Wogan's Radio Fun: Hello Playmates!

Every Christmas I post a series of special blogs on the run up to the big day. This year I posted a different festive image from the Carry Ons every day up until Christmas Day. In addition to this, I've also found some wonderful old clips to share this festive season.

The wonderful, late great Terry Wogan hosted his famous chat show on the BBC for several years during the 1980s and early 1990s. Those were the days of great guests, intelligent conversation, wit and warmth. Well, most of the time. Until the BBC rather unwisely pulled the plug to make way for the soap Eldorado (remember that?) Terry was the best possible replacement for Parky. 

This Christmas marks thirty years since a very special festive show which celebrated the very best of radio comedy. Terry reunited many classic stars from a bygone era and sadly, for some, it would be the last time we would see them perform. Amongst these big names were several actors with Carry On connections, so over the next few days I'm going to share some great clips from "Wogan's Radio Fun", originally broadcast back in December 1987.

We continue today with another special treat featuring two of my favourite comic actresses. Bob Monkhouse, himself a star of Carry On Sergeant way back in 1958, revives his radio success Hello Playmates for one night only with the help of Irene Handl and Pat Coombs. Irene, a famed actress with hundreds of credits to her name, made two early appearances in the Carry Ons - as Bill Owen's dimwitted wife in Carry On Nurse and then as an irate mother looking for her little Willie in Carry On Constable.


Pat Coombs, one of the most underrated actresses of her time, had small roles in two medical Carry Ons - as a patient in Carry On Doctor in 1967 and then two years later as a rather snooty replacement Matron in Carry On Again Doctor. I wish she'd had bigger parts in the films! It's lovely to see them reunite and their sketch is definitely a highlight, although Irene's failing health is clear to see. Sadly she passed away before this show was broadcast.

And you can read more about the life and career of Pat Coombs in my blog here: Carry On Blogging: Whatever Happened to Pat Coombs?

Stay tuned for more in this series coming up soon!

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An August Month for Carry On

What is it about the month of August when it comes to Carry On related birthdays? I hadn't really noticed until now but as I've been blogging either good wishes to Carry On actors who are still with us and celebrating or remembering those who are sadly not, it's made me realise that August is a really prolific month for Carry On birthday celebrations.

Let's look at the evidence:

 

 Jacki Piper, born 3 August 1946

 

Joan Hickson, born 5 August 1906

Barbara Windsor, born 6 August 1937

Liz Fraser, born 14 August 1930

Jim Dale, born 15 August 1935

Marianne Stone, born 23 August 1922

Imogen Hassall, born 25 August 1942

Peter Gilmore, born 25 August 1931

Pat Coombs, born 27 August 1926

Windsor Davies, born 28 August 1930

I think you'll agree that's quite a roll call of names! Can you think of any more that I've forgotten? If so get in touch! 

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also Facebook

Whatever Happened To ... Pat Coombs?

One of the main reasons I set up this blog was to focus on some of the lesser known but still supremely talented actors who contributed so much to the success of the Carry Ons over the years. Today I am going to look back at the life and career of Pat Coombs, an actress who although only having two very small roles in the Carry Ons, had a long and successful career in many other films and television series.

Pat Coombs is instantly recognisable whenever she appears on screen. This is probably why she was cast in two Carry Ons. In 1967 she had a virtually non-speaking part as a hospital patient in Carry On Doctor with Jim Dale. Two years later she was back on the wards in Carry On Again Doctor, this time playing a rather sneering Matron who mistakes Kenneth Williams' shabby Frederick Carver for a vagrant!

Sadly Pat didn't appear in any further Carry On films, probably because she was in such demand elsewhere. So let's look at what else she got up to during her long career. 

Pat Coombs made a career in comedy playing downtrodden, put upon working class women, usually under the influence of a stronger personality. Born in Camberwell in South London in August 1926, she first decided to work as a nursery teacher before beginning drama lessons during the Second World War with her friend Vivien Merchant. At the age of 19 Pat won a scholarship to LAMDA when she subsequently taught dialect.

Pat got her earliest breaks in radio comedy, appearing alongside the likes of Charlie Chester, Bob Monkhouse and Arthur Askey. She became well-known in the latter's show Playmates, playing the dim-witted Nola, daughter of Irene Handl's character. However it was on television that Pat really found her niche.

Of the many series that Pat appeared in over the years, the most famous probably include Hancock's Half Hour (1957); Beggar My Neighbour (1966 - 68); Dad's Army (1970); You're Only Young Twice (1977 - 81); Till Death Us Do Part (1966 - 75) and The Lady Is a Tramp (1983). In 1989, Pat became a regular character in the BBC soap EastEnders, brought in to provide some comic relief after the series was branded too miserable. After only a year in the part of Marge Green, sadly the character was axed. Apparently Pat was deeply upset as she enjoyed being in the programme and wanted to stay on long term. Later roles on television included guest spots in Birds Of A Feather, Boon and Doctors.

Pat Coombs also appeared in many films during her career. These included the 1963 Norman Wisdom comedy A Stitch In Time; Spike Milligan's Adolf Hitler: My Part in his Downfall (1972); Ooh You Are Awful, with Dick Emery (1972) and big screen versions of Till Death Do Us Part (1969); On the Buses (1971) and Dad's Army (1971).

Sadly Pat suffered from poor health in later years, having been diagnosed with osteoporosis in 1995. She campaigned for charities in the field for many years, once raising over £100,000 for the cause. Eventually she moved to the actors retirement home Denville Hall in West London. Having never married, she spent her final years there in the company of many old friends, including the legendary Peggy Mount. 

Acting until the very end of her life, Pat Coombs had just recorded a series for BBC radio with her old friend and colleague June Whitfield, before her death at the age of 75 in 2002. They just don't make them like that anymore. 

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan

June Whitfield at 90: Rose Garvey in Beggar My Neighbour

I have been profiling some of June Whitfield's most legendary roles on screen in the run up to her 90th birthday on 11 November. I have chosen eight of her most well-known performances, which you can vote for in my special poll - details on that below. As we prepare to celebrate the milestone birthday of this national treasure, let's continue to look back at her career.

One of June's earliest sitcom successes came in 1966 with the now little remembered series, Beggar My Neighbour. Three series were made and broadcast on the BBC between May 1966 and March 1968. The show was written by Ken Hoare and Mike Sharland and June co-starred with fellow legends of sitcom Reg Varney, Peter Jones and Pat Coombs. 

The basic premise of Beggar My Neighbour was quite simple. Based on the age old British obsession with class. June plays Rose Garvey, married to Gerald (Peter Jones, later Desmond Walter-Ellis). They live next door to Rose's sister Lana and her husband Harry (Pat Coombs and Reg Varney). While Gerald is a junior executive and Harry just a fitter in a factory, the tables are turned as Gerald is badly paid while Harry does very well for himself.

Gerald is a snob and makes Rose keep up the pretence that they are doing well even though they are not while Harry's good fortune gives Lana airs and graces. What follows is a classic 1960s sitcom that allows these brilliant comedy actors to do what they do best. It's not earth shattering stuff but it once again demonstrates a kind of series and a kind of comedy that just doesn't feature much anymore. 

Sadly only seven episodes of the original twenty three have survived. I think it's also a shame that this series has never really been repeated, other than brief clips in tribute shows or documentaries. Probably because it was filmed entirely in black and white, television schedulers today have decided not to give it the air time, which I think is a silly mistake! There is still an audience for this kind of comedy today and many people actually like black and white series or films. I think it's time to add this to some of the most frequently repeated telly classics.

If you agree, you can vote for June's role as Rose Garvey here 

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan