Nat Mills and Bobbie were a British husband-and-wife comedy

double act A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases f ...

, active between the 1920s and 1950s. Nat Mills was born Nathaniel Miller (15 January 1900 – 13 August 1993), and Bobbie was born Roberta Maude Esther Macauley (19 November 1901 – 20 January 1955).

Biography

Mills was born in Stepney, London, of

Russian Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...

ancestry, and following a childhood accident only had the use of one arm, a fact which he hid from later audiences. He first appeared 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 ...

in 1913, before joining a touring concert party, and then going solo as an

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

. Macauley was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Review of ''Let's Get On With It: The Official Biography of Nat Mills & Bobbie'' by Randle S. Cutts, ''ArthurLloyd.co.uk''
Retrieved 15 February 2021 started as a child actress, and then sang and danced in musical revues. They met in London in 1923, and formed a double act, performing together at the Empire Theatre in

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

in 1929. Denis Gifford, "Obituary: Nat Mills", ''The Independent'', 13 August 1993
Retrieved 13 February 2021 They established a personal as well as professional relationship,Roger Wilmut, ''Kindly Leave the Stage: The Story of Variety 1919-1960'', Methuen, 1985, , pp.145-146 and after several years performing together they married in 1937. They were successful from the start as a comedy duo, billed as "The Rare Pair". Their comedy was based around mutual misunderstandings, particularly over Bobbie taking figures of speech literally, asking irrelevant questions, and constantly interrupting

monologue In theatre, a monologue (from el, μονόλογος, from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes a ...

s by the increasingly exasperated Mills.Roy Hudd and Philip Hindin, ''Roy Hudd's Cavalcade of Variety Acts'', Robson Books, 1998, , pp.121-122 Their catch phrase was "Let's get ''on'' with it!", spoken by Mills "in a drawn-out, whining voice". According to Denis Gifford: "Unlike all the other double-acts in the business, neither played the ' straight man', both were equally idiotic." They incorporated comic dancing and songs into their act. According to Mills, they were the first to popularise the song "

There's a Hole in My Bucket "There's a Hole in My Bucket" (or "...in the Bucket") is a children's song based on a protracted dialogue between two characters, Henry and Liza, about a leaky bucket. Various versions exist but they differ only slightly, all describing a "deadl ...

", and Mills also wrote songs including "Nice People", later adopted by Flanagan and Allen. They played in pantomimes and

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...

s, and toured widely in the 1930s, performing successfully in the United States, Australia and South Africa as well as around Britain. They also became popular on BBC Radio, and broadcast regularly 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 ...

, when they also toured as part of ENSA. They performed at the first post-war

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal f ...

in 1946, and continued to be popular until Bobbie's death in 1955, aged 53. Mills continued to perform for a short time as a solo act, but retired from show business in the mid-1950s. He moved to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, where he worked in his brother's

carpet A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fibers such as polypropylene, nylon, or polyester hav ...

business, but remarried and continued to appear at functions organised by the charity, 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 a ...

. He died in Manchester in 1993, aged 93.

References

External links

1935 performance
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mills, Nat, and Bobbie English comedy duos