Francais | English | Espanõl

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Harry Secombe
<tr><td style="text-align:left;">Birth name</td><td>Harry Donald Secombe</td></tr>
Born	September 8, 1921 Image:Flag of Wales (bordered).svg St. Thomas, Swansea, England
Died	April 11, 2001, age 79 Image:Flag of England (bordered).svg Guildford, Surrey, England

Sir Harry Donald Secombe, CBE (8 September 1921–11 April 2001) was a Welsh entertainer with a noted fine tenor singing voice and a talent for comedy.

Born at St. Thomas, Swansea, he served in the British Army during World War II in North Africa. This was where he first met Spike Milligan. In the early 1950's, they teamed together to write and produce the BBC radio comedy The Goon Show. Secombe was notable playing Neddie Seagoon, the focus of many of the show's absurd plots. He also shared his birthday, 8 September, with the other member of the trio, Peter Sellers.

Secombe appeared in many stage musicals, including Pickwick (1963, based on Dickens's The Pickwick Papers) and The Four Musketeers (1967), and had several chart successes, the song most associated with him being "If I Ruled the World" (from Pickwick). He also appeared as Mr. Bumble in Carol Reed's film of Lionel Bart's Oliver! (1968), and in the Envy segment of The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins.

Later in life, Secombe (whose brother Fred Secombe was a vicar) attracted new audiences as a presenter of religious programmes, such as the BBC's Songs of Praise and ITV's Highway. He was also a special programming consultant to Harlech Television.<ref name="Guardian">"Sir Harry Secombe dies", The Guardian, 2001-04-11. Retrieved on 2006-06-04.</ref>

He was knighted in 1981, and jokingly referred to himself as Sir Cumference (in recognition of his rotund figure). Comedian Vic Reeves mentioned Secombe in his 1991 song Meals On Wheels ("Harry Secombe wants his pie and peas").

Secombe suffered a stroke in 1997, from which he made a slow recovery, only to be diagnosed with prostate cancer the following September. After suffering a second stroke in 1999, he was forced to abandon his television career, but made a documentary about his condition in the hope of giving encouragement to other sufferers.<ref name="TVHeaven">Television Heaven: Harry Secombe. Retrieved on 2006-02-12.</ref>

Secombe and his wife, Myra Atherton, had four children:

• Jennifer Secombe, married to actor Alex Giannini. She was also her father's agent.<ref name=Guardian/>
• Andy Secombe, an accomplished voice and film actor, as well as an author
• David Secombe, a writer and photographer
• Katy Secombe, an actress

His niece, Joan Secombe, is a head of house at Bishop Luffa school, in Chichester.

He died at the age of 79, from prostate cancer, at his home in England.

[edit] Singles

• On with the Motley (1955) UK #16
• If I Ruled the World (1963) UK #18
• This Is My Song (1967) UK #2<ref name"Singles">Guinness Book of British Hit Singles, 7th ed., 1989</ref>

[edit] Albums

• Sacred Songs (1962) UK #16
• Secombe's Personal Choice (1967) UK #6
• If I Ruled the World (1971) UK #17
• 20 Songs of Joy (1978) UK #8<ref name"Albums">Guinness Book of British Hit Albums 1st ed., 1983 ISBN 0-85112-246-9</ref>

[edit] References

<references />

[edit] External links

• Harry Secombe at the Internet Movie Database

v • d • e</div> The Goon Show
The Goons
Michael Bentine • Spike Milligan • Harry Secombe • Peter Sellers
Other Contributors
Ray Ellington • Max Geldray • Wallace Greenslade • Larry Stephens • Wally Stott • Eric Sykes • Andrew Timothy
Radio & TV Series
The Goon Show • The Telegoons
Films
Let's Go Crazy • Penny Points to Paradise • Down Among the Z Men • The Case of the Mukkinese Battle Horn • The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film
Characters
Cast members and their Characters • Major Bloodnok • Bluebottle • Henry Crun and Minnie Bannister • Eccles • Hercules Grytpype-Thynne • Count Jim Moriarty • Neddie Seagoon
General information
Episodes and archiving • Running Jokes

cy:Harry Secombe

de:Harry Secombe