Harry Secombe facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sir Harry Secombe CBE
Born	Harry Donald Secombe (1921-09-08)8 September 1921 St Thomas, Swansea, Wales
Died	11 April 2001(2001-04-11) (aged 79) Guildford, Surrey, England
Nationality	Welsh
Education	Dynevor School, Swansea
Occupation	Singer actor comedian
Years active	1946–2001
Television	The Goon Show (Radio) The Harry Secombe Show, Secombe And Friends, Highway (TV) Sunday Morning with Secombe (TV)
Spouse(s)	Myra Atherton (1924-2017; married 1948)
Children	4, including Andy
Relatives	Fred Secombe (brother)

Sir Harry Donald Secombe (8 September 1921 – 11 April 2001) was a famous Welsh comedian, actor, and singer. He was also a popular television presenter. Harry Secombe is best known for being a key member of the British radio comedy show The Goon Show. On the show, which ran from 1951 to 1960, he played many characters, especially Neddie Seagoon.

Harry Secombe was also a talented singer with a strong tenor voice. He performed in many musicals and films. One of his most famous film roles was Mr. Bumble in Oliver! (1968). Later in his life, he hosted TV shows that featured hymns and other religious songs.

Early Life and School Days

Harry Secombe was born in St Thomas, Swansea, Wales. He was the third of four children. His mother, Nellie Jane Gladys, managed a shop, and his father, Frederick Ernest Secombe, worked in a grocery business.

From the age of 11, Harry went to Dynevor School in Swansea. His family regularly attended St Thomas Church. Harry was part of the church choir. From age 12, he would perform a funny sketch called The Welsh Courtship at church events. His older brother, Fred Secombe, later became an Anglican priest and wrote several books about his experiences.

Harry's Time in the Army

After finishing school in 1937, Harry Secombe worked as a pay clerk. In 1938, as war seemed likely, he joined the Territorial Army. Harry was very short-sighted. To pass the eye test, he memorized the chart after a friend told him the letters.

He served as a Lance Bombardier in the Royal Artillery during the Second World War. His unit fought in the North African Campaign, Sicily, and Italy. He jokingly called them "The Five-Mile Snipers." In North Africa, Harry first met Spike Milligan, who would become a lifelong friend and comedy partner. In Sicily, Harry joined a concert group and created his own comedy acts to entertain the soldiers.

Years later, in 1982, Harry visited the Falkland Islands to entertain troops after the Falklands War. His old regiment gave him a special promotion to sergeant, 37 years after he had left the army.

Becoming a Star Entertainer

Harry made his first radio appearance in May 1944 on a show for the armed forces. After the war, before leaving the army, he joined a group of entertainers in Naples. There, he formed a comedy duo with Spike Milligan.

Starting in Comedy and Radio

In 1946, Secombe joined the famous Windmill Theatre in London. He used a comedy routine he had developed in Italy about how people shaved. Harry often said that his singing talent always helped him out if his comedy act wasn't going well.

After touring around the country, Harry got his first big break in radio. He became the main comedian for the Welsh radio series Welsh Rarebit. He then appeared on Variety Bandbox and had a regular role in Educating Archie.

The Goon Show Years

Harry Secombe met Michael Bentine at the Windmill Theatre. His agent, Jimmy Grafton, introduced him to Peter Sellers. Both Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers later said that Harry helped keep their comedy group together when club owners wanted to fire them.

Together with Spike Milligan, Michael Bentine, and Peter Sellers, Harry wrote a comedy radio script. This show, first called Those Crazy People, began on 28 May 1951. It soon became the hugely popular The Goon Show, which ran until 1960. Harry Secombe mainly played the character of Neddie Seagoon, around whom the show's wild and silly stories often revolved.

In 1955, while still on The Goon Show, the BBC asked Harry to quickly step in as the lead for the radio comedy Hancock's Half Hour. The show's star, Tony Hancock, had left for a trip without telling anyone. Harry took the lead for the first three episodes. Later, his son, Andrew Secombe, rerecorded these lost episodes in 2017, playing his father's original role.

Singing and Acting Career

As The Goon Show became very successful, Harry Secombe started a double career as both a comedy actor and a singer. Early in his career, his act would end with a funny version of the song Sweethearts. He would sing both the deep baritone and high falsetto parts.

Harry trained with an Italian music teacher, Manlio di Veroli. He became known as a bel canto tenor, which means he had a beautiful singing voice. He joked that for him, it meant "can belto" (as in, he could really belt out a song!). He released many best-selling music albums.

In 1958, he appeared in the film Jet Storm. That same year, he starred in the main role of Davy, one of the last films made by Ealing Studios.

Harry's powerful voice allowed him to star in many stage musicals. In 1963, he starred in Pickwick, a musical based on Charles Dickens' The Pickwick Papers. From this show, he had a hit song called "If I Ruled the World", which later became his signature tune. In 1965, the Pickwick show toured the United States, and Harry was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical on Broadway.

In 1967, Harry had his biggest hit single with his version of "This Is My Song". He also appeared in the musical The Four Musketeers (1967). He played Mr. Bumble in Carol Reed's film Oliver! (1968).

Harry then starred in his own television show, The Harry Secombe Show. It first aired on Christmas Day 1968 on BBC 1 and ran for 31 episodes. This was a sketch comedy show that often featured Julian Orchard as Harry's regular helper. Other famous performers like Spike Milligan, Ronnie Barker, and Arthur Lowe also made guest appearances. Harry later starred in similar shows like Sing a Song of Secombe and ITV's Secombe with Music in the 1970s.

Later Career and Honours

Later in his life, Harry Secombe became well-known for presenting religious TV shows. His brother, Fred Secombe, was a priest, and Harry was also part of the Anglican Church. He hosted programmes like the BBC's Songs of Praise and ITV's Stars on Sunday and Highway. He also helped with programming for Harlech Television.

In 1990, Harry was honored for a second time on the TV show This Is Your Life. He had first been a subject of the show in 1958.

Awards and Knighthood

A blue plaque commemorating Secombe.

In 1963, Harry Secombe was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

He was made a knight in 1981. He famously joked about his round figure by calling himself "Sir Cumference." The motto he chose for his coat of arms was "GO ON," a nod to The Goon Show.

Later Life and Passing

Harry Secombe faced some health challenges later in life. He had a stroke in 1997, but he slowly recovered. In 1998, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. After a second stroke in 1999, he had to stop his television career. He made a documentary about his condition to encourage others.

Harry Secombe passed away on 11 April 2001, at the age of 79, from prostate cancer. He died in a hospital in Guildford, Surrey. His ashes are buried at the church in Shamley Green. A special memorial service was held for him at Westminster Abbey in October 2001. Many family members, friends, and important people, including Charles, Prince of Wales, attended the service.

On his tombstone, it says: "To know him was to love him."

When Spike Milligan heard about his friend's death, he joked, "I'm glad he died before me, because I didn't want him to sing at my funeral." But Harry had the last laugh! When Spike Milligan passed away the next year, a recording of Harry Secombe singing was played at Spike's memorial service.

The Secombe Theatre in Sutton, Greater London, is named after him to remember this local celebrity. He is also remembered at the London Welsh Centre, where he opened the bar in 1971.

Harry Secombe's Family

Harry Secombe met Myra Joan Atherton at the Mumbles Dance Hall in 1946. They were married in 1948 and stayed together until Harry's death. They had four children:

• Jennifer Secombe (d. 2019), who was her father's agent later in his life.
• Andy Secombe, a voice actor, film actor, and author.
• David Secombe, a writer and photographer.
• Katy Secombe, an actress.

Lady Myra Secombe passed away on 7 February 2017, at the age of 93.

Selected Works

Singles

• "On with the Motley" (Vesti la giubba) (1955) UK #6
• "Bless This House"
• "If I Ruled the World" (1963) UK #18
• "This Is My Song" (1967) UK #2

Albums

• Sacred Songs (1962) UK #16
• Pickwick (Original Cast Album) (1965)
• Secombe's Personal Choice (1967) UK #6
• If I Ruled the World (1971) UK #17
• The Magnificent Voice of Harry Secombe (1972) AUS #14
• With a Song My Heart (1977) AUS #24
• Captain Beaky and His Band(1977)
• Bless This House: 20 Songs of Joy (1978) UK #8, AUS #28
• This Is My Song (1983) AUS #9
• All Things Bring and Beautiful (1983) AUS #31
• Songs for Everyone (1986) AUS #43
• Highway of Life (1986) UK #45
• Count Your Blessings (1988) AUS #93
• Your Sincerely (1991) UK #46

Books

Fiction Books

• Twice Brightly (1974)
• Welsh Fargo (1981)

Children's Books

• Katy and the Nurgla (1980)

Autobiographical Books

• Goon for Lunch (1975)
• Goon Abroad (1982)
• Arias and Raspberries (1989)
• Strawberries and Cheam (1998)

Partial Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Harry Secombe para niños