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Harold Berens (born Isadore Harold Berenbaum; 4 March 1903 – 10 May 1995) was a British comedian and character actor.


Biography

He was born into a Jewish family in
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, the son of a tailor, and grew up and was educated in
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
,
Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa w ...
, and
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
. After his father built up a successful business in Brighton, he moved there, and began performing at
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, produce ...
parties organised by his father. After completing his education he worked as a shirt salesman, primarily to a show business clientele, while developing his own talent for comedy, especially his ability to imitate a wide range of different
dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...
s, at private functions. In the 1930s he opened his own shop in Regent Street, London, where he styled himself as "Shirtmaker to the Stars". One of his customers was
Carroll Levis Carroll Richard Levis (March 15, 1910 – October 17, 1968) was a Canadian talent scout, impresario and radio and television broadcaster, mainly working in Britain. Biography Born in Toronto and brought up in Vancouver, he grew up wanting to be ...
, who thought that Berens was too professional a performer to perform in his regular amateur talent shows, and recommended that he audition for 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. ...
...
. He won the support of
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 ...
producer Ernest Longstaffe, who used him in radio programmes from the late 1930s and wrote some of his scripts. Berens compered broadcasts by
Maurice Winnick Maurice Winnick (28 March 1902 – 26 May 1962) was an English musician and dance band leader of the British dance band era. Born in Manchester, Winnick studied violin at the Manchester College of Music, where he proved to be a "child prodigy". ...
and his orchestra from the Dorchester Hotel, and then, in 1939, started compering shows by Jay Wilbur and his band for
Radio Luxembourg Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...
. 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 opposi ...
, he made regular broadcasts for the services, and by 1941 was well known for his comedy routines, in which one of his characters was Mrs Twiddleswitch. He became known as "The Man with a Thousand Voices." "Harold Berens 1903-1995", ''Jewish Lives Project''
Retrieved 28 November 2020 He featured regularly in the radio series ''Hoop-La'', with
Robb Wilton Robert Wilton Smith (28 August 1881 – 1 May 1957), better known as Robb Wilton, was an English comedian and actor. He was best known for his filmed monologues during the 1930s and 1940s, in which he played incompetent authority figures. His tr ...
and Max Wall, and became more popular after 1945 playing the role of a Cockney ignoramus on ''Ignorance Is Bliss'', chaired by
Stewart MacPherson (Charles) Stewart Macpherson (29 March 1865 – 27 March 1941) was an English musician of Scottish descent. He was born in Liverpool, and studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He was a student of the composer Walter Cecil Macfarren. I ...
, which was a BBC adaptation of the American show '' It Pays to Be Ignorant''. According to Roy Hudd, Berens' exclamations of "What a Geezer!" became a national
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 ...
.Roy Hudd and Philip Hindin, ''Roy Hudd's Cavalcade of Variety Acts'', Robson Books, 1998, , pp.13-14 By 1947, it was said that he had done over 2,000 radio broadcasts. He also appeared in four Royal Variety Performances. He continued to feature on radio through the 1950s, notably as Mrs Mosseltoff on the show '' Ted Ray Time''. He also developed a career as a supporting actor in films and television. His first film appearance was in '' Candlelight in Algeria'' (1944), followed by appearances in '' Third Time Lucky'' (1949), '' Up for the Cup'' (1950), ''
Man from Tangier ''Man from Tangier'' (released in the United States as ''Thunder over Tangier'') is a 1957 British crime film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Robert Hutton (actor), Robert Hutton, Lisa Gastoni and Martin Benson (actor), Martin Benson. Pl ...
'' (1957), and ''
The Pure Hell of St Trinian's ''The Pure Hell of St Trinian's'' is a 1960 British comedy film set in the fictional St Trinian's School. Directed by Frank Launder and written by him and Sidney Gilliat, it was the third in a series of four films. Plot The St. Trinian's ...
'' (1960), among others. He also appeared in such television shows as '' The Avengers'' and ''
It's a Square World ''It's a Square World'' is a British comedy television series starring Michael Bentine and produced by the BBC. It ran from 1960 until 1964, each episode being of 30 minutes duration. The series gained Bentine a BAFTA award in 1962 for Light E ...
''. His final film appearances came in ''
Trail of the Pink Panther A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. T ...
'' (1982), ''
Hear My Song ''Hear My Song'' is a 1991 British comedy-drama film directed by Peter Chelsom, who co-wrote the screenplay with Adrian Dunbar, based on the story of Irish tenor Josef Locke. It was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 46th British Ac ...
'' (1991), and ''
Carry On Columbus ''Carry On Columbus'' is a 1992 British comedy film, the 31st and final release in the ''Carry On'' film series (1958–1992). The film was a belated entry to the series, following 1978's ''Carry On Emmannuelle''. It was produced to coincide ...
'' (1992). Berens died in London in 1995, aged 92.


Filmography


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berens, Harold 1903 births 1995 deaths 20th-century British comedians Jewish British male actors