A Wills cigarette card from the 'Radio Celebrities' series, 1934; Sarony on right Leslie Sarony (born Leslie Legge Frye; 22 January 1897 – 12 February 1985) was a British entertainer, singer, actor and songwriter.

Biography

Sarony was born in

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the historic county of Surrey and since 1965 it has ...

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. ...

, England, the son of William Henry Frye, ''

alias Alias may refer to: * Pseudonym * Pen name * Nickname Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Alias'' (2013 film), a 2013 Canadian documentary film * ''Alias'' (TV series), an American action thriller series 2001–2006 * ''Alias the ...

'' William Rawstorne Frye, an Irish-born artist and photographer, and his wife, Mary Sarony, who was born in New York City. He was christened as Leslie Legge Tate Frye at the Church of St Mary the Virgin,

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

, on 5 May 1898. He began his stage career aged 14, with the group Park Eton's Boys. In 1913 he appeared in the

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

, '' Hello Tango''. In

World War I 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 ...

, Sarony served (as Private Leslie Sarony Frye) in the

London Scottish Regiment The London Scottish was a reserve infantry regiment then a company of the British Army. In its final incarnation it was A (The London Scottish) Company, the London Regiment until, on 1 April 2022, soldiers in the company transferred to foo ...

and the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

in France and Salonika, and was awarded the

Silver War Badge The Silver War Badge was issued in the United Kingdom and the British Empire to service personnel who had been honourably discharged due to wounds or sickness from military service in World War I. History The badge, sometimes known as the "Disc ...

. His stage credits after the war included revues, pantomimes and musicals, including the London productions of ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...

'' and '' Rio Rita''. Sarony became known in the 1920s and 1930s as a variety artist and radio performer. In 1928, he made a short film in the

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 system, ''Hot Water and Vegetabuel''. In this film, he sang, interspersed with his comic

patter Patter is a prepared and practiced speech that is designed to produce a desired response from its audience. Examples of occupations with a patter might include the auctioneer, salesperson, dance caller, magician, or comedian. The term may h ...

, the two eponymous songs – the first as a typical

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 ...

geezer outside a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, the second (still outside the pub) as a less typical vegetable rights campaigner ("Don't be cruel to a vegetabuel"). He recorded novelty songs, such as " He Played his Ukulele as the Ship Went Down", including several with

Jack Hylton Jack Hylton (born John Greenhalgh Hilton; 2 July 1892 – 29 January 1965) was an English pianist, composer, band leader and impresario. Hylton rose to prominence during the British dance band era, being referred as the "British King of Jazz" a ...

and his Orchestra. He teamed up with Leslie Holmes in 1933 under the name 'The Two Leslies'. The partnership lasted until 1946. Their recorded output included such numbers as "I'm a Little Prairie Flower". His 1929 song "Jollity Farm", was recorded by the

Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (also known as The Bonzo Dog Band or The Bonzos) was created by a group of British art-school students in the 1960s. Combining elements of music hall, trad jazz and psychedelia with surreal humour and avant-garde art, ...

on their 1967 album ''

Gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...

''. Sarony continued to perform into his eighties, moving on to television and films. In the 1970s, he appeared in such programmes as the ''

Harry Worth Harry Bourlon Illingsworth (20 November 1917 – 20 July 1989), professionally known as Harry Worth, was an English comedy actor, comedian and ventriloquist. Worth portrayed a charming, gentle and genial character, totally bemused by life, ...

Show'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debuted ...

'', '' The Good Old Days'', and ''The

Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer, and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, he enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordi ...

Show'', as well as the

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

Nearest and Dearest ''Nearest and Dearest'' is a British television sitcom that ran from 1968 to 1973. A total of 45 episodes were made, 18 in monochrome (black & white) and 27 in colour. The series, produced by ITV Granada, Granada Television for the ITV (TV netw ...

''. He appeared in the first episode of police drama ''

The Sweeney ''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective Ins ...

'' ("Ringer", 1975) as a police informant known as 'Soldier'. He took over from Bert Palmer as the senile Uncle Stavely ("I heard that! Pardon?") in the fourth and final series of ''

I Didn't Know You Cared ''I Didn't Know You Cared'' is a British television comedy set in a working-class household in South Yorkshire in the 1970s, written by Peter Tinniswood loosely based upon his books ''A Touch of Daniel'', ''I Didn't Know You Cared'' and ''Except ...

'' in 1979. In 1983, Sarony appeared as one of the many elderly insurance clerks in ''

The Crimson Permanent Assurance ''The Crimson Permanent Assurance'' is a 1983 British swashbuckling comedy short film that plays as the beginning of the feature-length motion picture '' Monty Python's The Meaning of Life''. Having originally conceived the story as a six-minu ...

'' segment of ''

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life ''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life'', also known simply as ''The Meaning of Life'', is a 1983 British musical sketch comedy film written and performed by the Monty Python troupe, directed by Terry Jones. ''The Meaning of Life'' was the last f ...

''. He died in London, aged 88. His sons are: Neville Sarony QC, a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and author ''(The Dharma Expedient'') in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

; Peter Sarony, a successful

gunsmith A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds guns. The occupation differs from an armorer, who usually replaces only worn parts in standard firearms. Gunsmiths do modifications and changes to a firearm that may require a very h ...

with a business in London; and Paul Sarony, an independent

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

(''

Mrs Brown ''Mrs Brown'' (also theatrically released as ''Her Majesty, Mrs Brown'') is a 1997 British drama film starring Judi Dench, Billy Connolly, Geoffrey Palmer, Antony Sher, and Gerard Butler in his film debut. It was written by Jeremy Brock and ...

'', ''

Hideous Kinky ''Hideous Kinky'' is an autobiographical novel by Esther Freud, daughter of British painter Lucian Freud and Bernardine Coverley and great-granddaughter of Sigmund Freud. It depicts the author's unconventional childhood in Morocco with her mothe ...

'', '' Shine'').

Selected filmography

* ''

Aunt Sally Aunt Sally is a traditional English game usually played in pub gardens and fairgrounds, in which players throw sticks or battens at a ball, known as a 'dolly', balanced on top of a stick, traditionally a model of an old woman's head was sometime ...

'' (1933) * ''

Soldiers of the King ''Soldiers of the Queen'' is a song written and composed by Leslie Stuart. The song is often sung and published as "Soldiers of the King" depending on the reigning monarch at the time. The tune was originally composed by Stuart as a march celebr ...

'' (1933) * '' Where's George?'' (1935) * '' Sunshine Ahead'' (1936) * ''

When You Come Home ''When You Come Home'' is a 1948 British comedy film directed by John Baxter (director), John Baxter and starring Frank Randle, Leslie Sarony and Leslie Holmes (comedian), Leslie Holmes. It had a larger production budget than Randle's previous fi ...

'' (1948) * ''

Game for Three Losers A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...

'' (1965) * ''

It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet ''It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet'' (in the United States also known as ''All Things Bright and Beautiful''), is a 1976 sequel to the 1975 film '' All Creatures Great and Small''. Although having the same title as James Herriot's second novel, the ...

'' (1977) * ''

'' (1983)

Songs

* "Don't Be Cruel to a Vegetabuel" (1928) * "Don't Do That to the Poor Puss Cat" (1928) * "Forty-Seven Ginger-Headed Sailors" (1928, featured in ''

Jeeves and Wooster ''Jeeves and Wooster'' is a British comedy-drama television series adapted by Clive Exton from P. G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves" stories. It aired on the ITV network from 22 April 1990 to 20 June 1993, with the last series nominated for a British ...

)'' * "I Lift Up My Finger (and I Say 'Tweet Tweet')" (1929, featured in ''Jeeves and Wooster'' and in ''

Mother Riley Meets the Vampire ''Mother Riley Meets the Vampire'', also known as ''Vampire Over London'' or ''My Son, the Vampire'', is a 1952 British horror comedy film directed by John Gilling, starring Arthur Lucan and Bela Lugosi that was filmed at Nettlefold Studios. ...

'') * "Jollity Farm" (1929) * "Mucking About the Garden" (1929) * "The Alpine Milkman" (1930) * "Gorgonzola" (1930) * "Icicle Joe the Eskimo" (1931) * "Rhymes" (1931) * " Jolly Good Company" (

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

Eclipse record No. 122, copyright Campbell, Connelly & Co) * "Let's Sing the Song Father Used to Sing" (B-side Eclipse record No. 122, copyright Campbell, Connelly & Co) * "Ain't It Grand to Be Bloomin' Well Dead" (1932) * "Wheezy Anna" (1933) * "Coom Pretty One" (1934) * "I Took My Harp to a Party" (Carter-Gay) A-side Rex 8063 A (B-side "Why Build a Wall 'Round a Graveyard?") (Sarony) (1934) * "The Old Sow (Susannah's a Funniful Man)" (1935) * "

We're Going to Hang out the Washing on the Siegfried Line "We're Going to Hang out the Washing on the Siegfried Line" is a popular song by Irish songwriter Jimmy Kennedy, written whilst he was a Captain in the British Expeditionary Force during the early stages of the Second World War, with music by Mic ...

" (1939) * "The Flirtation Waltz" (1952) "Bunkey-doodle-I-doh" was the B-side of "Jollity Farm" by the International Novelty Orchestra on Zonophone 5513 (pressing no. 30-2138). "Jollity Farm" was pressing no. 30-2139.

References

External links

* * *
Hot Water and Vegetabuel
' at

screenonline Screenonline is a website about the history of British film, television and social history as documented by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute and funded by a £1.2 million grant from the National Lot ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sarony, Leslie 1897 births 1985 deaths English male singers People from Surbiton 20th-century English singers 20th-century British male singers British Army personnel of World War I London Scottish soldiers Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers Military personnel from Surrey