Web Page No 2718
5th September 2020
1st Picture Charlie Chester
4th Picture. In broadcasting mode
Cheerful
Charlie Chester
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Like Ted Ray,
Charlie Chester was among the last generation of comedy performers to come up
through music hall. He was born Cecil Victor Manser on 26th April 1914 in
Eastbourne, where his father ran a sign-writing business. His mother was a
singer, and young Cecil followed her lead and was a boy soprano at seven
years. By his late teens, he had tried his hand at comedy and also had his
own accordion band. After short
engagements as a grocer's errand boy and then as an embroidery firm's
messenger, he adopted the stage name Charlie Chester and made a bold attempt
to make it in music hall. His was not an easy route to success, however, not
least owing to his striking resemblance to top comic, Max Miller, who,
sensing an imitator, had him banned from the circuit initially. Charlie Chester
was not to be dissuaded, however. Charlie knuckled
down to radio work and appeared regularly in pantomime. He supplemented his
income at this time by writing songs, some of which were recorded by top
artistes, including the Flanagan and Allen. As the Second World War progressed
"Cheerful" Charlie Chester
became a member of ENSA and dedicated himself to entertaining British troops
overseas, notably in France before the Dunkirk evacuation. He served the
remainder of the conflict with the Irish Fusiliers and juggled this with
starring in Stand Easy, a radio comedy show which he wrote and
performed with fellow army personnel - among them future stars such as Arthur
Haynes - broadcast to the troops and relayed back home to Britain. This
proved a terrific springboard for Charlie, who was very much in demand as the
war drew to a close. Stand Easy continued for several years
after his return to civvies, and its popularity was such that crowd control
was necessary when the show went on regional theatrical tours. Charlie Chester's
involvement with It's A Knockout was limited to the first
season. On the occasion of the show's tenth anniversary, he looked back, with
his tongue somewhat in cheek: "Let me tell you about Cheerful Charlie
Chester's own programme, Take Pot Luck, that ran for years back
in the 1950s. It was the first programme ever, if you don't mind
me saying so, based on competitive fun. Fun and gimmicks. Years before The
Generation Game and Knockout. I'm an ideas man, y'see.
Started all these things. I devised dozens of the first games in Knockout,
did you know that? Before they started getting cleverer. Before all the
Continental things. It was me and Ted Ray at the beginning, you'll remember.
But we got the chop in favour, so they said, of multi-lingual compères. So we
missed out on all those trips abroad. We would've loved that." Take
Pot Luck is indeed credited as being the first 'give-away' game
show, with television sets as regular top prizes. His claim to have devised
the games for the original series was undoubtedly a little white lie from one
of entertainment's great self-publicists, but It's A Knockout was
clearly a programme that he enjoyed taking part in. His career high
point was undoubtedly in the Fifties, but when comedy tastes moved away from
vaudeville towards satire and 'university' humour, he showed great mettle and
diversified. He wrote children's books, an autobiography - "The World is
Full of Charlies" - and also thriller novels (under the pen-name Carl
Noone); he appeared in Shakespeare and stage farces; he became president of
the Grand Order of Water Rats, a theatrical organisation with a long history
of working for charity. He would even go on to write a history of the
organisation, which he had published in 1984. Possibly most notably, Charlie was also a fixture of Sunday afternoons
on BBC Radio Two from 1969 for many, many years with his Sunday
Soapbox, a request show which eventually became a kind of radio
community, with listeners' letters, help for those in need and even a service
for those who wished to renew contact with lost friends and relations. He opened the programme each week
with the introduction "With a box full of records and a bag full of
post, it's radio Soapbox and Charlie your host!" The programme was
transmitted on Sunday afternoons until suffered a stroke, after which he
could not walk or talk, in November 1995. Charlie Chester brought this all together with warmth and a genuine
affection for and camaraderie with his audience. A rare talent which was
rightly met with a loyal listenership. In 1990, Charlie Chester was
recognised by the state, and was awarded the MBE for his services to
entertainment and charity. It was an accolade he cherished. Charlie Chester died on Thursday 27th June 1997,
aged 83. Stay in touch Peter gsseditor@gmail.com You Write: News and Views: On
this day 5th September 1960-1965 On 05/09/1960 the number one single was Apache -
The Shadows and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top
rated TV show was Rawhide 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. The big news story was Grandma
Moses is 100-years-old. On 05/09/1961 the number one single was Johnny
Remember Me - John Leyton and the number one album was Black & White
Minstrel Show - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Sunday
Night at the London Palladium and the box office smash was One Hundred and
One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich Town
were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news
story of the day was TUC votes against Unilateral Nuclear Disarmament On 05/09/1962 the number one single was I
Remember You - Frank Ifield and the number one album was West Side Story
Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street 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 05/09/1963 the number one single was Bad to Me
- Billy J Kramer 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 Sussex win first One Day Cricket Tournament On 05/09/1964 the number one single was Have I
the Right? - Honeycombs and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night -
Beatles. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast
(all channels) 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 05/09/1965 the number one single was I Got You
Babe - Sonny and Cher and the number one album was Help - The Beatles. 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
Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. |
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