Jimmy Hanley (22 October 1918 – 13 January 1970) was an English actor who appeared in the popular Huggetts film series, and in

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 ...

's most popular advertising magazine programme, ''Jim's Inn'', from 1957 to 1963.

Early life

Born in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, Hanley began his career as a

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in film, movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associ ...

before becoming popular in juvenile roles. He was groomed by the Rank Studio system during his teenage years and earned film stardom as a "boy-next-door" type. The young actor attended the

Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts is a performing arts conservatoire based in Woking, England. It was founded in 1911 by Italia Conti, an actress. The first production at Italia Conti Academy was the play '' Where the Rainbow Ends''. F ...

and whilst he was studying there, made his stage debut at age 12 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 a ...

, as John Darling in ''Peter Pan''. He began to make films in his teens.

Career

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 ...

he served as an officer with the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, and in a commando raid in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

he was wounded in the leg and was invalided out of the service. He returned to films, including ''

Salute John Citizen ''Salute John Citizen'' is a 1942 black and white British drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Edward Rigby, Mabel Constanduros and Jimmy Hanley. The Bunting family face up to the fortunes of war during the Second World War. Plot T ...

'' (1942), ''

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...

'' with

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

(1944), ''

For You Alone ''For You Alone'' is a 1945 British World War II romance melodrama, one of only two films directed by cinematographer Geoffrey Faithfull, starring Lesley Brook, Dinah Sheridan and Jimmy Hanley. The film was made by a smaller studio, Butcher's ...

'' (1945) and the Huggetts films. He later worked on radio and TV, appearing in several television series and hosting the ITV series ''Jim's Inn'' from 1957 to 1963, which combined advertising messages with the plot of a

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

, where he and his wife Maggie played the hosts of a pub where customers discussed bargains and new products whilst drinking. The series finished when advertising magazine programmes were banned.

Personal life

Hanley was married twice: *

Dinah Sheridan Dinah Sheridan (born Dinah Nadyejda Ginsburg; 17 September 1920 – 25 November 2012) was an English actress with a career spanning seven decades. She was best known for the films '' Genevieve'' (1953) and '' The Railway Children'' (1970); the l ...

1942–1952 three children, including

Jenny Hanley Jenny Hanley (born 15 August 1947) is an English actress. She remains best known for being one of the presenters of the ITV children's magazine programme ''Magpie''. Early life and education Hanley is the daughter of actors Dinah Sheridan and ...

and the Conservative politician Sir Jeremy Hanley. The third died in infancy. * Margaret Avery (1955–1970, three daughters: Jane, Sarah and Katy) Hanley died from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

Fetcham Fetcham is a suburban village in Surrey, England west of the town of Leatherhead, on the other side of the River Mole and has a mill pond, springs and an associated nature reserve. The housing, as with adjacent Great Bookham, sits on the lower ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, on 13 January 1970, at the age of 51.

Selected filmography

* '' Red Wagon'' (1933) - Young Joe Prince * ''

Those Were the Days Those Were the Days may refer to: Music Albums * ''Those Were the Days'' (Johnny Mathis album) (1968) * ''Those Were the Days'' (Cream album) (1997) * ''Those Were the Days'' (Dolly Parton album) (2005) * '' Those Were the Days – The Best of L ...

'' (1933) - Boy with bicycle (uncredited) * '' Little Friend'' (1934) - Leonard Parry * '' Wild Boy'' (1934) - Boy With Message (uncredited) * ''

Royal Cavalcade ''Royal Cavalcade'', also known as ''Regal Cavalcade'', is a 1935 British, black-and-white, drama film directed by six separate directors: Thomas Bentley (Supervising Director), Herbert Brenon, Norman Lee, Walter Summers, W. P. Kellino and Mar ...

'' (1935) - Newsboy * '' Boys Will Be Boys'' (1935) - Cyril Brown * '' Brown on Resolution'' (1935) - Ginger * '' The Tunnel'' (1935) - Geoffrey McAllan * ''

Landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

'' (1937) - Jimmy Haddon * ''

Cotton Queen ''Cotton Queen'', also known as ''Crying Out Loud'', is a 1937 British comedy film directed by Bernard Vorhaus, and starring Stanley Holloway, Will Fyffe, and Mary Lawson. Production The film was directed by Vorhaus at Elstree Studios for th ...

'' (1937) - Jack Owen (uncredited) * '' Night Ride'' (1937) - Dick Benson * ''

Housemaster {{refimprove, date=September 2018 In British education, a housemaster is a schoolmaster in charge of a boarding house, normally at a boarding school and especially at a public school. The housemaster is responsible for the supervision and care ...

'' (1938) - Travers * '' Coming of Age'' (1938) - Arthur Strudwick * ''

There Ain't No Justice ''There Ain't No Justice'' is a 1939 British sports drama film directed by Pen Tennyson and starring Jimmy Hanley, Edward Chapman and Edward Rigby. The film is based on the 1937 novel of the same name by James Curtis. Plot summary Tommy Mut ...

'' (1939) - Tommy Mutch * ''

Gaslight Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either direct ...

'' (1940) - Cobb * ''

'' (1942) - Ernest Bunting * ''

The Gentle Sex ''The Gentle Sex'' is a 1943 United Kingdom, British black-and-white romantic comedy-drama war film, film director, directed and narrated by Leslie Howard (actor), Leslie Howard. It was film producer, produced by Concanen Productions, Two Cities ...

'' (1943) - 1st Soldier * ''

The Way Ahead ''The Way Ahead'' (also known as ''Immortal Battalion'') (1944) is a British Second World War drama film directed by Carol Reed. The screenplay was written by Eric Ambler and Peter Ustinov. The film stars David Niven, Stanley Holloway and Willi ...

'' (1944) - Pte. Geoffrey Stainer * ''

'' (1944) - Williams - Soldier in the English Army * '' Kiss the Bride Goodbye'' (1945) - Jack Fowler * '' 29 Acacia Avenue'' (1945) - Peter Robinson * ''

'' (1945) - Dennis Britton * ''

Murder in Reverse? ''Murder in Reverse'' (also styled ''Murder in Reverse?'') is a 1945 British thriller film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring William Hartnell, Jimmy Hanley and Chili Bouchier. It is based on the story ''Query'' by "Seamark" ( Austin J. ...

'' (1945) - Peter Rogers * ''

The Captive Heart ''The Captive Heart'' is a 1946 British war drama, directed by Basil Dearden and starring Michael Redgrave. It is about a Czechoslovak Army officer who is captured in the Fall of France and spends five years as a prisoner of war, during which ti ...

'' (1946) - Pte. Mathews * ''

Holiday Camp A holiday camp is a type of holiday accommodation that encourages holidaymakers to stay within the site boundary, and provides entertainment and facilities for them throughout the day. Since the 1970s, the term has fallen out of favour with term ...

'' (1947) - Jimmy Gardner * '' Master of Bankdam'' (1947) - Simeon Crowther Jr. * ''

It Always Rains on Sunday ''It Always Rains on Sunday'' is a 1947 British film adaptation of Arthur La Bern's novel by the same name, directed by Robert Hamer. The film has been compared with the poetic realism movement in the French cinema of a few years earlier by the ...

'' (1947) - Whitey * ''Nothing Venture'' (1948) - Introduction to serial version * ''

It's Hard to Be Good ''It's Hard to Be Good'' is a 1948 British comedy film directed by Jeffrey Dell and starring Jimmy Hanley, Anne Crawford and Raymond Huntley. In the film, an ex-army officer finds his altruistic attempts to improve the world are unsuccessful. ...

'' (1947) - Captain James Gladstone Wedge VC * ''

Here Come the Huggetts ''Here Come the Huggetts'' is a 1948 British comedy film, the first of the Huggetts series, about a working class English family. All three films in the series were directed by Ken Annakin and released by Gainsborough Pictures. Jack Warner and ...

'' (1948) - Jimmy Gardner * ''

The Huggetts Abroad ''The Huggetts Abroad'' is a 1949 British film starring Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Petula Clark and Susan Shaw. It was the final film of The Huggetts. The film was less commercially successful than its predecessors. A sequel, ''Christmas ...

'' (1949) - Jimmy Gardner * ''

Don't Ever Leave Me ''Don't Ever Leave Me'' is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Arthur Crabtree and starring Petula Clark, Jimmy Hanley, Hugh Sinclair, Edward Rigby, and Anthony Newley. Produced by Betty Box during her stint at Gainsborough Pictures, it wa ...

'' (1949) - Jack Denton * '' Boys in Brown'' (1949) - Bill Foster * ''

The Blue Lamp ''The Blue Lamp'' is a 1950 British police procedural film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Jack Warner as PC Dixon, Jimmy Hanley as newcomer PC Mitchell, and Dirk Bogarde as criminal Tom Riley. The title refers to the blue lamps that t ...

'' (1950) - PC Andy Mitchell * '' Room to Let'' (1950) - Curly Minter * '' The Galloping Major'' (1951) - Bill Collins, Bus Driver * ''

Radio Cab Murder ''Radio Cab Murder'' is a 1954 British crime film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Jimmy Hanley, Lana Morris and Sonia Holm. It was made at Walton Studios and on location around Kensington and Notting Hill in London. The film's sets wer ...

'' (1954) - Fred Martin * ''

The Black Rider ''The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets'' is a self-billed "musical fable" in the avant-garde tradition created through the collaboration of theatre director Robert Wilson, musician Tom Waits, and writer William S. Burroughs. Wi ...

'' (1954) - Jerry Marsh * '' The Deep Blue Sea'' (1955) - Dicer Durston * ''

Satellite in the Sky ''Satellite in the Sky'' is a 1956 British CinemaScope science fiction film in Warner Color, produced by Edward J. Danziger and Harry Lee Danziger, directed by Paul Dickson, and starring Kieron Moore, Lois Maxwell, Donald Wolfit, and Bryan Forb ...

'' (1956) - Larry * '' The Lost Continent'' (1968) - Patrick, the Bartender

Television series

* ''Jim's Inn'' (1957–1963, ITV advertising programme) - host * ''

Five O'Clock Club ''Five O'Clock Club'' was a 1960s British children's television pop programme on Rediffusion with Jimmy Hanley, Muriel Young, Howard Williams, and later Wally Whyton. The programme also featured appearances by Bert Weedon, and Grahame Dangerf ...

'' (1963–1966, ITV children's programme) - host * ''Futurama'' (1964, ITV children's science programme) - host * ''

Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...

'' (1966, ITV soap) - Jimmy Gudgeon, old friend of central character Meg Richardson (played by Noele Gordon)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanley, Jimmy 1918 births 1970 deaths King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry officers 20th-century English male actors English male stage actors English male film actors English male television actors British Army personnel of World War II British Army Commandos officers Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from cancer in England Military personnel from Norwich