Arthur
Askey (6th June 1900 to 16th
November 1982)
I watch stand-up comedians on
television and usually find myself wondering if they’re making a living from it
(and some are millionaires from it.) I think “this is their hobby and through
the day they’re working on a lathe or driving a truck.” I’m sure it’s me and I’m
the problem. I find You’ve Been Framed!
funnier.
With so many comedians around it’s hard to
believe that before the days of variety shows and musical halls they didn’t
exist. One of Britain first ever comedians was Arthur Askey
and he remained a big draw for six decades. I don’t know much about him but
thought I’d visit the house where he was born in Dingle in Liverpool while I
was visiting Ringo Starr’s birthplace nearby.
Arthur was pushed out into the world in this terraced
house in 1900, made by dad Sam and mum Betsy (later a sister would come long.)
He was schooled in Liverpool but aged 16 was fed up working as an office clerk
and began to learn a new trade as an entertainer around the local clubs.
Success flamed brightly and he was soon an all-rounder in the grand tradition
of the British music hall. Even the First World War didn’t stop him and he
began performing at army shows while doing his National Service tenure. With
the war over he spent 14 years perfecting his skills on the concert party
circuit. He was 38 - getting on a bit - when he bagged a part in a daily BBC
radio show Band Waggon. This was the
first ever comedy series to be broadcast in Britain daily and it made Arthur a
household name.
The Second World War interrupted his career but
this durable 5’2” pocket Venus soon bounced back and remained very popular.
There were television series and fifteen films but he was mainly the special
guest star on shows or topping the bill at the London Palladium. Folk liked the
genial, breezy, big-hearted chap with horn-rimmed glasses, quick-fire humour,
catch phrases and a masterly use of the ad-lib.
During the 1950s and 60s he appeared in many
sitcoms and was the subject of This Is
Your Life twice. Through the 1970s he was a regular on television, notably
as a panellist on the ITV talent show New
Faces, Jokers Wild and The Good Old Days. He continued working
into his eighties but circulatory problems in his legs brought the end of his
career and his life. His legs became gangrenous and were amputated. He soon died
in St Thomas’s Hospital in London aged 82. He’d been married to Elizabeth for
49 years until her death and they had a daughter Anthea
who was an actress.
He was awarded the OBE in 1969 and the CBE in
1981. It all started here at the terraced house in a threadbare part of
Liverpool. Bearing in mind Arthur’s long career in entertainment I was
surprised to see there wasn’t a plaque on number 29.
Looking down the street (the sun
bleached colour out of the photo)…
No blue plaque…
