Web Page No 2734

 

22nd November 2020

 

1^st Picture: Vic Oliver

 

2^nd Picture: The Vic Oliver Orchestra

 

3^rd Picture; With Bebe Daniels

 

4^th Picture; With Barbara Lyon, Richard Lyon, Ben Lyon and Bebe Daniels Lyon.

Vic Oliver

 

Or Victor Oliver von Samek which was his real name was a comedian and actor from the golden age of radio comedy. He was born on 8^th  July 1898 in Vienna into a Jewish family, the son of Baron Viktor von Samek but professionally became known as Vic Oliver.

 

He had studied medicine at Vienna University but abandoned it for his first love, music and for a time he studied under Gustav Mahler. During the First World War he served in the Austrian Cavalry and  after the war he worked as a banker and a textile manufacturer before returning to music. In 1926 he visited the United States as a conductor and violinist.

He discovered his gift for comedy purley by chance when he had to apologise to his audience for something. A new career as a comedian took him all over the United States. He reached the Palace Theatre, New York in 1929 and the London Palladium two years later. This established him in the United Kingdom and, with his deferential, modest humour, he became very popular. He was kept busy in musical revues, variety and pantomime.

He was Roy Plomley's very first 'castaway' guest on Desert Island Discs, on 29^th  January 1942. This lost broadcast was recalled in 2012 in a BBC radio documentary about Vic Oliver's life in Britain. The script still remains.

He starred in the BBC radio show Hi, Gang that ran from Sunday 26 May 1940 until 1949, featuring Ben Lyon and Bebe Daniels. A sequel to this domestic sitcom, was Life with the Lyons, which debuted on BBC radio and television in November 1950. Vic Oliver also appeared with many other stars of the time including Cicely Courtneidge and Jack Hulbert. He played the violin (deliberately badly in his shows) and had aspirations as a conductor and founded the Vic Oliver Concert Orchestra which gave light classical concerts as well as complete opera performances. In 1953 he established Variety Playhouse as a primetime radio show featuring music, comedy and light drama. He was also a regular on Henry Hall's Guest Night and Workers' Playtime .

In his youth he played tennis, football and hockey  and became junior tennis champion of Austria in 1914. After arriving in the United Kingdom in 1936 he became a supporter of First Division club Brentford and was vice-president of the club in the early 1950s. He later became president of the Brentford Supporters' Club.

As a Jew, his name was reportedly listed on a Nazi blacklist of people to be arrested (and killed) immediately in the event of a successful German invasion of Britain.

He married Winston Churchill's daughter, Sarah, in 1936. They had become secretly engaged when they were appearing together in a revue. Winston Churchill did not approve of him. There was nothing whatever against Oliver's character but he had been divorced at least once, possibly twice. Some thought there was negativity also towards those involved with music halls and their folk. There is an anecdote that, at a dinner party at which Vic Oliver was present, Winston Churchill was asked whom he most admired. Churchill replied, "Mussolini". When asked why, he replied, "Because he had the good sense to shoot his son-in-law!" Vic Oliver and Sarah divorced in 1945 and it was noted that he never played on his relationship with Churchill despite attractive offers. A year later he married Natalie Frances Conder in 1946 in Westminster, London and they had one daughter.

He continued to play in big venues and appeared on radio, even up to 1962 when he appeared in sitcom Discord in Three Flats. He died in Johannesburg on 15^th  August 1964 aged 66.

From humble beginnings as a trainee doctor and then a theatre pianist, he had become one of radio's most recognisable voices in an era when variety stars were household names.

 

Peter

 

gsseditor@gmail.com

 

Griff Writes about Bonfire Night:-

 

Flint House big bonfire night was always a must place to be for me with my 2/6d worth of Mighty Atom 1d Bangers ( 30 of them ).

 

 

News and Views:

 

On this day 22^nd September 1960-1965

 

On 22/09/1960 the number one single was Apache - The Shadows and the number one album was Down Drury Lane to Memory Lane - A Hundred and One Strings. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) 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 of the day was Parking tickets and traffic wardens introduced in London

 

On 22/09/1961 the number one single was Johnny Remember Me - John Leyton 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 £not very interesting and 13.25 were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Take Your Pick (AR)".

 

On 22/09/1962 the number one single was She's Not You - Elvis Presley and the number one album was West Side Story Soundtrack. 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 22/09/1963 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.

 

On 22/09/1964 the number one single was You Really Got Me - Kinks 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 22/09/1965 the number one single was (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Rolling Stones 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.