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Charlie Chester
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(26 April 1914 – 26 June 1997) was an English comedian,
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
and television presenter and writer, broadcasting almost continuously from the 1940s to the 1990s. His style was similar to that of Max Miller.


Life and career

Chester was born Cecil Victor Manser in
Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
, Sussex. His first job after leaving education was as a grocer's errand boy, but he won talent competitions for his musical instrument playing and singing. Working as a travelling salesman for an embroidery company, Chester realised he had the gift of the gab and decided to become a professional comedian. Known as "Cheerful" Charlie Chester, he was popular with British audiences in the 1940s from his
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radio show ''Stand Easy''. This show was adapted for television as ''The Charlie Chester Show'' in 1949 and became a stand-up and sketch show for the next 11 years. Frequent cast members included Edwina Carroll, Henry Lytton, Jr., Eric "Jeeves" Grier, Len Lowe,
Deryck Guyler Deryck Bower Guyler (29 April 1914 – 7 October 1999) was an English actor, best remembered for his portrayal of officious, short-tempered middle-aged men in sitcoms such as ''Please Sir!'' and '' Sykes''. Early life Guyler was born in Wallas ...
, Len Marten, Arthur Haynes and Frederick Ferrari. A later recurring mini-serial in the show was "Whippit Kwik the Cat Burglar", whose whistled signature tune made Chester a national favourite. Tenor St Clair was replaced by Ferrari, known as "The Voice", and for whom Chester wrote the signature song "When Love Descended like an Angel". That was in fact the only fragment written, until listeners' demands forced him to write a full version so that Ferrari could record it. Chester's radio shows included ''A Proper Charlie'' and ''That Man Chester''. Another series – which started out as a section of ''The Charlie Chester Show'' in 1950 – was the quiz ''Pot Luck'', the first British TV programme to offer prizes for correctly answering questions. In 1961, Chester starred in a BBC series called ''Charlie Chester On Laughter Service'', a music and comedy show that visited military bases throughout Britain. Most were co-written by Bernard Botting and Charlie Hart. Late in his career, Chester appeared in the
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
television sitcom ''Never Say Die''. In the 1960s, he began presenting a record show on the
BBC Light Programme The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 1. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the ...
, later BBC Radio 2. On 5 October 1970 he started his weekday show which from 1 October 1972 became his long-running radio show ''Sunday Soapbox'', which in later years came from the BBC's
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
studios (previously from
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
). He opened the programme each week with the introduction "With a box full of records and a bag full of post, it's radio Soapbox and Charlie your host!" The programme was transmitted on Sunday afternoons until Chester suffered a stroke in November 1995, after which he could not walk or talk. Its opening and signature tune was called ''Music To Drive By'' by Alan Moorhouse.


Honours and recognition

He was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in 1961 when he was surprised by
Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ ...
at the BBC Television Theatre. A casino club in Archer Street, Soho, was named "Charlie Chester's" after him. Chester presented brass band music in the series ''Listen to the Band'' and also featured in the BBC Radio 2 show ''The Gag Cracker's Ball''. In his leisure time he enjoyed painting. He was awarded the MBE in 1990.


Death

He suffered a stroke and died in
Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
on 26 June 1997 aged 83.


TV credits

* ''The Charlie Chester Show'' (1949) (performer and writer) * ''Christmas Box'' (1955) (performer) * '' Educated Evans'' (1957) (performer) * ''These Are The Shows'' (1957) (performer) * ''
The Two Charleys ''The Two Charleys'' is a comedy television series which originally aired on the BBC in 1959.Goldman p.922 Cast Main * Charlie Chester as Charlie Charles * Eleanor Summerfield as Ethel Charles Other * Hugh Paddick as Lionel Stone * Polly Ada ...
'' (1959) (performer) * ''Charlie Chester On Laughter Service'' (1961) (performer and writer) * ''
The Charlie Chester Music Hall ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (1961) (performer) * '' Jokers Wild'' (1969) (performer) * ''Never Say Die'' (1987) (performer)


Film credits

* ''
Holiday Camp A holiday camp is a type of holiday accommodation that encourages holidaymakers to stay within the site boundary, and provides entertainment and facilities for them throughout the day. Since the 1970s, the term has fallen out of favour with term ...
'' (1947) as himself * ''Can I Come Too?'' (1979) as Mr. Royal


Bibliography

* ''The World Is Full of Charlies'' (Autobiography) published NEL (1974)


References


External links


Radio Rewind biography
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chester, Charlie 1914 births 1997 deaths 20th-century English comedians 20th-century English musicians BBC Radio 2 presenters British military personnel of World War II English male comedians English radio DJs English radio people People from Eastbourne Place of death missing