Reg Varney
Encyclopedia
Reginald Alfred "Reg" Varney (11 July 1916 – 16 November 2008) was an English
actor
, most notable for his role as Stan Butler in 1970s TV sitcom On the Buses
.
, which was then part of Essex
but is now part of East London
. His father worked in a rubber factory in Silvertown
and he was one of five children who grew up in Addington Road, Canning Town. Varney was educated at the nearby Star Lane
Primary School in West Ham
and after leaving school at 14, he worked as a messenger boy and a page boy at the Regent Palace Hotel. He took piano lessons as a child and was good enough to find employment as a part-time piano player. His first paid engagement was at Plumstead
Radical Club in Woolwich
, for which he was paid eight shilling
s and sixpence (42½p). He also played in working men's club
s, pubs and ABC cinemas, and later sang with big bands of the time. He and his mother decided that show business was the career for him, and he gave up his day jobs.
During World War II
, he joined the Royal Engineers
, but continued performing as an army entertainer, touring the Far East
for a time. After being demobbed
, he starred on stage in the late 1940s in a comic revue entitled Gaytime. His partner in the double act was Benny Hill
. He then went on to become an all-round entertainer, working his way around the music hall
s.
, which made him a household name. Also around this time he starred in a show for BBC TV called The Seven Faces of Reg Varney where he performed seven different characters in front of an audience at the Shepherd's Bush Theatre
in London. Varney rushed about at a frantic pace on stage as he changed clothes between characters. After that followed another comedy role in Beggar My Neighbour
; this also starred Pat Coombs
, June Whitfield
, and Peter Jones
. Pat Coombs played the wife of Varney's character and she would later appear in the On the Buses
movie. The series ran from March 1967 to March 1968 (24 episodes of 30 minute duration) and a short special was shown as part of Christmas Night with the Stars
on 25 December 1967. In 1966 he starred in The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery
as Gilbert.
On 27 June 1967, the world's first voucher based cash dispensing machine
was installed at the Enfield Town
branch of Barclays Bank. Varney lived in Enfield
at the time and for publicity purposes he was photographed making the first withdrawal from the machine.
which was written by Ronald Chesney
and Ronald Wolfe, who had also written The Rag Trade. Varney played the lead role of bus driver Stan Butler, a long-suffering but loyal man who never has much luck where romance is concerned. There were also three spin-off movies made, On the Buses
(1971), Mutiny on the Buses
(1972), and Holiday on the Buses
(1973). Varney was 53 when the series started, although his character, who lived at home and was often trying to attract women, seemed to be in his mid-thirties. Stephen Lewis
, who played Inspector Cyril "Blakey" Blake in the series, was actually 20 years younger than Varney, who, by the time On the Buses ended, was 57.
The show was a great success and Varney started to take on more film roles. These included Go for a Take
and The Best Pair of Legs in the Business. In the latter, Varney played a drag artist-cum-compère at a caravan holiday site. Down the Gate, in which he played a Billingsgate
fish porter, followed. He was also in the remake of the film The Plank
.
In April to June 1969 Varney co-starred with Scottish
entertainer Billy Raymond in 15 episodes of Australia
's Channel O TV entertainment series "Rose and Crown" before returning to the UK for another "On The Buses" TV series.
He also made six hour-long spectaculars called The Other Reg Varney, and later his cabaret act toured Australia
, New Zealand
and Canada
. In 1988, On the Buses went on to the stage and again Varney went to Australia to play Stan.
and a villa in Malta
.
Varney moved to Devon
in the late 1980s and lived alone after his wife, Lilian Emma Varney, died in East Devon
in 2002, aged 92.
Varney died aged 92 in a nursing home
in Budleigh Salterton
, Devon, on 16 November 2008, after suffering a chest infection. He was survived by his daughter Jeanne Marley.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
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...
, most notable for his role as Stan Butler in 1970s TV sitcom On the Buses
On The Buses
On the Buses was a British situation comedy created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney which was broadcast in the UK from 1969 to 1973. The writers' previous successes with The Rag Trade and Meet the Wife were for the BBC, but the Corporation rejected On the Buses, not seeing much comedy potential...
.
Early life
Varney was born in Canning TownCanning Town
Canning Town is an area of east London, England. It is part of the London Borough of Newham and is situated in the area of the former London docks on the north side of the River Thames. It is the location of Rathbone Market...
, which was then part of Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
but is now part of East London
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
. His father worked in a rubber factory in Silvertown
Silvertown
Silvertown is an industrialised district on the north bank of the Thames in the London Borough of Newham. It was named after Samuel Winkworth Silver's former rubber factory which opened in 1852, and is now dominated by the Tate & Lyle sugar refinery and the John Knight ABP animal rendering...
and he was one of five children who grew up in Addington Road, Canning Town. Varney was educated at the nearby Star Lane
Star Lane DLR station
Star Lane DLR station is a Docklands Light Railway station in Newham, East London. On the Stratford International extension of the Docklands Light Railway between Stratford and Canning Town, it opened on 31 August 2011.-History:...
Primary School in West Ham
West Ham
West Ham is in the London Borough of Newham in London, England. In the west it is a post-industrial neighbourhood abutting the site of the London Olympic Park and in the east it is mostly residential, consisting of Victorian terraced housing interspersed with higher density post-War social housing...
and after leaving school at 14, he worked as a messenger boy and a page boy at the Regent Palace Hotel. He took piano lessons as a child and was good enough to find employment as a part-time piano player. His first paid engagement was at Plumstead
Plumstead
Plumstead is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. Plumstead is a multi cultural area with large Asian and Afro-Caribbean communities, in similarity to local areas such as Woolwich and Thamesmead...
Radical Club in Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
, for which he was paid eight shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s and sixpence (42½p). He also played in working men's club
Working men's club
Working men's clubs are a type of private social club founded in the 19th century in industrial areas of the United Kingdom, particularly the North of England, the Midlands and many parts of the South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class men and their families.-...
s, pubs and ABC cinemas, and later sang with big bands of the time. He and his mother decided that show business was the career for him, and he gave up his day jobs.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he joined the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
, but continued performing as an army entertainer, touring the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
for a time. After being demobbed
Demobilization
Demobilization is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and military force will not be necessary...
, he starred on stage in the late 1940s in a comic revue entitled Gaytime. His partner in the double act was Benny Hill
Benny Hill
Benny Hill was an English comedian and actor, notable for his long-running television programme The Benny Hill Show.-Early life:...
. He then went on to become an all-round entertainer, working his way around the music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
s.
Career
In 1961, Varney was given the role of a foreman in the popular television sitcom, The Rag TradeThe Rag Trade
The Rag Trade was a British television sitcom broadcast by the BBC between 1961 and 1963 and by LWT between 1977 and 1978.The scripts were by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney, who later wrote Wild, Wild Women, a period variation of The Rag Trade....
, which made him a household name. Also around this time he starred in a show for BBC TV called The Seven Faces of Reg Varney where he performed seven different characters in front of an audience at the Shepherd's Bush Theatre
Bush Theatre
The Bush Theatre is based in Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 above The Bush public house by Brian McDermott, and has since become one of the most celebrated new writing theatres in the world. An intimate venue renowned for its close-up...
in London. Varney rushed about at a frantic pace on stage as he changed clothes between characters. After that followed another comedy role in Beggar My Neighbour
Beggar My Neighbour (TV series)
Beggar My Neighbour was a black-and-white British sitcom starring Reg Varney, Peter Jones, June Whitfield, Pat Coombs and Desmond Walter-Ellis...
; this also starred Pat Coombs
Pat Coombs
Pat Coombs was an English actress. Coombs was considered one of Britain's great character actresses, specialising in the portrayal of the eternal downtrodden female — comically under the thumb of stronger personalities. She was known for many roles on radio, film and television sitcoms...
, June Whitfield
June Whitfield
June Rosemary Whitfield, CBE is an English actress, well known in the United Kingdom since the 1950s for roles in radio and television comedy series....
, and Peter Jones
Peter Jones (actor)
Peter Jones was an English actor, screenwriter and broadcaster.-Early life and career:Jones was born in Wem, Shropshire and he was educated at the Wem Grammar School and Ellesmere College. He made his first appearance as an actor in Wolverhampton at the age of 16 and then appeared in repertory...
. Pat Coombs played the wife of Varney's character and she would later appear in the On the Buses
On the Buses (film)
On the Buses is a 1971 British comedy film directed by Harry Booth and starring Reg Varney and Doris Hare. The film is the first spin-off film from the TV sitcom On the Buses and was followed by two further films Mutiny on the Buses and Holiday on the Buses...
movie. The series ran from March 1967 to March 1968 (24 episodes of 30 minute duration) and a short special was shown as part of Christmas Night with the Stars
Christmas Night with the Stars
Christmas Night with the Stars was a variety television show broadcast each Christmas night by the BBC from 1958 to 1972 and also in 1994. The show featured the top stars of the BBC as they appeared in short versions of their programmes, typically five to ten minutes long. The show was voted 24th...
on 25 December 1967. In 1966 he starred in The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery
The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery
The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery is a British comedy film set in the fictional St Trinian's School, released in 1966, three years after the Great Train Robbery had taken place...
as Gilbert.
On 27 June 1967, the world's first voucher based cash dispensing machine
Automated teller machine
An automated teller machine or automatic teller machine, also known as a Cashpoint , cash machine or sometimes a hole in the wall in British English, is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public...
was installed at the Enfield Town
Enfield Town
Enfield Town is the historic town centre of Enfield, formerly in the county of Middlesex and now in the London Borough of Enfield. It is north north-east of Charing Cross...
branch of Barclays Bank. Varney lived in Enfield
London Borough of Enfield
The London Borough of Enfield is the most northerly London borough and forms part of Outer London. It borders the London Boroughs of Barnet, Haringey and Waltham Forest...
at the time and for publicity purposes he was photographed making the first withdrawal from the machine.
On The Buses
Varney's greatest success was in the sitcom On the BusesOn The Buses
On the Buses was a British situation comedy created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney which was broadcast in the UK from 1969 to 1973. The writers' previous successes with The Rag Trade and Meet the Wife were for the BBC, but the Corporation rejected On the Buses, not seeing much comedy potential...
which was written by Ronald Chesney
Chesney and Wolfe
Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe are British TV comedy screenwriters, best known for their popular 1960s / 1970s sitcoms The Rag Trade and On The Buses.-Early years:...
and Ronald Wolfe, who had also written The Rag Trade. Varney played the lead role of bus driver Stan Butler, a long-suffering but loyal man who never has much luck where romance is concerned. There were also three spin-off movies made, On the Buses
On the Buses (film)
On the Buses is a 1971 British comedy film directed by Harry Booth and starring Reg Varney and Doris Hare. The film is the first spin-off film from the TV sitcom On the Buses and was followed by two further films Mutiny on the Buses and Holiday on the Buses...
(1971), Mutiny on the Buses
Mutiny on the Buses
Mutiny on the Buses is a 1972 British comedy film directed by Harry Booth and starring Reg Varney and Doris Hare. The film is the second spin-off film from the TV sitcom On the Buses and succeeded On the Buses . It was followed by a third film Holiday on the Buses...
(1972), and Holiday on the Buses
Holiday on the Buses
Holiday on the Buses is a 1973 British comedy film directed by Bryan Izzard and starring Reg Varney and Doris Hare. The film is the third spin-off film from the ITV sitcom On the Buses and succeeded the films On the Buses and Mutiny on the Buses...
(1973). Varney was 53 when the series started, although his character, who lived at home and was often trying to attract women, seemed to be in his mid-thirties. Stephen Lewis
Stephen Lewis (actor)
Stephen Lewis is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Inspector Cyril "Blakey" Blake in the LWT Sitcom On the Buses, Clem "Smiler" Hemmingway in the longest running sitcom Last of the Summer Wine and Harry Lambert in BBC Television's Oh, Doctor Beeching!.-Career:Lewis began his...
, who played Inspector Cyril "Blakey" Blake in the series, was actually 20 years younger than Varney, who, by the time On the Buses ended, was 57.
The show was a great success and Varney started to take on more film roles. These included Go for a Take
Go for a Take
Go for a Take is a 1972 British comedy film directed by Harry Booth and featuring Dennis Price, Bob Todd, Reg Varney, Norman Rossington, Sue Lloyd, and Anouska Hempel.-Cast:* Johnny Briggs ... Assistant Director* John Clive ... Hotel Waiter...
and The Best Pair of Legs in the Business. In the latter, Varney played a drag artist-cum-compère at a caravan holiday site. Down the Gate, in which he played a Billingsgate
Billingsgate Fish Market
Situated in East London, Billingsgate Fish Market is the United Kingdom's largest inland fish market. It takes its name from Billingsgate, a ward in the south-east of the City of London, where the riverside market was originally established...
fish porter, followed. He was also in the remake of the film The Plank
The Plank (1979 film)
The Plank is a popular 30-minute, 1979 British slapstick comedy, which was a remake of an earlier 1967 version of the film which was written and directed by Eric Sykes. The 1967 version of "The Plank" was, in turn, based on an episode called "Sykes and A Plank", which Eric Sykes wrote for his...
.
In April to June 1969 Varney co-starred with Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
entertainer Billy Raymond in 15 episodes of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's Channel O TV entertainment series "Rose and Crown" before returning to the UK for another "On The Buses" TV series.
He also made six hour-long spectaculars called The Other Reg Varney, and later his cabaret act toured Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. In 1988, On the Buses went on to the stage and again Varney went to Australia to play Stan.
Retirement and death
During the 1990s, Varney was forced to retire because of health problems. He had a heart attack in 1965 and in 1981 he suffered a more severe one. Subsequently he divided his time between his home in a small village near DartmouthDartmouth, Devon
Dartmouth is a town and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is a tourist destination set on the banks of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes...
and a villa in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
.
Varney moved to Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
in the late 1980s and lived alone after his wife, Lilian Emma Varney, died in East Devon
East Devon
East Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in Sidmouth, and the largest town is Exmouth.The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the borough of Honiton with the urban districts of Budleigh Salterton, Exmouth, Ottery St. Mary, Seaton, Sidmouth...
in 2002, aged 92.
Varney died aged 92 in a nursing home
Nursing home
A nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...
in Budleigh Salterton
Budleigh Salterton
Budleigh Salterton is a small town on the south coast of Devon, England 15 miles south of Exeter. It is situated within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty designated East Devon AONB.- Features :...
, Devon, on 16 November 2008, after suffering a chest infection. He was survived by his daughter Jeanne Marley.
Selected filmography
- Miss Robin HoodMiss Robin HoodMiss Robin Hood is a 1952 British film directed by John Guillermin. It falls neatly within the genre of post-war British fantasy, and there are strong correlations with a number of films within this genre such as e.g...
(1952) - Joey BoyJoey Boy-Biography:Born into a Thai-Chinese family, Joey Boy started listening to hip hop when he was 14 years old and skateboarding. In 1994, he was signed to Bakery Music. His first release was a self-titled EP. He recorded nine more albums with the label....
(1965) - The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery (1966)
- On the BusesOn the Buses (film)On the Buses is a 1971 British comedy film directed by Harry Booth and starring Reg Varney and Doris Hare. The film is the first spin-off film from the TV sitcom On the Buses and was followed by two further films Mutiny on the Buses and Holiday on the Buses...
(1971) - The Best Pair of Legs in the BusinessThe Best Pair of Legs in the BusinessThe Best Pair of Legs in the Business is a 1972 British comedy drama film directed by Christopher Hodson and starring Reg Varney, Diana Coupland and Lee Montague. A comic at a holiday camp is concerned about the future. However he manages to secure both a job and a wife...
(1972) - Mutiny on the BusesMutiny on the BusesMutiny on the Buses is a 1972 British comedy film directed by Harry Booth and starring Reg Varney and Doris Hare. The film is the second spin-off film from the TV sitcom On the Buses and succeeded On the Buses . It was followed by a third film Holiday on the Buses...
(1972) - Go for a TakeGo for a TakeGo for a Take is a 1972 British comedy film directed by Harry Booth and featuring Dennis Price, Bob Todd, Reg Varney, Norman Rossington, Sue Lloyd, and Anouska Hempel.-Cast:* Johnny Briggs ... Assistant Director* John Clive ... Hotel Waiter...
(1972) - Holiday on the BusesHoliday on the BusesHoliday on the Buses is a 1973 British comedy film directed by Bryan Izzard and starring Reg Varney and Doris Hare. The film is the third spin-off film from the ITV sitcom On the Buses and succeeded the films On the Buses and Mutiny on the Buses...
(1973)
Select television roles
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1961–1963 | The Rag Trade The Rag Trade The Rag Trade was a British television sitcom broadcast by the BBC between 1961 and 1963 and by LWT between 1977 and 1978.The scripts were by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney, who later wrote Wild, Wild Women, a period variation of The Rag Trade.... |
Reg |
| 1966–1968 | Beggar My Neighbour Beggar My Neighbour (TV series) Beggar My Neighbour was a black-and-white British sitcom starring Reg Varney, Peter Jones, June Whitfield, Pat Coombs and Desmond Walter-Ellis... |
Harry Butt |
| 1969–1973 | On the Buses On The Buses On the Buses was a British situation comedy created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney which was broadcast in the UK from 1969 to 1973. The writers' previous successes with The Rag Trade and Meet the Wife were for the BBC, but the Corporation rejected On the Buses, not seeing much comedy potential... |
Stan Butler |
| 1975–1976 | Down the 'Gate | Reg Furnell |