Clapham and Dwyer were a British
comedy duo
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 fo ...
popular in the 1920s and 1930s, comprising Charlie Clapham (William Charles Conrad Clapham; 6 January 1894–27 July 1959) and Bill Dwyer (William Henry Dwyer; 7 May 1887–11 January 1943).
Lives and careers
Charlie Clapham, born in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, was a barrister's clerk working in London, and amateur performer, who turned professional in 1919 after serving in the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. He met London-born Bill Dwyer, who was a commercial traveller and semi-professional entertainer from a
show business
Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produc ...
family, and they began working together at
garden parties
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...
in 1925.
[Raymond Mander and Joe Mitchenson, ''British Music Hall: A story in pictures'', Studio Vista, 1965, p.170] An early engagement was a performance in front of the
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
and
Duchess of York
Duchess of York is the principal Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title held by the wife of the duke of York. Three of the eleven dukes of York either did not marry or had already assumed the throne prior to marriage, whilst two of ...
.
[ Clapham & Dwyer's Page, ''The Record Mine'']
Retrieved 20 January 2021 After auditioning the following year, and having to improvise nonsense as they had not brought any songs to sing, they made their first broadcast on
BBC radio
BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...
.
They were the first comedy
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 ...
to become famous on British radio,
[ Sean Street, "Clapham and Dwyer", ''The A to Z of British Radio'', Scarecrow Press, 2009, p.72]
/ref> and continued to broadcast regularly through the 1920s and 1930s.[ Search, Clapham and Dwyer, ''Radio Times'', ''BBC Genome'']
Retrieved 20 January 2021 Dwyer was the straight man
The straight man is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically, the straight man is expected to maintain composure. The direct contribution to the ...
, and Clapham - with monocle
A monocle is a type of corrective lens used to correct or enhance the visual perception in only one eye. It consists of a circular lens, generally with a wire ring around the circumference that can be attached to a string or wire. The other ...
and moustache - was the fool.[ Their sketches often featured "Cissie the Cow", a disruptive influence that was initially imaginary but was later played onstage in the manner of a ]pantomime horse
A pantomime horse is a theatrical representation of a horse or other quadruped by two actors in a single costume who cooperate and synchronize their movements. One actor plays the front end, including the horse's head and its front legs, in a mor ...
. As a stage act from 1928, they appeared in venues all over the country.[ In February 1929, they appeared in two early ]short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
s made in the Lee de Forest
Lee de Forest (August 26, 1873 – June 30, 1961) was an American inventor and a fundamentally important early pioneer in electronics. He invented the first electronic device for controlling current flow; the three-element "Audion" triode va ...
Phonofilm
Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s.
Introduction
In 1919 and 1920, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film process, ...
sound-on-film process.
As part of their act in 1929, they originated the Cockney Alphabet, a humorous alphabet that replaces the letters of the alphabet with supposed "Cockney
Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or b ...
" phonetics, such as "A for ‘Orses" (Hay for Horses) and ending with "Z for Effect" (Said for Effect). They recorded the routine, as "A Surrealist
Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...
Alphabet", in 1936.[ "Clapham And Dwyer - The Wireless Nuisances", ''Windyridge CDs'']
Retrieved 20 January 2021
In 1935, they were banned by BBC radio for several months for allegedly broadcasting an improper joke.[ It is said that, during a live broadcast, when they discovered that a page of their script was missing they ]ad-libbed
In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; from Latin for 'at one's pleasure' or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation.
The r ...
: "What’s the difference between a champagne cork and a baby?” asked Clapham. When Dwyer replied that he didn’t know Clapham retorted: “A champagne cork has the name of the maker on it."[Richard Anthony Baker, ''Old Time Variety: an illustrated history'', Pen & Sword, 2011, , pp.42-43] In 1946, the chairman of the Board of Governors of the BBC
The Board of Governors of the BBC was the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation. It consisted of twelve people who together regulated the BBC and represented the interests of the public. It existed from 1927 until it was replace ...
, Lord Inman, objected to one of their broadcast jokes – "When I got into my hotel bedroom last night, I found a lady's nightdress on the bed, and I rang the bell." "What for - to ask them to take it away?" "No - to ask them to fill it." As a result, the BBC established its Green Book, setting out the subjects, words, phrases and songs that should not be broadcast.[
Clapham and Dwyer appeared in several films in the 1930s, including the early ]Will Hay
William Thomson Hay (6 December 1888 – 18 April 1949) was an English comedian who wrote and acted in a schoolmaster sketch that later transferred to the screen, where he also played other authority figures with comic failings. His film '' O ...
film ''Radio Parade of 1935
''Radio Parade of 1935'' (1934), released in the US as ''Radio Follies'', is a British comedy film directed by Arthur B. Woods and starring Will Hay, Clifford Mollison and Helen Chandler. It followed on from the 1933 film ''Radio Parade''.
Plot ...
''. The plotline of the 1937 musical revue film ''Sing As You Swing
''Sing as You Swing'' is a 1937 British musical film directed by Redd Davis and starring Charles Clapham, Bill Dwyer and Claude Dampier. It was made as a quota quickie and features turns from a variety of radio and revue stars with little bac ...
'' uses their being banned from the "BVD" broadcasting organisation as a running gag.
Dwyer retired due to illness in 1940, and died in Uppingham
Uppingham is a market town in Rutland, England, off the A47 between Leicester and Peterborough, south of the county town, Oakham. It had a population of 4,745 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 4,853 in 2019. It is known for its ep ...
, Rutland
Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire.
Its greatest len ...
, in 1943, aged 55. Clapham continued as a solo performer until 1954, and died in St Leonards-on-Sea
St Leonards-on-Sea (commonly known as St Leonards) is a town and seaside resort in the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. It has been part of the borough since the late 19th century and lies to the west of central Hastings. The origina ...
, Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
, in 1959, aged 65.[Roy Hudd and Philip Hindin, ''Roy Hudd's Cavalcade of Variety Acts'', Robson Books, 1998, , pp.29-30]
References
External links
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Clapham and Dwyer entry at BFI Database
{{Authority control
English comedy duos