Harry Secombe

Harry Secombe

Born: September 8, 1921
Died: April 11, 2001
in Swansea, Wales, UK
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.

Movies for Harry Secombe...

Spike Milligan: Love, Light and Peace
Title: Spike Milligan: Love, Light and Peace
Character: Himself (archive footage)
Released: December 10, 2014
Type: Movie
A very personal portrait of the truly unique comedy genius of Spike Milligan, as told in his own words and featuring exclusive home movie footage. With contributions from those who worked with him, lived with him and were inspired by him.
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The Unforgettable Harry Secombe
Title: The Unforgettable Harry Secombe
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: December 20, 2010
Type: Movie
A celebration of the life and career of Sir Harry Secombe, one of Britain's best-loved entertainers.
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The Paranormal Peter Sellers
Title: The Paranormal Peter Sellers
Character: Self (Archive footage)
Released: January 1, 2001
Type: Movie
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.
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The Unknown Peter Sellers
Title: The Unknown Peter Sellers
Character: Himself
Released: April 25, 2000
Type: Movie
Documentary about the life and career of a comic genius, Peter Sellers.
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Spike
Title: Spike
Character: Himself
Released: June 11, 1996
Type: Movie
Spike personally tells the story of his life from India, World War II to The Goons and his Q series
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An Evening with Spike Milligan
Title: An Evening with Spike Milligan
Character: Himself
Released: February 24, 1996
Type: Movie
Spike recalls his exploits in the army, setting up a jazz band and other sources of his comic inspiration. He patiently answers impertinent questions from Harry Secombe, Peter O'Toole, Lynsey de Paul, Roy Hudd and Denis Norden with often amusing answers.
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An Audience with Jimmy Tarbuck
Title: An Audience with Jimmy Tarbuck
Character: Self - Audience Member
Released: October 22, 1994
Type: Movie
Jimmy Tarbuck parades his comic wares in front of a celebrity audience, including Cilla Black, Bruce Forsyth, Billy Connolly, Michael Parkinson, Harry Secombe and Henry Cooper.
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Just Like That!
Title: Just Like That!
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1989
Type: Movie
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.
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Title: Chasing Rainbows - A Nation and Its Music
Released: September 14, 1986
Type: TV
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Title: Highway
Released: October 23, 1983
Type: TV
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.
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Title: Wogan
Character: Self
Released: May 4, 1982
Type: TV
Wogan is a British television chat show
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Sunstruck
Title: Sunstruck
Released: December 22, 1972
Type: Movie
Stanley Evans, a Welsh schoolteacher, decides to emigrate to Australia for a better life but ends up working in a school in the dead-end town of Kookaburra Springs. He forms a school choir and decides to compete in a singing competition in Sydney
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The Last Goon Show of All
Title: The Last Goon Show of All
Released: May 10, 1972
Type: Movie
Sellers, Secombe and Milligan reunite for one last show.
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The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins
Title: The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins
Character: Stanley (segment "Envy")
Released: November 1, 1971
Type: Movie
The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins is a 1971 British comedy film directed and produced by Graham Stark. Its title is a conflation of The Magnificent Seven and the seven deadly sins. It comprises a sequence of seven sketches, each representing a sin and written by an array of British comedy-writing talent. The sketches are linked by animation sequences. The music score is by British jazz musician Roy Budd, cinematography by Harvey Harrison and editing by Rod Nelson-Keys and Roy Piper. It was produced by Tigon Pictures and distributed in the U.K. by Tigon Film Distributors Ltd..
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Song of Norway
Title: Song of Norway
Character: Bioernstjerne Bjoernson
Released: November 4, 1970
Type: Movie
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.
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Doctor in Trouble
Title: Doctor in Trouble
Character: Llewellyn Wendover
Released: June 16, 1970
Type: Movie
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.
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Rhubarb
Title: Rhubarb
Character: Rev. Rhubarb
Released: April 3, 1970
Type: Movie
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...
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Pickwick
Title: Pickwick
Character: Mr Pickwick
Released: June 11, 1969
Type: Movie
Pickwick is a British television musical made by the BBC in 1969 and based on the 1963 stage musical Pickwick, which in turn was based on the 1837 novel The Pickwick Papers written by Charles Dickens. It stars Harry Secombe as Samuel Pickwick and Roy Castle as Sam Weller. This television production was based on the stage musical Pickwick which had been a commercial success. It was adapted for the screen by James Gilbert and Jimmy Grafton. The musical had premiered in the West End in 1963, again with Harry Secombe in the lead role. Running at 90 minutes and made in colour, the TV musical again had lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and a score by Cyril Ornadel. The book was by Wolf Mankowitz and it was directed by Terry Hughes. The programme was first transmitted on 11 June 1969 and again on 26 December 1969. One of the better known songs from the score is "If I Ruled the World". The cast of this production differed somewhat from that of the stage musical.
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The Bed Sitting Room
Title: The Bed Sitting Room
Character: Shelter Man
Released: June 1, 1969
Type: Movie
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.
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Oliver!
Title: Oliver!
Character: Mr. Bumble
Released: September 26, 1968
Type: Movie
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.
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Title: The Telegoons
Released: October 5, 1963
Type: TV
The Telegoons is a comedy puppet show, adapted from the highly successful BBC radio comedy show of the 1950s.
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Alice Through the Looking Box
Title: Alice Through the Looking Box
Character: Humpty Dumpty
Released: December 25, 1960
Type: Movie
A Christmas TV special in which Alice does not go through a looking glass, but through a TV set.
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Jet Storm
Title: Jet Storm
Character: Binky Meadows
Released: September 16, 1959
Type: Movie
Crisis in the air: A passenger aboard a commercial airplane flying from London to New York threatens to detonate a bomb over the Atlantic.
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Title: The Bruce Forsyth Show
Released: March 29, 1959
Type: TV
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.
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Davy
Title: Davy
Character: Davy Morgan
Released: January 2, 1958
Type: Movie
The Mad Morgans are a family song and dance act touring the British Music Halls. Young Davy is the star of the act but should he stay with his family or strike out on his own ? The last comedy to be produced at Ealing Studios.
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Title: The Harry Secombe Show
Released: September 24, 1955
Type: TV
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Svengali
Title: Svengali
Character: Barizel
Released: September 1, 1954
Type: Movie
A man hypnotizes a young woman into being an opera singer.
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Forces' Sweetheart
Title: Forces' Sweetheart
Character: Harry Llewelyn
Released: November 1, 1953
Type: Movie
Wartime musical comedy.
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Down Among the Z Men
Title: Down Among the Z Men
Character: Harry Jones
Released: October 1, 1952
Type: Movie
The Goon Show hits the big screen. Professor Pure Heart absent-mindedly loses the top secret formula in Harry Jones' Grocery Shop. "Bats of the Yard", as Harry calls himself, finds it and attempts to return it to the Professor.
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Penny Points to Paradise
Title: Penny Points to Paradise
Character: Harry Flakers
Released: April 25, 1951
Type: Movie
When Harry and Spike visit Bristol to spend the winnings from Harry's latest Pools win, the boys are soon targeted by a gang of local counterfeiters.
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Helter Skelter
Title: Helter Skelter
Character: Alf
Released: January 7, 1949
Type: Movie
A detective gets involved with a wealthy socialite who can't seem to stop hiccuping.
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Title: The Ed Sullivan Show
Character: Self
Released: June 20, 1948
Type: TV
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.
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Title: The Harry Secombe Show
Released: December 31, 1969
Type: TV