy aftermath of World War III, the fallout from a 'nuclear misunderstanding' is producing strange mutations amongst the survivors, and the noble Lord Fortnum finds himself transforming into a bed sitting room.
The Bed Sitting Room
Crisis in the air: A passenger aboard a commercial airplane flying from London to New York threatens to detonate a bomb over the Atlantic.
Jet Storm
Jeremy Marre examines popular music and entertainment in England through contemporary eyes, observing the many strands, influences and traditions that compose a nation and its music.
Chasing Rainbows - A Nation and Its Music
The Telegoons is a comedy puppet show, adapted from the highly successful BBC radio comedy show of the 1950s.
The Telegoons
Dr. Burke is in love with Ophelia but doesn't have time to propose to her as she leaves for a cruise to the Mediterranean. Also on board the cruise ship is an old school chum of Burke's who plays 'Dr.Dare' in a very popular TV series and who women flock to. Burke decides to join the cruise, but is first apprehended as a stowaway, and then becomes the captain's steward. For Burke, trying to talk to Ophelia is a hard enough task, but he meets some funny characters on board, such as a pools winner and a very stubborn captain.
Doctor in Trouble
A man hypnotizes a young woman into being an opera singer.
Svengali
Like the play from which it derived, the film tells of the early struggles of composer Edvard Grieg and his attempts to develop an authentic Norwegian national music. It stars Toralv Maurstad as Grieg and features an international cast including Florence Henderson, Christina Schollin, Robert Morley, Harry Secombe, Oskar Homolka, Edward G. Robinson and Frank Porretta (as Rikard Nordraak). Filmed in Super Panavision 70 by Davis Boulton and presented in single-camera Cinerama in some countries, it was an attempt to capitalise on the success of The Sound of Music.
Song of Norway
A detective gets involved with a wealthy socialite who can't seem to stop hiccuping.
Helter Skelter
This documentary revealed Peter Sellers obsession with the occult. Sellers was a highly superstitious man who consulted fortune tellers, clairvoyants and mediums to help him make key decisions in his life and work. Many of Sellers important decisions were influenced by Maurice Woodruff - a clairvoyant and astrologer based in London. Advice from the other side was taken on his marriage to Britt Ekland, accepting film roles such as Inspector Clouseau and dealing with his near fatal heart attack.
The Paranormal Peter Sellers
A celebration of the life and career of Sir Harry Secombe, one of Britain's best-loved entertainers.
The Unforgettable Harry Secombe
A Police Inspector and a vicar play a round of golf. The Inspector has a Constable help him to cheat, while the vicar has other ideas...
Rhubarb
Just Like That! is a celebration of the comic genius of Tommy Cooper - just like that! But nobody could do it just like that apart from the unique Mr Cooper himself, and despite his claim never to have used those words. Was Tommy really Henry Coper's brother? Can Tommy's performance as Hamlet, clown prince, compare with the greats? Was Tommy a ventriloquist at heart? Rare and classic routines and contributions from famous fans help solve the mystery. The friends and fans who take part (many of them confirming that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery) include Adrian Edmondson, Lenny Henry, Henry Cooper, former Goons Harry Secombe and Spike Milligan, writer Dick Hills, Tommy's brother David Cooper (who has himself sadly since died), alternative comedian Steve Murray, The Wow Show and magician Paul Scott. A title montage sequence features further impersonations of the great man from Alexei Sayle, Bob Todd, Patricia Hayes, and Jess Conrad.
Just Like That!
A septet of satirical vignettes based on the Seven Deadly Sins.
The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins
Spike personally tells the story of his life from India, World War II to The Goons and his Q series