| Max
Bygraves |
Max Bygraves - CD cover. |
| Born |
16 October 1922
Rotherhithe,
London,
England,
UK |
Max Bygraves OBE (born
16
October 1922
in Rotherhithe,
London as
Walter William Bygraves) is an English
singer songwriter, famous for his waving hands. He appeared on his own
television shows, sometimes performing comedy sketches between songs.
Shows he presented included the gameshow Family
Fortunes.
|
Contents
- 1 Life
- 2 Trivia
- 3 Catch
phrases
- 4 UK
chart singles
- 5 Film
parts
- 6 Autobiography
- 7 External
links
|
Life
Max Bygraves was the son of poor parents in London's East
End docklands. His father was a professional boxer known as
Battling Tom Smith, and a casual dockworker. Max went to St. Joseph's
Primary school in Rotherhithe. Max showed talent as a
child singer and performed a solo in Westminster
Cathedral. He left school at 14 and became a messenger for W. S.
Crawford, an advertising agency in High Holborn. When World
War two broke out the advertising business collapsed and Max learnt the
trade of carpenter and then volunteered for the RAF.
It was his impression of Max Miller that earned him the
nickname Max from other airmen. He married WAAF sergeant Blossom Murray in 1942. He was
increasingly called upon to perform in concert parties wherever he was
posted.
After the war the BBC asked him to perform in a demob
show called They're Out with other wartime new
talent such as Frankie Howerd, Benny
Hill, Jimmy Edwards, Harry
Secombe and Spike Milligan.
This opened the way to a career in light entertainment. In 1951 he appeared at
the London Palladium. Comedian Eric Sykes
became his scriptwriter. He got the part of the tutor in the BBC radio
comedy show Educating Archie
where Archie was a ventriloquist's dummy. This made his
name nationally and he appeared in a Royal
Variety Show. Judy Garland invited him to support her
for a season in New York.
He acted in several films notably as Charlie Moon in the film of that name.
He also made a series of hit records including ten albums under the
title Singalongamax. These albums consisted of
several continuous medleys of popular songs usually linked by a common
theme.
He was awarded the OBE in 1982. In the 1990s he
bought an 84 acre property in northern New
South Wales, Australia
called Attunga Park.
He semi retired from the UK in 2002, with a tour finishing
with a sell out concert in Bournemouth, with the Beverley
Sisters. However Max returned in 2005, playing his final UK
concerts in September 2006.
Trivia
In TV comedy series Max and Paddy's Road
to Nowhere, it was revealed in episode four of series one that Max's
real name is Maxwell Bygraves as his mum was 'a big fan'.
Catch phrases
Max Bygraves is known for the following catch
phrases;
- I want to tell you a story
- That's a good idea, - SON!
- I've arrived - and to prove it, I'm here!
- Let's play BIG MONEY (while hosting Family
Fortunes)
UK chart singles
The below singles all made the UK top 75 sales charts
- Cowpuncher's Cantata (1952)
- (The Gang That Sang) Heart
Of My Heart (1954)
- Gilly
Gilly Ossenfeffer Katzenellen Bogen By The Sea (1954)
- Mister Sandman (1955)
- Meet Me On The Corner (1955)
- The Ballad Of Davy
Crockett (1956)
- Out Of Town (1956)
- Heart
(1957)
- You Need Hands / Tulips From
Amsterdam (1958)
- Little Train / Gotta Have Rain
(1958)
- My Ukelele (1959): Jingle
Bell Rock (1959)
- Fings Ain't Wot They
Used T'be (1960)
- Consider Yourself (1960)
- Bells Of Avignon (1951)
- You're My Everything (1969)
- Deck Of Cards (1973)
- White Christmas (1989)
Film parts
- Bless 'Em All (1949) playing Tommy
Anderson
- Skimpy in the Navy (1949) playing Tommy
Anderson
- Tom Brown's Schooldays (1951) playing a
Coach Guard
- Charley Moon (1956) playing Charley Moon
- A Cry from the Streets (1958) playing
Bill Lowther
... aka A Cry from the Street (reissue
title)
- Bobbikins (1960) playing Benjamin Barnaby
- Spare the Rod (1961) playing John
Saunders
Preceded by
Bob Monkhouse |
Host of Family
Fortunes
1983- 1985 |
Succeeded by
Les Dennis |
Autobiography
- Max Bygraves in his own words , Breedon
Books Publishing (1997) ISBN
1-85983-079-X
External links
