Issy Bonn (born Benjamin Levin; 21 April 1903 – 21 April 1977) was a British comedian, singer, actor, and theatrical agent. His signature song was "

My Yiddishe Momme "My Yiddishe Momme" is a song written by Jack Yellen (words and music) and Lew Pollack (music), first recorded by Willie Howard, and was made famous in Vaudeville by Belle Baker and by Sophie Tucker, and later by the Barry Sisters. Tucker began s ...

Biography

Benjamin Levin was born into a Jewish family in

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...

, London, the son of a butcher. As a boy, he started singing and entertaining, but his family disapproved of his interest in the music hall and he was sent to Canada to live with relatives. When he returned, he joined an existing comedy and singing group, the Three Rascals, and used the stage name Benny Levine. He went solo in the early 1920s. He took the stage name Issy Bonn at the suggestion 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 John Sharman, who produced a popular programme, ''John Sharman's Music Hall'',Roy Hudd and Philip Hindin, ''Roy Hudd's Cavalcade of Variety Acts'', Robson Books, 1998, , p.17 and made his first radio appearance on the show in 1935, billed as "The Hebrew Vocal Raconteur". He combined sentimental songs such as "My Yiddish Momme" and "Let Bygones Be Bygones", with

Jewish humour The tradition of humor in Judaism dates back to the Torah and the Midrash from the ancient Middle East, but generally refers to the more recent stream of verbal and often anecdotal humor of Ashkenazi Jews which took root in the United States ov ...

and sketches, many featuring the fictitious Finkelfeffer family. "Issy Bonn 1893-1977", ''Jewish Lives Project''
Retrieved 1 December 2020 Issy Bonn made over a thousand radio broadcasts on programmes such as ''

Variety Bandbox ''Variety Bandbox'' is a BBC Radio variety show transmitted initially in the BBC General Forces Programme, General Forces Programme and then the BBC Light Programme, Light Programme. Featuring a mixture of comic performances and music, the show h ...

'', Issy Bonn, ''Radio Times'' archive
Retrieved 1 December 2020 and reputedly had a repertoire of over 500 songs. He also regularly toured South Africa.Richard Anthony Baker, ''Old Time Variety: an illustrated history'', Pen & Sword, 2011, , pp.67-68 He appeared in the films '' I Thank You'' in 1941, and '' Discoveries'' in 1939, where he played Mr. Schwitzer. He made his first recordings in 1942, for the Rex label, and later recorded for

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

and Columbia. He toured Europe with the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA), and after 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 ...

wrote and starred in his own road shows including ''The Big Broadcasts'' and ''The Melody Lingers On''. Biography, ''Allmusic.com''
Retrieved 1 December 2020 In the 1950s, his style of humour, trading on traditional Jewish stereotypes,Oliver Double, ''Stand Up: On Being a Comedian'', A&C Black, 1997, , p.63 went out of fashion, but he continued to appear on radio, television, and in

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

s, and toured, often with the popular trumpeter

Eddie Calvert Albert Edward "Eddie" Calvert (15 March 1922 – 7 August 1978) was an English trumpeter, who enjoyed his greatest success in the 1950s. Between 1953 and 1958, Calvert achieved seven instrumental hits on the UK Singles Chart, including two ch ...

. He later retired from performing and became a

theatrical agent A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds jobs for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, and other professionals in various entertainment or s ...

, and a producer of

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp ...

s around the country. He made his last appearance as a performer in 1963. His image appears on the cover of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. He died on his 74th birthday, in London.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonn, Issy Year of birth uncertain 1977 deaths Jewish British male actors Male actors from London Musicians from London