
Harry Secombe
Actor · 1921 – 2001 · Swansea, Wales, UK
From Wikipedia Sir Harry Donald Secombe, CBE (8 September 1921 – 11 April 2001) was a Welsh comedian and singer. He played Neddie Seagoon, a central character in the BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show (1951–60). He also appeared in musicals and films and, in his later years, was a presenter of television shows incorporating hymns and other devotional songs. With the success of The Goon Show, Secombe developed a dual career as both a comedy actor and a singer. At the beginning of his career as an entertainer, his act would end with a joke version of the duet Sweethearts, in which he sang both the baritone and falsetto parts. Trained under Italian maestro Manlio di Veroli, he emerged as a bel canto tenor (characteristically, he insisted that in his case this meant "can belto") and had a long list of best-selling record albums to his credit. In 1958 he appeared in the film Jet Storm, which starred Dame Sybil Thorndike and Richard Attenborough and in the same year Secombe starred in the title role in Davy, one of Ealing Studios' last films. In 1963 he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). He was knighted in 1981, and jokingly referred to himself as Sir Cumference (in recognition of his rotund figure). The motto he chose for his coat of arms was "GO ON", a reference to goon.
Movies23
Movie7.0DramaFamilyMusical adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, a classic tale of an orphan who runs away from the workhouse and joins up with a group of boys headed by the Artful Dodger and trained to be pickpockets by master thief Fagin.
Oliver!
1968 · 508 votes
Movie5.9ComedyScience FictionIn the hazy aftermath of World War III, the fallout from a 'nuclear misunderstanding' is producing strange mutations amongst the survivors, and the noble Lord Fortnum finds himself transforming into a bed sitting room.
The Bed Sitting Room
1969 · 55 votes
Movie5.0ComedyA septet of satirical vignettes based on the Seven Deadly Sins.
The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins
1971 · 24 votes
Movie6.4ComedyRomanceA detective gets involved with a wealthy socialite who can't seem to stop hiccuping.
Helter Skelter
1949 · 4 votes
Movie10.0ComedyMusicJimmy Tarbuck parades his comic wares in front of a celebrity audience, including Cilla Black, Bruce Forsyth, Billy Connolly, Michael Parkinson, Harry Secombe and Henry Cooper.
An Audience with Jimmy Tarbuck
1994 · 1 votes
Movie6.1RomanceDramaA man hypnotizes a young woman into being an opera singer.
Svengali
1954 · 9 votes
Movie5.0ComedyDr. Burke is in love with Ophelia but doesn't have time to propose to her as she leaves for a cruise to the Mediterranean. Also on board the cruise ship is an old school chum of Burke's who plays 'Dr.Dare' in a very popular TV series and who women flock to. Burke decides to join the cruise, but is first apprehended as a stowaway, and then becomes the captain's steward. For Burke, trying to talk to Ophelia is a hard enough task, but he meets some funny characters on board, such as a pools winner and a very stubborn captain.
Doctor in Trouble
1970 · 11 votes
Movie5.6ComedyThe Goon Show hits the big screen. Professor Pure Heart absent-mindedly loses the top secret formula in Harry Jones' Grocery Shop. "Bats of the Yard", as Harry calls himself, finds it and attempts to return it to the Professor.
Down Among the Z Men
1952 · 8 votes
Movie6.9ThrillerCrisis in the air: A passenger aboard a commercial airplane flying from London to New York threatens to detonate a bomb over the Atlantic.
Jet Storm
1959 · 16 votes
Movie6.0DocumentaryThis documentary revealed Peter Sellers obsession with the occult. Sellers was a highly superstitious man who consulted fortune tellers, clairvoyants and mediums to help him make key decisions in his life and work. Many of Sellers important decisions were influenced by Maurice Woodruff - a clairvoyant and astrologer based in London. Advice from the other side was taken on his marriage to Britt Ekland, accepting film roles such as Inspector Clouseau and dealing with his near fatal heart attack.
The Paranormal Peter Sellers
2001 · 1 votes
Movie8.2DocumentaryDocumentary about the life and career of a comic genius, Peter Sellers.
The Unknown Peter Sellers
2000 · 4 votes
Movie5.3MusicDramaLike the play from which it derived, the film tells of the early struggles of composer Edvard Grieg and his attempts to develop an authentic Norwegian national music. It stars Toralv Maurstad as Grieg and features an international cast including Florence Henderson, Christina Schollin, Robert Morley, Harry Secombe, Oskar Homolka, Edward G. Robinson and Frank Porretta (as Rikard Nordraak). Filmed in Super Panavision 70 by Davis Boulton and presented in single-camera Cinerama in some countries, it was an attempt to capitalise on the success of The Sound of Music.
Song of Norway
1970 · 8 votes
Movie9.0ComedySpike recalls his exploits in the army, setting up a jazz band and other sources of his comic inspiration. He patiently answers impertinent questions from Harry Secombe, Peter O'Toole, Lynsey de Paul, Roy Hudd and Denis Norden with often amusing answers.
An Evening with Spike Milligan
1996 · 1 votes
Movie6.0Stanley Evans, a Welsh schoolteacher, decides to emigrate to Australia for a better life but ends up working in a school in the dead-end town of Kookaburra Springs. He forms a school choir and decides to compete in a singing competition in Sydney
Sunstruck
1972 · 3 votes
- Movie8.5Documentary
A celebration of the life and career of Sir Harry Secombe, one of Britain's best-loved entertainers.
The Unforgettable Harry Secombe
2010 · 1 votes
MovieTV MovieFantasyA Christmas TV special in which Alice does not go through a looking glass, but through a TV set.
MovieMusicTV MovieA very personal portrait of the truly unique comedy genius of Spike Milligan, as told in his own words and featuring exclusive home movie footage. With contributions from those who worked with him, lived with him and were inspired by him.
Movie7.0ComedyTV MovieSellers, Secombe and Milligan reunite for one last show.
The Last Goon Show of All
1972 · 2 votes
Movie5.8ComedyA Police Inspector and a vicar play a round of golf. The Inspector has a Constable help him to cheat, while the vicar has other ideas...
Rhubarb
1970 · 5 votes
Movie4.4ComedyWhen Harry and Spike visit Bristol to spend the winnings from Harry's latest Pools win, the boys are soon targeted by a gang of local counterfeiters.
Penny Points to Paradise
1951 · 7 votes
Movie5.7ComedyDramaThe Mad Morgans are a family song and dance act touring the British Music Halls. Young Davy is the star of the act but should he stay with his family or strike out on his own ? The last comedy to be produced at Ealing Studios.
Davy
1958 · 7 votes
Movie10.0DocumentaryComedySpike personally tells the story of his life from India, World War II to The Goons and his Q series
Spike
1996 · 1 votes
Movie5.7ComedyMusicForces sweetheart, Judy James, is back in town and that means various admirers are showing up at the hotel where she stays.
Forces' Sweetheart
1953 · 6 votes
Series7
TV5.3Talk ShowChat show hosted by Terry Wogan, featuring live studio interviews with famous and notable personalities.
Wogan
1982 · 7 votes
TV6.8ComedyTalk ShowThe Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows. In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948 · 23 votes
TV7.0Highway is a British television series, broadcast from 1983 until 1993. Presented by Sir Harry Secombe, the show was a mixture of hymns and chat from various locations across Britain, produced by their respective regional ITV franchise holders. The programme was administered by Tyne Tees Television in Newcastle upon Tyne, who had a track-record for organising cross-franchise series for the ITV network. Guests sang religious songs, gave readings or talked about their lifestyles and spiritual feelings. The series was broadcast on Sunday evenings. The final series was moved to Sunday afternoons. Highway was replaced by Sunday Morning with Secombe in which he would broadcast from the venue of the following Morning Worship service.
Highway
1983 · 1 votes
TV9.0ComedyFamilyBeginning in 1959 as Bruce's Show, mixing music, dancing and comedy in the time honoured tradition, this series focused on laughter, glamour and big name guests.
The Bruce Forsyth Show
1959 · 1 votes
TV7.5Talk ShowFriday Night, Saturday Morning was a television chat show with a revolving guest host. It ran on BBC2 from 28 September 1979 to 2 April 1982, broadcast live from the Greenwood Theatre, a part of Guy's Hospital. It was most notable for being the only television show to be hosted by a former British Prime Minister and for an argument about the blasphemy claims surrounding the movie Monty Python's Life of Brian. The programme was the idea of Iain Johnstone and Will Wyatt, who insisted on a changing presenter every fortnight. Another innovation was that the presenters chose the guests they were to interview.
Friday Night, Saturday Morning
1979 · 2 votes
TV5.3ComedyThe Telegoons is a comedy puppet show, adapted from the highly successful BBC radio comedy show of the 1950s.
The Telegoons
1963 · 4 votes
TV7.2DocumentaryWhicker's World is an award-winning British television documentary series that ran from 1958 to 1994, presented by journalist and broadcaster Alan Whicker. Originally a segment on the BBC's Tonight programme in 1958, Whicker's World became a fully-fledged television series in its own right in the 1960s. The series was first shown by the BBC until 1968, and then by ITV from 1969 to 1983, when it was produced by Yorkshire Television, in which Whicker himself was a shareholder. The series returned to the BBC in 1984, and to ITV again in 1992.
Whicker's World
1959 · 4 votes