Charles Edward Springall (19 June 1925 – 23 December 2006), known professionally as Charlie Drake, was an English comedian, actor, writer and singer. With his small stature (5' 1"/155 cm tall), curly red hair and liking for

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...

, he was a popular comedian with children in his early years, becoming nationally known for his "Hello, my darlings!"

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

Early life

Born Charles Edward Springall in the

Elephant and Castle The Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground station ...

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

, he took his mother's maiden name for the stage and, later, film and television, achieving success as a comedian.

Career

Drake made his first appearance on stage at the age of eight, and after leaving school toured

working men's club Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class me ...

s. After serving in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Drake turned professional and made his television début in ''The Centre Show'' in 1953. He then joined his wartime comrade Jack Edwardes to form a

double act A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases f ...

, named 'Mick and Montmorency'. In 1954 he appeared with

Bob Monkhouse Robert Alan Monkhouse (1 June 1928 – 29 December 2003) was an English comedian, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including ''The Golden Shot'', '' Celebrity Squares'', '' Family Fortunes'' and '' ''Wipeout'. Ear ...

and

Denis Goodwin Denis Ian Goodwin (19 July 1929 – 26 February 1975) was a radio and television comedy scriptwriter and actor, best known for his writing partnership with Bob Monkhouse, with whom he also compèred the ''Smash Hits'' programme on Radio Luxemb ...

in their BBC Television Service sketch comedy show, ''Fast and Loose''. He appeared in the television shows ''Laughter in Store'' (1957), '' Drake's Progress'' (1957–58), '' Charlie Drake In…'' (1958 to 1960) and '' The Charlie Drake Show'' (1960 to 1961), being remembered for his opening

"Hello, my darlings!" The catchphrase came about because he was short, and so his eyes would often be naturally directly level with a lady's bosom. Because of this and because in his television work he preferred appearing with big-busted women, the catchphrase was born.

Bookcase incident

In 1961, the later series was brought to an abrupt end, however, by a serious accident which occurred during a live transmission. Drake had arranged for a bookcase to be set up in such a way that it would fall apart when he was pulled through it during a slapstick sketch. It was later discovered that an overenthusiastic workman had "mended" the bookcase before the broadcast. The actors working with him, unaware of what had happened, proceeded with the rest of the sketch which required that they pick him up and throw him through an open window. Drake fractured his skull and was unconscious for three days. It would be two years before he returned to the screen.

Comeback

Drake returned to television in 1963 with ''The Charlie Drake Show'', a compilation of which won an award at the

Montreux Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

in 1968. The centrepiece of this was an extended sketch featuring an orchestra performing the 1812 Overture, in which Drake appeared to play all the instruments; as well as conducting and one scene in which he was the player of a triangle waiting for his cue to play a single strike – which he subsequently missed. Through the series he played a gymnast doing a single arm twist from a high ring while a commentator counted eventually into the thousands and by the end of the series, Drake's arm appeared to be long. Other shows included '' Who Is Sylvia?'' (1967) and '' Slapstick and Old Lace'' (1971), but it was '' The Worker'' (1965 to 1970) that gained most acclaim. Television fame led to four films, none of them successful — ''

Sands of the Desert ''Sands of the Desert'' is a 1960 British adventure comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Charlie Drake in his first lead role in a feature film, Peter Arne, Sarah Branch and Raymond Huntley. Premise Charlie Sands, a Briti ...

'' (1960), ''

Petticoat Pirates ''Petticoat Pirates'' is a 1961 British comedy film directed by David MacDonald and starring Charlie Drake, Anne Heywood, Cecil Parker, John Turner and Thorley Walters Thorley Swinstead Walters (12 May 1913 – 6 July 1991) was an English c ...

'' (1961), ''

The Cracksman ''The Cracksman'' is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Peter Graham Scott.Personal letter from Delia Derbyshire to Associated British Picture Corporation, dated 25 April 1963. Plot Charlie Drake plays honest but naive locksmith Ernest Wr ...

'' (1963) and ''

Mister Ten Per Cent ''Mister Ten Per Cent'' is a 1967 British comedy film directed by Peter Graham Scott and starring Charlie Drake, Derek Nimmo and Wanda Ventham. It was shot at Elstree Studios and on location in London. It was the last in a series of four films ...

'' (1967). He was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' on two occasions, in December 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 A ...

in a rehearsal room at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 an ...

, and in November 1995, when

Michael Aspel Michael Terence Aspel (born 12 January 1933) is an English retired television newsreader and host of programmes such as '' Crackerjack'', ''Aspel & Company'', '' Give Us a Clue'', ''This is Your Life'', '' Strange but True?'' and ''Antiques Ro ...

surprised him at the curtain call of the comedy play ''

Funny Money ''Funny Money'' is a farce written by Ray Cooney. It premièred at The Churchill Theatre, Bromley, London, England, in 1994, followed by a successful two-year run in the West End. Cooney directed his own play and also played the part of Henry ...

'' at the

Playhouse Theatre The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square, central London. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt i ...

''The Worker''

In '' The Worker'' ( ATV/

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

, 1965–70) he played a perpetually unemployed labourer who, in every episode, was dispatched to a new job by the ever-frustrated clerk (firstly Mr Whittaker in series one, played by Percy Herbert, and from series two onwards Mr Pugh, played by

Henry McGee ''For the American businessman and academic, see Henry W. McGee.'' Henry James Marris-McGee (14 May 1929 – 28 January 2006) was a British actor, best known as straight man to Benny Hill for many years. McGee was also often the announce ...

) at the local

labour exchange An employment agency is an organization which matches employers to employees. In developed countries, there are multiple private businesses which act as employment agencies and a publicly-funded employment agency. Public employment agencies One ...

. All the jobs he embarked upon ended in disaster, sometimes with a burst of classic slapstick, sometimes with a bewildered Drake himself at the centre of incomprehensible actions by the people employing him. Bookending these sequences were the encounters between Drake and the labour exchange clerk. Running jokes included Drake's inability to manage the name of the clerk, with Mr Whittaker rendered as Mr Wicketer and then Mr Pugh variously mispronounced from a childish "Mi'er Poo" to "Peeyooo". Drake sang the theme song himself, using an old music hall number. The series was briefly revived by

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 unt ...

in 1978 as a series of short sketches on '' Bruce Forsyth's Big Night'', with Drake and McGee reprising their roles.

Recording career

Drake made a number of records, most of them produced by

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...

for the

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

label. The first, "Splish Splash", a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of a

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

song originally recorded by

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, Pop music, pop, rock and roll, Folk music, folk, Swing music, swing, and country music. He started his car ...

, got into the Top 10 of the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, reaching number 7 in 1958. In 1961, " My Boomerang Won't Come Back" became a mid-chart UK hit (No. 14) and an edited, more politically correct, version (with one word overdubbed) was a No 21 US hit, a follow up to "

Mr. Custer "Mr. Custer" is a march novelty song, sung by Larry Verne, and written by Al De Lory, Fred Darian, and Joseph Van Winkle. Background It is a comical song about a soldier's plea to General Custer before the climactic Battle of the Little Bighorn ...

" (No. 12 UK charts). In 1972 Drake recorded a spoof song called 'Puckwudgie' on Columbia records. It referred to a 2-or-3-foot-tall (0.61 or 0.91 m) being from the

Wampanoag The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. 17 ...

folklore. It reached number 47 in the BBC Top 50 in early 1972.

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

, after leaving

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

in late 1975, produced a single "You Never Know" for Drake (UK Charisma), it was not a

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

success.

Later career

Drake turned to straight acting in the 1980s, winning acclaim for his role as Touchstone in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has b ...

'' (at the

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The t ...

Festival), and an award for his part in

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

's ''

The Caretaker ''The Caretaker'' is a play in three acts by Harold Pinter. Although it was the sixth of his major works for stage and television, this psychological study of the confluence of power, allegiance, innocence, and corruption among two brothers an ...

'' at the

Royal Exchange, Manchester The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal ...

, along with

Michael Angelis Nicolas Michael Angelis (29 April 1944 – 30 May 2020) was an English actor. He was best known for his television roles as Chrissie Todd in ''Boys from the Blackstuff'', Martin Niarchos in '' G.B.H.'' and as a UK narrator of the British child ...

. Drake also starred as Smallweed in the BBC adaptation of ''

Bleak House ''Bleak House'' is a novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode serial between March 1852 and September 1853. The novel has many characters and several sub-plots, and is told partly by the novel's heroine, Esther Summerson, and ...

'' (1985), and ''Filipina Dreamgirls'', a TV film for the BBC. His final appearances on stage were with

Jim Davidson James Cameron Davidson (born 13 December 1953) is an English stand-up comedian, actor, singer and TV presenter. He hosted the television shows '' Big Break'' and ''The Generation Game''. He also developed two adult pantomime shows such as ''B ...

in ''Sinderella'', his adult adaptation of

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

, as Baron Hard-on. A live recording of one of the dates on the tour of the pantomime was later adapted, and edited for video, and put out for sale nationwide.

Personal life

Drake was married twice. He was married to Heather Barnes from 1953 until 1971, and they had three sons. In 1976, Drake married his second wife, Elaine Bird, but the marriage was dissolved in 1984.

Retirement

Drake suffered a stroke in 1995 and retired, staying at Brinsworth House, a retirement home for actors and performers, run by the

Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund The Royal Variety Charity is a British charity based in Twickenham, London, England. It is dedicated to giving support to those who have professionally served the entertainment industry and find themselves sick, impoverished or elderly. The char ...

, until his death on 23 December 2006, after suffering multiple strokes the previous night.

Discography

Singles

* " Splish Splash" / "Hello My Darlings" (1958) UK No. 7 * "Volare" / "Itchy Twitchy Feeling" (1958) UK No. 28 * "Tom Thumb's Tune" / "Goggle Eye Ghee" (1958) * "Sea Cruise" / "Starkle Starkle Little Twink" (1959) * "Naughty" / "Old Mr Shadow" (1960) * "

" / "Glow Worm" (1960) UK No. 12 * " My Boomerang Won't Come Back" / "She's My Girl" (1961) UK No. 14 ; US #21; Australia No. 1 * "Tanglefoot" / "Drake's Progress" (1962) * "I Bent My Assegai" / "Sweet Freddy Green" (1962) * "I've Lost The End of My Yodel" / "I Can, Can't I" (1963) * "I'm Too Heavy for the Light Brigade" / "The Reluctant Tight-Rope Walker" (1964) * "Charles Drake 007" / "Bumpanology" (1964) * "Only A Working Man" / "I'm A Boy" (1965) * "Don't Trim My Wick" / "Birds" (1966) * "Who Is Sylvia" / "I Wanna Be a Group" (1967) * "Puckwudgie" / "Toffee and Tears" (1972) UK No. 47 * "Someone opened the Watergate and they all got wet" / "'Ello Erf" (1973) * "You Never Know" / "I'm Big Enough for Me" (1976) (produced by Peter Gabriel) * "Super Punk" (1976) (

spoof Spoof, spoofs, spoofer, or spoofing may refer to: * Forgery of goods or documents * Semen, in Australian slang * Spoof (game), a guessing game * Spoofing (finance), a disruptive algorithmic-trading tactic designed to manipulate markets __NOTOC__ ...

record)Davegoodman.co.uk
Some sources claim that Drake was responsible for the spoof "Gimme That Punk Junk" (1976), recorded under the name The Water Pistols, but this may be due to confusion with his "Super Punk" (1976) (

). Dave Goodman's website refers to the two titles as separate entities.

Theme Tune from ''The Worker''

Drake sang the theme song himself, based upon an old

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

song :''I gets up every mornin' when the clock strikes eight'' :''I'm always punctual, never never late'' :''With a nice cup of tea, a little round of toast'' :''The Sporting Life and the Winning Post.'' :''I gets all nice and tidy, then I toddles off to work'' :''I do the best I can'' :''Cos I'm only a-doin' what a bloke should do'' :''Cos I'm only a workin' man!'' The song, "Only A Working Man",

written Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols. Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...

by Herbert Rule and Fred Holt in 1923, was featured by

Lily Morris Lily Morris (born Lilles Mary Crosby; 30 September 1882 – 3 October 1952)Richard Anthony Baker, ''British Music Hall: an illustrated history'', Pen & Sword, 2014, , pp.252-253 was an English music hall performer, who specialised in singing comed ...

on the music hall stage, and in the 1930 film, ''

Elstree Calling ''Elstree Calling'' is a 1930 British comedy musical film directed by Adrian Brunel and Alfred Hitchcock at Elstree Studios. Synopsis The film, referred to as "A Cine-Radio Revue" in its original publicity, is a lavish musical film revue and ...

'', the original lyric being "He's only a workin' man".

Filmography

Notes

References

External links

* *
Bio at Screenonline.com
*

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Charlie 1925 births 2006 deaths English male comedians English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors People from Elephant and Castle Butlins Redcoats 20th-century English comedians 21st-century English comedians British novelty song performers British comedy musicians Royal Air Force personnel of World War II