Melvyn Hayes (''

né A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...

'' Hyams; 11 January 1935) is an English actor and voice over performer. He is best known for playing the effeminate Gunner (later Bombardier) "Gloria" Beaumont in the 1970s BBC sitcom ''

It Ain't Half Hot Mum ''It Ain't Half Hot, Mum'' is a BBC television sitcom about a Royal Artillery concert party based in Deolali in British India and the fictional village of Tin Min in Burma, during the last months of the Second World War. It was written by Jimm ...

'', for appearing in the

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

musical films '' The Young Ones'', '' Summer Holiday'' and '' Wonderful Life'' as well as '' Here Come the Double Deckers'' (1970–1971).

Professional career

Early life and stage roles

Born in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...

, South London, Hayes attended Sir Walter St John's Grammar School For Boys,

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batte ...

. As a youth he worked in Fleet Street, carrying advertising print blocks between newspapers. In 1950 he saw an advertisement seeking an assistant for the conjurer The Great Massoni. He got the job and was soon "disappearing twice daily for £4 per week" performing the Indian rope trick in Maskelyne's Mysteries at

The Comedy Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,

in London. He was also in a theatrical troupe called Terry's Juveniles, and later appeared in repertory theatres in Surrey, Derbyshire and

the Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the In ...

. He has appeared in pantomimes as dames in Christmas productions of ''

Sleeping Beauty ''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess ...

'' as Nanny Nellie and ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part o ...

'' as '' Widow Twankey''

Film

His film roles include the young

Victor Frankenstein Victor Frankenstein is a fictional character and the main protagonist and title character in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel, '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''.. He is an Italian-Swiss scientist (born in Naples, Italy) who, after studying ...

in ''

The Curse of Frankenstein ''The Curse of Frankenstein'' is a 1957 British horror film by Hammer Film Productions, loosely based on the 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus '' by Mary Shelley. It was Hammer's first colour horror film, and the first of t ...

'' (1957), Willem in '' Operation Amsterdam'' (1959), Cecil Biggs in '' Bottoms Up'' (1960), Jimmy in '' The Young Ones'' (1961) with

, Cyril in '' Summer Holiday'' (1963), again with Cliff Richard and 'Brother' Willy in '' Crooks in Cloisters'' (1964).

Voice roles

Hayes has performed voices on children's cartoons such as ''

SuperTed ''SuperTed'' is a Welsh superhero animated television series about an anthropomorphic teddy bear with superpowers, created by writer and animator Mike Young. Originally created by Young as a series of stories to help his son overcome his fear o ...

'', ''

The Dreamstone ''The Dreamstone'' is a British animated television series that ran for four series, with 13 episodes per series between 1990 and 1995. The original concept and artwork were created by Michael Jupp, and the series was written by Sue Radley a ...

'', '' Little Dracula'', '' Alfred J. Kwak'', ''

Pongwiffy Kaye Umansky (; born 6 December 1946) is an English children's author and poet. She has written over 130 books for children and her work ranges from picture books to novels. She is best known for the Pongwiffy & Jim Series. Early life Kaye Uman ...

'' and '' Budgie the Little Helicopter''.

Television

One of his earliest roles was in the BBC '' Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School''. He played Edek in '' The Silver Sword'' (by Ian Serraillier) in 1957, a children's television production about Polish refugees trying to find their parent after

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Hayes featured in ''

'' (1974–1981), as Gunner "Gloria" Beaumont for the first two series, then, after Bombardier Solomon left, he was promoted to bombardier. Other roles include parts in '' EastEnders'' as Michael Rawlins. '' Carry On England'', '' Love Thy Neighbour'', ''The Thin Blue Line'', '' Here Come the Double Deckers'', ''Potter's Picture Palace'' (1976 & 1978) and the final series of '' Drop the Dead Donkey''. He also provided the voice to characters in the English translation of the cartoon '' Alfred J. Kwak''. In March 2011, Hayes appeared as Mr Pink in the ''

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 pu ...

'' comedy TV series ''

Benidorm Benidorm is a town and municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Benidorm has been a tourist destination within Spain since 1925, when its port was extended and the first hotels were built, though ...

''. He was also in the '' Doctor Who - The Companion Chronicles'' audio ''The Scorchies'' (2013).

Personal life

Hayes first married actress Rosalind Allan, with whom he has two daughters and one son. He has two daughters with his second wife, former actress and theatrical agent

Wendy Padbury Wendy Padbury (born 7 December 1947) is a British actress and former talent agent. She has appeared in television series since 1966, including as Zoe Heriot, a companion to Patrick Troughton's Doctor in '' Doctor Who'', from 1968 to 1969. Ea ...

; their daughter, Charlie Hayes, also became an actress. He is now married to Jayne Male and lives in

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came a ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

. Hayes has one child with Male. He was at one time the pub landlord of the Stag Inn in the village of Offchurch in Warwickshire and also of the ''White Hart Tap'' in

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roma ...

, Hertfordshire. Hayes is a member of the

Grand Order of Water Rats The Grand Order of Water Rats is a British entertainment industry fraternity and charitable organisation based in London. Founded in 1889 by the music hall comedians Joe Elvin and Jack Lotto, the order is known for its high-profile membership an ...

and in 2004, was made King Rat.

Filmography

* '' Adventure in the Hopfields'' (1953) * '' The Man Who Loved Redheads'' (1955) * '' Fun at St. Fanny's'' (1956) * ''

'' (1957) * '' Violent Playground'' (1958) * '' Operation Amsterdam'' (1959) * '' No Trees in the Street'' (1959) * '' The Flesh and the Fiends'' (1960) * '' Bottoms Up'' (1960) * '' The Young Ones'' (1961) * '' The Silent Invasion'' (1962) * '' Summer Holiday'' (1963) * '' Crooks in Cloisters'' (1964) * '' Wonderful Life '' (1964) * '' A Walk with Love and Death'' (1969) * '' Go for a Take'' (1972) * '' Love Thy Neighbour'' (1973) * '' Man About the House'' (1974) * '' Carry On England'' (1976) * '' What's Up Superdoc!'' (1978) * '' A Touch of the Sun'' (1979) * '' The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1984) * '' Santa Claus: The Movie'' (1985) * '' King of the Wind'' (1990)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Melvyn Living people 1935 births English male film actors English male voice actors English male television actors 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Pantomime dames People from Ryde People educated at Sir Walter St John's Grammar School For Boys British male comedy actors