Web Page No 2530

25^th November 2018

1^st Picture. Arthur Haynes Tramp

2nd Picture. Nicholas Parson

3^rd Picture. Patricia Hayes

4^th Picture. Doctor in Clover

Arthur Haynes (14^th  May 1914 – 19^th  November 1966)

He was an English comedian and star of The Arthur Haynes Show, a comedy sketch series produced by ATV from 1956 until his death from a heart attack in 1966. He also made many radio broadcasts and several films.

Arthur Haynes was born in London, the only child of a Fulham Baker. He started work in a number of odd jobs, doing painting (he was very proud of his painting in later years), plumbing and joinery until the Second World War broke out. He then became an entertainer while serving with the Royal Engineers during the war. A fellow comedian, Charlie Chester, told a story where they were waiting outside Caen and Arthur Haynes pointed to a trench full of mud and a million tiny frogs and said nothing would get him into that. Just then a German aircraft started firing near them and Haynes dived straight into the trench and afterwards emerged covered in mud and frogs.

With Charlie Chester he was part of the British Army's concert party troupe Stars in Battledress and Arthur continued to work with Charlie Chester after the war in the BBC Radio series Stand Easy (1946–49) Charlie Chester had not originally wanted to feature him as he had a full cast but once he heard Arthur Haynes give a high pitched laugh, he knew he could use it and found a place for him. They became a double act in the show where Charlie wrote the scripts. Much later, he returned to BBC radio with The Arthur Haynes Show (1962–65) which ran over four series. He also recorded Arthur Again. Both series were written by Johnny Speight.

On 21^st February 1956, Arthur Haynes appeared in the first edition of ATV variety series Strike a New Note, which was supposed to air talent for the new independent television station. Nicholas Parsons said the show was awful, but he was offered a role after the first few episodes and joined it. A few more shows and there was a clear out and everyone but Arthur Haynes and Nicholas Parsons went. The show was soon renamed Get Happy  and Arthur who had been a stand-up comedian was given his own series later in the year and Nicholas Parsons who had been an all-rounder found himself cast as his straight man.

His ATV series, The Arthur Haynes Show (1956–66), networked on ITV and made him the most popular comedian in Britain. There were 95 thirty-minute shows, 62 thirty-five-minute shows and one fifty-minute show, spread over fifteen series. His most popular character was a working class tramp – created by Johnny Speight who said he got the idea of the tramp from a real tramp who climbed into his Rolls Royce when it was stopped at a traffic light. In 1963 and 1964 Arthur worked with Dermot Kelly who played another tramp (called Irish), who was not very smart. Sometimes Patricia Hayes would join them as a woman tramp. The regular straight man was still Nicholas Parsons. The stars sometimes forgot (or did not bother to learn) their lines, and would ad lib and if someone fluffed a line, that would be used to get more laughs, the player sometimes failing to keep a straight face with occasional bursts of laughter.

The shows would also feature musical guests, such as the Springfields in 1963, Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen and the Rolling Stones in 1964, and Joe Brown and the Bruvvers and the Dave Clark Five in 1965. A number of the shows started and ended with Arthur Haynes driving a horse and cart along a narrow country lane, whistling and (unconvincingly) playing a harmonica. Some began with a cartoon workman using a road drill on the show's title.

He received the Variety Club's award as ITV Personality of 1961 and appeared on the Royal Variety Performance in the same year. The shows also made a star of Nicholas Parsons who tended to play supercilious neighbours and authority figures in the comedy sketches. Eventually, as the public began to recognise Nicholas Parsons' skill as a straight man, Arthur decided to dispense with his services. Other stars also made early appearances: in 1962 Michael Caine played a burglar burgling the same house as Arthurs character. He had a good singing voice, which he rarely used on TV, and in 1960 performed a sketch called The Haynes Brothers, where he and Dickie Valentine, wearing a moustache, sang together.

In 1965 Haynes appeared alongside  Rock Hudson / Gina Lollobrigida in Strange Bedfellows. While in Hollywood, Cary Grant turned up with an entourage at a place where he was staying and lavished great praise on him, calling him the greatest comedy star in the world. In 1966, he appeared as a patient in the British film Doctor in Clover.

In 1963 he recorded the novelty songs "Not To Worry" and "Looking Around".

He died of a heart attack in November 1966 in Ealing, at the age of 52, shortly after he returned from America, where he had appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and just before the commencement of shooting for the 16th series of his hit ITV television show. He is buried at Mortlake Cemetery in Kew, London.

Between 2011 and 2013 Network DVD have since released all surviving episodes of The Arthur Haynes Show (from film recordings) on Region 2 DVDs. Volume 1 contains thirteen of the earliest surviving episodes from 1960, while Volume 2 contains twelve episodes dating from 1961. Volumes 3 and 4 contain episodes from 1962, along with episodes  Volumes 5 and 6 both containing episodes based on scripts by Johnny Speight. Volume 7 completes the sequence.

A single collection set titled (The Collected Arthur Haynes Show, consisting all 7 volumes) was later released on 24 April 2017.

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On this day 28^th November 1960-1965.

On 25/11/1960 the number one single was It's Now Or Never - Elvis Presley and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Labour Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 25/11/1961 the number one single was Little Sister/His Latest Flame - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Ipswich Town. The top rated TV show was "Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25.The big news story of the day was Sunday Night at the London Palladium

On 25/11/1962 the number one single was Lovesick Blues - Frank Ifield and the number one album was Out of the Shadows - Shadows. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 25/11/1963 the number one single was She Loves You - The Beatles and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Cape Canaveral renamed Cape Kennedy.

On 25/11/1964 the number one single was Baby Love - Supremes and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 25/11/1965 the number one single was The Carnival is Over - Seekers and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Take Your Pick (AR) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.