Harry Worth
Encyclopedia
Harry Worth was an English
comedy
actor
and comedian
. His standard performance was as a genial, bumbling middle-class and middle-aged man from the North of England, who reduced all who came into contact with him to a state of confusion and frustration.
, buying his first dummy in 1936. He toured for two years with Laurel and Hardy
towards the end of their careers. Oliver Hardy
persuaded him to drop the ventriloquist routine and concentrate on becoming a comedian which he then did. He did, however, continue to include the vent act in his cabaret act through his career.
He is now best remembered for his 1960s series Here's Harry, later re-titled Harry Worth, which lasted for over 100 episodes. The opening credits of Harry Worth featured the comedian stopping in the street to perform an optical trick involving a shop window (raising one arm and one leg which were reflected in the window, thus giving the impression of levitation). Reproducing this effect was popularly known as "doing a Harry Worth". He also starred in Thirty Minutes Worth and My Name is Harry Worth.
The shop window sequence was filmed at St. Annes Square, Manchester, at Hector Powes tailors shop which is now a Starbucks coffee shop.
One famous comic sketch involved Worth and his family preparing for a royal visit to the area, during which the Queen
was to visit his house. His fussing about the house drove his family mad. Just before the Queen was due to arrive, a beggar arrived at the door and kept coming back as an increasingly frustrated Worth tried to get him to go away. When a knock came on the door one more time Worth grabbed a bucket of filthy water and threw it out of the door at the caller, only to find that it wasn't the beggar but the Queen standing there, and he had just soaked her.
Another sketch involved Worth complaining to a policeman outside the Houses of Parliament
that Big Ben
clock was slow because Jimmy Young
, the BBC Radio 2
presenter known for "always being right" had said that it was ten minutes past ten, while the clock said it was 10am. After pestering the policeman, Worth had the clock moved forward by ten minutes (the first time the timepiece had ever been adjusted). Just as the clock was changed, Young appeared on the radio to apologise that the studio clock was wrong by ten minutes. A mortified Worth was seen speeding away in his car, to furious shouts from the angry policeman.
Although never scripted, his catchphrase was generally known as "My Name Is Harry Worth. I don't know why - but, there it is!". One running joke in the television show involved references to Harry's never seen aunt known only as "Auntie", the popular nickname for the BBC
itself. In one show, Harry commissioned a portrait of Auntie, only to receive a head-and-shoulders print of a woman with no face.
By the early-to-mid 1980s Worth was forced to retire early from his shows by health problems but he continued working in radio (and made TV guest appearances time-to-time for either interviews or pop-up guest appearances on some shows) until a few months before he died. Among the last regular appearances of his career were leading roles in the sitcoms How's Your Father? (Yorkshire TV 1979-81) and Oh Happy Band!
(BBC TV 1980).
was unveiled by comedian Jimmy Cricket
, a friend of Worth's, on the house where he was born. The British Comedy Society arranged the unveiling in conjunction with Worth's biographer, Roy Baines, and the event was sponsored by Revelation Films, who also released a DVD of his work the same week.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
. His standard performance was as a genial, bumbling middle-class and middle-aged man from the North of England, who reduced all who came into contact with him to a state of confusion and frustration.
Early life
Worth was the youngest of eleven children of a miner. When he was only five months old his father died from injuries resulting from an industrial accident. He left school at 14 and was himself a miner for eight years before joining the RAF. As a teenager he was in the Tankersley Amateur Dramatic Society and taught himself ventriloquismVentriloquism
Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is an act of stagecraft in which a person manipulates his or her voice so that it appears that the voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered "dummy"...
, buying his first dummy in 1936. He toured for two years with Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
towards the end of their careers. Oliver Hardy
Oliver Hardy
Oliver Hardy was an American comic actor famous as one half of Laurel and Hardy, the classic double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted nearly 30 years, from 1927 to 1955.-Early life:...
persuaded him to drop the ventriloquist routine and concentrate on becoming a comedian which he then did. He did, however, continue to include the vent act in his cabaret act through his career.
Television career
Worth's first appearance was a five-minute standup on "Henry Hall's Guest Night" in 1955.He is now best remembered for his 1960s series Here's Harry, later re-titled Harry Worth, which lasted for over 100 episodes. The opening credits of Harry Worth featured the comedian stopping in the street to perform an optical trick involving a shop window (raising one arm and one leg which were reflected in the window, thus giving the impression of levitation). Reproducing this effect was popularly known as "doing a Harry Worth". He also starred in Thirty Minutes Worth and My Name is Harry Worth.
The shop window sequence was filmed at St. Annes Square, Manchester, at Hector Powes tailors shop which is now a Starbucks coffee shop.
One famous comic sketch involved Worth and his family preparing for a royal visit to the area, during which the Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
was to visit his house. His fussing about the house drove his family mad. Just before the Queen was due to arrive, a beggar arrived at the door and kept coming back as an increasingly frustrated Worth tried to get him to go away. When a knock came on the door one more time Worth grabbed a bucket of filthy water and threw it out of the door at the caller, only to find that it wasn't the beggar but the Queen standing there, and he had just soaked her.
Another sketch involved Worth complaining to a policeman outside the Houses of Parliament
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
that Big Ben
Clock Tower, Palace of Westminster
Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and is generally extended to refer to the clock or the clock tower as well. It is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower in the world...
clock was slow because Jimmy Young
Jimmy Young (disc jockey)
Sir Jimmy Young CBE was a British singer, disc jockey and radio interviewer.-Early life:...
, the BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
presenter known for "always being right" had said that it was ten minutes past ten, while the clock said it was 10am. After pestering the policeman, Worth had the clock moved forward by ten minutes (the first time the timepiece had ever been adjusted). Just as the clock was changed, Young appeared on the radio to apologise that the studio clock was wrong by ten minutes. A mortified Worth was seen speeding away in his car, to furious shouts from the angry policeman.
Although never scripted, his catchphrase was generally known as "My Name Is Harry Worth. I don't know why - but, there it is!". One running joke in the television show involved references to Harry's never seen aunt known only as "Auntie", the popular nickname for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
itself. In one show, Harry commissioned a portrait of Auntie, only to receive a head-and-shoulders print of a woman with no face.
By the early-to-mid 1980s Worth was forced to retire early from his shows by health problems but he continued working in radio (and made TV guest appearances time-to-time for either interviews or pop-up guest appearances on some shows) until a few months before he died. Among the last regular appearances of his career were leading roles in the sitcoms How's Your Father? (Yorkshire TV 1979-81) and Oh Happy Band!
Oh Happy Band!
Oh Happy Band! is a situation comedy written by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. The series ran for six episodes in 1980 on BBC 1, and featured the last screen appearance of comedian Harry Worth. For musical sequences, the series featured the Aldershot Brass Ensemble...
(BBC TV 1980).
Personal life
Worth was a private person and resisted attempts by publishers to write his biography; it was over 16 years after his death before a book - My Name Is Harry Worth ISBN 0955185408 http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0955185408- was written. He was married to dancer Kay Flynn and they had one daughter, Jobyna. Worth died in July 1989, aged 71, of spinal cancer.Memorials
On 20 July 2010 (21 years after his death) a blue plaqueBlue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker....
was unveiled by comedian Jimmy Cricket
Jimmy Cricket
Jimmy Cricket is a comedian. He currently lives with his family in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England.- Early life and career :...
, a friend of Worth's, on the house where he was born. The British Comedy Society arranged the unveiling in conjunction with Worth's biographer, Roy Baines, and the event was sponsored by Revelation Films, who also released a DVD of his work the same week.
Further reading
- Roy Baines (2005) My Name is Harry Worth ISBN 0955185408 http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0955185408
External links
(DOB Now Correct)- Harry Worth: The Man in the Window BBC Radio 4 programme