George Formby

George Formby (1904-1961), British popular entertainer and songwriter, born in Wigan, Lancashire. Originally named George Hoy Booth, Formby was the eldest of seven children, his father, George Formby Sr. (real name James Booth), being a famous Edwardian comedian. Formby Sr. discouraged his son from entering show business and George trained first as a jockey, with his first professional race at the age of ten. When his father died Formby turned to the stage, at first using his father’s material, then developing a career as a singing comedian. He accompanied himself on the ukulele, or to be more accurate the banjo ukulele, a hybrid instrument dubbed the Banjulele by its inventor, Alvin D. Keech. By 1939 Formby was reputed to be the highest-paid entertainer in the British Isles, with estimated earnings of over £100,000 a year. During World War II he travelled widely, entertaining the troops, and was one of the first to entertain front-line soldiers after the invasion of Normandy in 1944. He was awarded the OBE for his work in 1945. Returning to professional theatre after the war, he toured worldwide.

Formby’s songs, which developed from the music-hall repertoire of the early 20th century, were typically saucy, or slightly risqué. His stage and film persona was that of a lovable idiot who always got the girl despite his rather ungainly appearance and adverse circumstances. His first film was Boots! Boots! (1934), after which he starred in some 20 further films over the following 12 years, mostly for the Ealing Studios.They were all light comedies that featured several of his songs, for instance Keep Your Seats Please (1936, in which he sang “When I’m Cleaning Windows”) and Feather Your Nest (1937, singing “Leaning on a Lamp Post”). His catchphrase was “Turned Out Nice Again!”, also the title of his 1941 film.

He made his West End theatre debut in 1951, starring in the musical Zip Goes a Million, but pulled out after six months, having suffered a heart attack. He returned to the stage, but was troubled by further illnesses. His last record, “Happy Go Lucky Me” (1960), was the first to make it into the UK top 40. In 1960 his wife Beryl died; in a television interview shortly before her death he admitted that, illiterate and unable to read music, his success was largely due to her determination. A week after her death he announced his engagement to Pat Howson, a 36-year-old teacher, though he died before the marriage could take place.