Harry Secombe
Born: 1921-09-08 in Swansea, Wales, UK
Died: 2001-04-11
Known For: 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.
Filmography
2014
- Spike Milligan: Love, Light and Peace as Himself (archive footage)
2010
- The Unforgettable Harry Secombe as Self (archive footage)
2001
- The Paranormal Peter Sellers as Self (Archive footage)
2000
- The Unknown Peter Sellers as Himself
1996
- Spike as Himself
- An Evening with Spike Milligan as Himself
1994
- An Audience with Jimmy Tarbuck as Self - Audience Member
1989
- Just Like That! as Self
1983
1982
- Wogan as Self
1972
- Sunstruck
- The Last Goon Show of All as Self
1971
- The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins as Stanley (segment "Envy")
1970
- Rhubarb as Rev. Rhubarb
- Song of Norway as Bioernstjerne Bjoernson
- Doctor in Trouble as Llewellyn Wendover
1969
- The Bed Sitting Room as Shelter Man
- Pickwick as Mr Pickwick
1968
- Oliver! as Mr. Bumble
1963
1960
- Alice Through the Looking Box as Humpty Dumpty
1959
- Jet Storm as Binky Meadows
- The Bruce Forsyth Show
1958
- Davy as Davy Morgan
1954
- Svengali as Barizel
1953
- Forces' Sweetheart as Harry Llewelyn
1952
- Down Among the Z Men as Harry Jones
1951
- Penny Points to Paradise as Harry Flakers
1949
- Helter Skelter as Alf (uncredited)
1948
- The Ed Sullivan Show as Self