Elton Hayes
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Elton Hayes (16 February 1915 – 23 September 2001) was a British actor and
guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
ist.


Life and career

Elton Hayes was born in
Bletchley Bletchley is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated in the south-west of Milton Keynes, and is split between the civil parishes of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford and West Bletchley. Bletchley is best known ...
,
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. Both his parents were actors and he made his first stage appearance aged nine. He also wanted to be an actor and he learned the
violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
and the
ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...
. As a teenager he won a scholarship to the Fay Compton School of Dramatic Arts where he received an extensive theatrical education. His first job was as assistant stage manager with the Old Stagers' Company at the Canterbury Theatre. He sang in his spare time at local social clubs. Hayes took up the guitar shortly before
World War II 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 ...
when he accepted one as security from a friend who had borrowed 30 shillings. Guitars brought him fame later, accompanying his old English folk songs and ballads. In 1939 he volunteered for military service and was commissioned in the
Royal West Kent Regiment The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Quee ...
and posted to India. After the Japanese surrender he hitch-hiked to
Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
where he was appointed Officer Commanding
ENSA The Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) was an organisation established in 1939 by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during World War II. ENSA operated as part of the Navy, ...
in
Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...
. Despite contracting rheumatic fever, which caused his fingers to stiffen, he continued playing. A few days after returning to Britain he visited the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, still in uniform, to watch a broadcast of ''
Children's Hour ''Children's Hour'', initially ''The Children's Hour'', was the BBC's principal recreational service for children (as distinct from "Broadcasts to Schools") which began during the period when radio was the only medium of broadcasting. ''Childre ...
'' and was immediately taken on to write and perform musical versions of
Edward Lear Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limerick (poetry), limericks, a form he popularised. ...
's ''Nonsense Rhymes''. This was followed in 1946 by a regular slot on the
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 ...
show ''
In Town Tonight ''In Town Tonight'' is a BBC radio programme that was broadcast on Saturday evening from 1933 to 1960 (except for a period of 26 weeks in 1937 when ''The BBC presents the ABC'' was broadcast instead). It was an early example of a chat show, ...
''. From then on he performed on radio and television frequently in Britain. On an eight-week tour of North America he made 113 appearances. As an actor, he appeared in ''
The Beaux' Stratagem ''The Beaux' Stratagem'' is a comedy by George Farquhar, first produced at the Theatre Royal, now the site of Her Majesty's Theatre, in the Haymarket, London, on March 8, 1707. In the play, Archer and Aimwell, two young gentlemen who have falle ...
'' at the Lyric Theatre for 18 months from 1949. His fame was extended by his appearance as the minstrel
Alan-a-Dale Alan-a-Dale (first recorded as Allen a Dale; variously spelled ''Allen-a-Dale'', ''Allan-a-Dale'', ''Allin-a-Dale'', ''Allan A'Dayle'' etc.) is a figure in the Robin Hood legend. According to the stories, he was a wandering minstrel who became a ...
in the 1952 Walt Disney film ''
The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men ''The Story of Robin Hood'' is a 1952 action-adventure film produced by RKO- Walt Disney British Productions, based on the Robin Hood legend, made in Technicolor and filmed in Buckinghamshire, England. It was written by Lawrence Edward Watkin and ...
'', in which he was afforded a musical number, "Whistle, my Love". Long afterwards his own "Robin Hood Ballads" were used in another Disney feature; '' Enchanted''. His recording of the
Victor Hely-Hutchinson Christian Victor Noel Hope Hely-Hutchinson (26 December 1901 – 11 March 1947) was a British composer, conductor, pianist and music administrator. He is best known for the ''Carol Symphony'' and for humorous song-settings.Hurd, Michael'Hely ...
setting of
Edward Lear Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limerick (poetry), limericks, a form he popularised. ...
's "
The Owl and the Pussycat "The Owl and the Pussy-cat" is a nonsense poem by Edward Lear, first published in 1870 in the American magazine '' Our Young Folks: an Illustrated Magazine for Boys and Girls'' and again the following year in Lear's own book ''Nonsense Songs, S ...
" also achieved enduring popularity. It was first issued as a 10 inch single by
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 ...
in June 1953, and was regularly requested on the BBC radio programme ''
Children's Favourites ''Junior Choice'' is a BBC Radio programme originally broadcast from 1967 until 1982 with Christmas specials from 2007 until 2015 and again since 2017. Originally broadcast on the BBC Light Programme on Saturday mornings from 9.10 to 9.55 (later, ...
'', as was "
The Whistling Gypsy "The Whistling Gypsy", sometimes known simply as "The Gypsy Rover", is a well-known ballad composed and copyrighted by Dublin songwriter Leo Maguire in the 1950s. There are a number of similar traditional songs about a well-off woman's encounter ...
". "The Owl and the Pussycat" was one of six song recordings he made of
Edward Lear Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limerick (poetry), limericks, a form he popularised. ...
's nonsense verse following his BBC performances, along with the Dudley Glass settings of "The Duck and the Kangaroo", "The Table and the Chair", "The Broom, the Shovel, the Poker and the Tongs", "The Jumblies" and "The Quangle-Wangle's Hat". These were issued on a Parlophone extended play 45 single in November 1955 Later he had his own television shows, called "Elton Hayes - He Sings to a Small Guitar", "Close Your Eyes" and "Tinker's Tales". He obtained a follow-up film role in '' The Black Knight'', 1954, a variation on the King Arthur story produced by Irving Allen and Albert 'Cubby' Broccoli and starring Alan Ladd. He can be seen very briefly at the start of the film as a minstrel singing a few bars of "The Whistling Gypsy/The Gypsy Rover". Hayes was nervous before live performances and retired from show business in the 1960s. He bought a small thatched cottage on the
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
-
Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
border and, after studying at a local agricultural college, became a farmer, breeding pedigree livestock. He took up carriage driving and became a member of the British Driving Society.


Personal life

Betty Inman, whom he married in 1942, died in 1982. After a stroke in 1995, Hayes gave up his farm and moved to Bury St Edmunds to live with friends who cared for him until his death in 2001.


Filmography

*''
A Date with a Dream ''A Date with a Dream'' is a 1948 British musical comedy film directed by Dicky Leeman and starring Terry-Thomas, Jeannie Carson and Wally Patch. Its plot concerns a wartime group of musical entertainers who meet up a year after being demobbed an ...
'' (1948) - Singer *''
The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men ''The Story of Robin Hood'' is a 1952 action-adventure film produced by RKO- Walt Disney British Productions, based on the Robin Hood legend, made in Technicolor and filmed in Buckinghamshire, England. It was written by Lawrence Edward Watkin and ...
'' (1952) - Allan-a-Dale *'' The Black Knight'' (1954) - Minstrel *''
Isabel Isabel is a female name of Spanish origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of '' Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheva''), Arising in the 12th century, it became popul ...
'' (1968) - Eb *''
Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...
'' (1972) - Piers, farmer *''The Dance Goes On'' (1992) - Mayor Elton


References


External links

*
Whirlygig TV nostalgia

''The Owl and the Pussycat''
originally recorded in June 1953 on Parlophone R3692 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Elton 1915 births 2001 deaths English male stage actors English folk guitarists English male guitarists People from Bletchley Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment officers 20th-century British guitarists 20th-century British male musicians British Army personnel of World War II