Beryl Ingham (1901 – 24 December 1960) was the wife and manager of singer/actor

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961) was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he s ...

, as well as being a variety performer and champion clogdancer. She was born in

Haslingden Haslingden is a town in Rossendale, Lancashire, England. It is north of Manchester. The name means 'valley of the hazels' or 'valley growing with hazels'. At the time of the 2011 census the town (including Helmshore) had a population of 15,96 ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, the youngest daughter of John James Ingham and his wife Elizabeth Ann (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Jackson). At the age of 11 she won the All-England Step Dancing Title. Later she formed a dancing act with her sister May, calling themselves The Two Violets. She met George Formby in 1923, while they were appearing in music hall in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. They married in his hometown of

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

the following year. The couple worked together as a variety act until 1932, when she became his full-time manager and mentor. In 1934, film producer

John E. Blakeley John E. Blakeley (1 October 1888 – 20 February 1958) was a British film producer, director and screenwriter, the founder of Mancunian Films. Born in Ardwick, Manchester, son of James Blakeley (born c. 1862; Manchester), and Margaret Quirk (born ...

, who had admired their double act, engaged them for work on a low-budget comic movie, ''

Boots! Boots! ''Boots! Boots!'' is a 1934 British comedy film directed by Bert Tracy and starring George Formby, Beryl Formby, and Arthur Kingsley. It was made by Blakeley's Productions, Ltd. (later Mancunian Films) at the Albany Studios in London.Richards ...

'', where Beryl's domineering manner on the set was noticed for the first time, especially by the teenage

Betty Driver Elizabeth Mary Driver, (20 May 1920 – 15 October 2011) was a British actress and singer, best known for her role as Betty Williams in the long-running ITV soap opera, ''Coronation Street'', a role she played for 42 years from 1969 to 2011, ap ...

, with whom she feuded. In later films, producer

Basil Dean Basil Herbert Dean CBE (27 September 1888 – 22 April 1978) was an English actor, writer, producer and director in the theatre and in cinema. He founded the Liverpool Repertory Company in 1911 and in the First World War, after organising unoff ...

avoided visiting the studio during filming, and director

Monty Banks Montague (Monty) Banks (18 July 1897 – 7 January 1950), born Mario Bianchi, was a 20th century Italian-born American comedian, film actor, director and producer who achieved success in the UK and the United States. Career Banks was born Mario ...

tried to get her banned from the set. She made only two minor appearances in the Formby films. Beryl was an exceptionally shrewd businesswoman, under whose management George became the UK's highest paid entertainer, at up to £35,000 per performance. The Formbys went on a tour of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in 1946; despite threats from the National Party leader

Daniel Malan Daniël François Malan (; 22 May 1874 – 7 February 1959) was a South African politician who served as the fourth prime minister of South Africa from 1948 to 1954. The National Party implemented the system of apartheid, which enforce ...

, George played to black audiences, and Beryl embraced a three-year-old black girl who had presented her with a box of chocolates. Malan had them thrown out of the country and was reported to have told them to "Never come back here again". Beryl replied "Why don't you piss off, you horrible little man?" She continued to manage George's career until she developed

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

; she died on Christmas Eve 1960 in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

. After her death, Formby publicly said that "My life with Beryl was hell". He died ten weeks after his wife.

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1934)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ingham, Beryl 1901 births 1960 deaths British female dancers People from Haslingden Folk dancers Music hall performers Talent managers