Web Page No 2692

5^th June 2020

1st Picture. Portrait

 

2nd Picture. In Sykes

3rd Picture. Playing the washboard

4th Picture. In Please Sir

Deryck Guyler

Deryck Guyler was one of those actors that seemed to be forever on our TV screens and was best known for his portrayal of officious, short-tempered middle-aged men in sitcoms such as Please Sir! and Sykes.

He was born on 29th April 1914 in Wallasey on the Wirral Peninsula  and brought up on the other side of the River Mersey in Liverpool where his father was a jeweller. He attended Liverpool College and originally planned a career in the church. In the 1930s he joined the Liverpool Repertory Theatre and performed in numerous productions. During the Second World War he was called up and joined the RAF Police but was later invalided from service, whereupon he joined Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) and then on 4th May 1942 the BBC's Drama and Repertory company in Manchester.

During the war, he became a regular on the radio series, It's That Man Again (ITMA), where he player 'Frisby Dike' (named after a Liverpool department store bombed in the Blitz) when it was the first time the real Liverpudlian accent was heard on the radio. He took part in a Royal Command Performance of ITMA for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in December 1947. He remained with the show until the death of Handley in 1949 when the series ended.

After ITMA, he worked in varied roles from BBC Children's Hour to classical parts, including with John Gielgud in King Lear. He was known for his often-amusing asides in rehearsals.

In the 1950s, he played the time-traveller (also known as "the voice") in Journey Into Space. After this he took on the title role in the Light Programme series Inspector Scott Investigates, that ran from 1957 to 1963. During the half hour programme a crime was committed; Scott and his sidekick, Det. Sgt. Bingham (Brian Hayes, brother of Patricia Hayes) interviewed two or three suspects; then, while music played, there was a short intermission for listeners to guess 'whodunit' before the final reveal.. During the 1960s and 1970s, when he starred in the satirical radio programme about life in the British civil service The Men from the Ministry with Richard Murdoch, where he played the pompous, self-important Number One in the General Assistance Department, with Richard Murdoch as his diffident but equally incompetent Number Two.

He appeared as the Police Sergeant in the Beatles' film A Hard Day's Night (1964) and as the art professor in the Gerry & the Pacemakers film Ferry Cross the Mersey (1965).

He held a unique place in theatrical history, having 'acted' in every performance of The Mousetrap since the opening night on 6th October 1952 in Nottingham, via a recorded news bulletin which is still being used during performances of the play today.

He appeared as one of Michael Bentine's sidekicks in surreal BBC show It's a Square World (1961), but he gained greater recognition on the small screen in his association with Eric Sykes. He played the part of Constable ('Corky') Turnbull in Sykes and a... (1960–65) which was later revived as Sykes (1972–79). In 1975, he appeared in the ITV children's show The Laughing Policeman, based on the Charles Penrose song and his character from the series.

In between the two series with Eric Sykes, he was also a regular on Please Sir! (1968–72), playing the cantankerous school caretaker Norman Potter. Other television appearances include those in That's My Boy, a comedy series starring Jimmy Clitheroe, and the short-lived political comedy Best of Enemies. He also played a drunken surgeon in the film Carry On Doctor. During the 1980s he voiced an animated skeleton in UK adverts for Scotch Video Tapes. He was the narrator of the BBC documentary about Fred Dibnah - Fred Dibnah, Steeplejack

He had been a devotee of washboard playing since his school days and appeared in numerous television light entertainment shows performing his washboard novelty act. In 1990, he played the washboard on three tracks of an album by long-time fan Shakin' Stevens. He also played washboard on an episode of the Morecambe and Wise Show as well as the drums. Take a look. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GembZTOdJl8

In 1941 he had married Paddy Lennox from the three-sister variety harmony act the Lennox Sisters, and they had two sons, Peter and Christopher. His passion was collecting jazz records and as of 1986, he had about 1,600 78rpm records, collecting records up to about the year 1947. In addition, he was a well-known wargamer, and a founding member of the Society of Ancients, a group of wargamers specialising in the classical era being elected its first president in 1966, Guyler was later made an honorary life president of the society.

A long-time resident of Norbury, South London, he retired to Ashgrove, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, in 1993, to be near his younger son Chris, daughter-in-law Judy and his three grandchildren.

He died on 7th October 1999. In 1995, Danny Baker and the BBC had made a 10-minute tribute to him and this was used as a part of the eulogy delivered by his son Chris at his funeral service. He was cremated at Mount Gravatt Cemetery and his ashes were placed at Mount Thompson Memorial Gardens in the Brisbane suburb of Holland Park in a family "garden seat" estate. 7th October 1999. His wife Paddy died on 6th January 2002 and is buried with her husband.

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On this day 5^th June 1960-1965

On 05/06/1960 the number one single was Cathy's Clown - Everly Brothers and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Wagon Train (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was Filming of Spartacus begins.

On 05/06/1961 the number one single was Surrender - Elvis Presley and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Probation Officer (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming Champions.

On 05/06/1962 the number one single was Good Luck Charm - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Boeing crashes on take-off in Paris killing 130.

On 05/06/1963 the number one single was From Me To 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 Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was Pope John XXIII dies.

On 05/06/1964 the number one single was You're My World - Cilla Black and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. 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 Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 05/06/1965 the number one single was Long Live Love - Sandie Shaw and the number one album was Bringing It All Back Home - Bob Dylan. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.