Web Page No 2780 1st May 2021 1st Picture: Max in his early days

2nd Picture: With Tommy Cooper and Arthur Askey

3rd Picture: With his wife Connie

4th Picture: Educating Archie: Max, Hattie Jacques, Archie Andrews, Peter Brough and Harry Secombe

Max Bygraves, It seems to me that throughout my younger years, in the entertainment world there was always Max Bygraves through Educating Archie, the Tooth Brush Song, Singalongwithmax and the rather uncomfortable couple of series of game shows. He always kept the persona of a cheerful cockney stevedore but good-natured, with a sort of innocence that would not upset anyone. This was suited to his voice and stage personna. He was born Walter William Bygraves in Rotherhithe to Henry Bygraves, a prize fighter who became a docker, and his wife, Lilian. The family lived in a two-room flat and money could be scarce. His father tended to fend off his young son's questions about life and sex with jokes. When, in early adolescence, the boy asked him why hair was beginning to grow on his body, his father told him it was God's punishment for his misdeeds: "You're turning into a coconut." Max attended St Joseph's school, Rotherhithe, and sang with his school choir at Westminster Cathedral. When his father dressed him up in an old army cap, gave him a broom for a rifle and got him to sing a popular song in front of an audience of dockers, the collection for him was large enough to encourage the thought of a career in show business. After leaving school at the age of 14, he went into an advertising agency as a messenger boy, ferrying copy to newspapers and stopping at the Holborn Empire to see variety acts whenever he could afford it. When the advertising industry slumped at the beginning of the second world war, he got a job as a carpenter's apprentice and built air-raid shelters. After being blown off a roof he was repairing during an air raid, he decided to volunteer for the RAF in 1940 and served as an airframe fitter for five years. He met a sergeant in the WAAF, Blossom Murray, and they married in 1942. Together, they had three children, Christine, Anthony and Maxine. Stationed near Kew, Max started entertaining the troops and performed in pubs, doing impressions of Frank Sinatra, the Inkspots and Max Miller (earning him the nickname Max, which he kept). By the time the war ended, he decided to turn professional. At the Grand theatre, Clapham, he was spotted by the agent Gordon Norval, who got him six weeks' work. Further engagements followed but the going was tough. Despite their love of Britain, he and Blossom had decided to emigrate to Australia when a letter arrived from the BBC asking him to repeat the audition act he had recently given. This earned him an appearance in the radio series They're Out, which featured other demobbed entertainers such as Spike Milligan, Jimmy Edwards, Frankie Howerd, Harry Secombe and Benny Hill. In 1946 he did a touring revue, For the Fun of It, with Frankie Howerd. He then made his first films, Bless 'em All and Skimpy in the Navy (both in 1949), and had another radio hit in the 1950s, performing in Educating Archie. He also made a handful of films in that decade in the 1950’s Meanwhile, the London Palladium had become something like his professional home. He made his debut there in 1950, after he was seen at the Finsbury Park Empire and was asked to stand in for Ted Ray at the Palladium. He appeared in 14 shows there over a period of 10 years and eventually starred in 19 Royal Variety Performances. After the first of these, in 1950, Judy Garland asked him to appear with her at the Palace theatre in New York where, wrongly, he did not expect his cockney humour to register. He was naturally laidback and worked on perfecting the art of unforced pace on stage and his delivery was always apparently casual. He regarded his catchphrases as better value than a press agent, and lines such as "A good idea, son" and "I wanna tell you a story" became very popular. His company Lakeview Music bought the rights to Lionel Bart's musical Oliver! for £350 and later sold them on for £250,000. In 1960, he released his version of one of the musical's numbers, Consider Yourself. In the 50s, he had reached the Top 5 with the singles Meet Me on the Corner, You Need Hands/Tulips from Amsterdam and Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be. Often nostalgic or comedic in tone (such as You're a Pink Toothbrush), he also released in a series of "singalong" albums. He picked up 31 gold discs in total and was appointed OBE in 1983. In 1977 he published a novel, The Milkman's on His Way and his autobiography, I Wanna Tell You a Story, appeared the previous year, and further memoirs followed, including After Thoughts (1989), Max Bygraves: In His Own Words (1997) and Stars in My Eyes: A Life in Show Business (2002). In his later years he settled into a routine of overseas shows, especially in South Africa, which he had often visited before the end of apartheid. He was generous to family, friends and old associates and worked for theatre charities. He relocated to Australia from Poole in later life. Blossom died in 2011 and he died 31 August 2012 was survived by his children and several grandchildren. He died aged 89 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease he was an all-round entertainer singer, a television host and a reluctant gameshow compere (his two years with Family Fortunes between 1983 and 85 convinced him it was not for him). he died from complications of this illness at his daughter's home in Australia on the evening of 31st August 2012. His place of burial is unknown. But who can forget Gilly Gilly Ossenfeffer Katzenellenbogen-By-The-Sea? Stay in touch Peter gsseditor@gmail.com

On 01/03/1960 the number one single was Why - Anthony Newley and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was not listed and the box office smash was Some Like It Hot. 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 First plain paper photocopier introduced.

On 01/03/1961 the number one single was Sailor - Petula Clark. The top rated TV show was The Army Game (Granada) 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 the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Bootsie & Snudge (Granada).

On 01/03/1962 the number one single was Rock-a-Hula Baby/Can't Help Falling In Love - 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 93 die in New York plane crash. 01/03/1963 the number one single was The Wayward Wind - Frank Ifield and the number one album was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows. The top rated TV show was Labour Party Political Broadcast (all channels) 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.

On 01/03/1963 the number one single was The Wayward Wind - Frank Ifield and the number one album was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows. The top rated TV show was Labour Party Political Broadcast (all channels) 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. div class="separator" style="clear: both;">