Robert Moreton (born Henry Moreton; 25 June 1922 – 22 July 1957) was an English comedian and actor.

Biography

Born in

Teddington Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long m ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, he initially had a successful straight acting career with the

Old Vic Theatre The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit organization, not-for-profit producing house, producing theatre in Waterloo, London, Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Th ...

, before becoming a scriptwriter for comedians

Tommy Handley Thomas Reginald Handley (17 January 1892 – 9 January 1949) was an English comedian, best known for the BBC radio programme ''It's That Man Again'' ("''ITMA''") which ran between 1939 and 1949. Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, Handley went o ...

and

Lupino Lane Henry William George Lupino (16 June 1892 – 10 November 1959) professionally Lupino Lane, was an English actor and theatre manager, and a member of the famous Lupino family, which eventually included his cousin, the screenwriter/director/actr ...

. He served in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

, where he performed in

Gang Show A Gang Show is a theatrical performance by members of Scouts and Guides A guide is a person who leads travelers, sportspeople, or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others t ...

s with

Tony Hancock Anthony John Hancock (12 May 1924 – 25 June 1968) was an English comedian and actor. High-profile during the 1950s and early 1960s, he had a major success with his BBC series ''Hancock's Half Hour'', first broadcast on radio from 1954, ...

among others. He developed a distinctive character as an amateurish and dithering aspiring comedian. His act involved him looking through his imaginary "Bumper Fun Book" for a joke, trying to tell it but hesitating and getting confused, for instance through turning over the wrong page, before eventually coming up with the punchline -- which would frequently make no sense, until Moreton went back and read the set-up. This 'reverse' style of joke telling would get a laugh on the reveal of the unexpected set-up, and became Moreton's signature. On receiving applause, he would cry out "Get in there, Moreton!", which became a well-known

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

. After the end of the war, he appeared on radio shows such as ''

Variety Bandbox ''Variety Bandbox'' is a BBC Radio variety show transmitted initially in the General Forces Programme and then the Light Programme. Featuring a mixture of comic performances and music, the show helped to launch the careers of a number of leadin ...

'' and '' Workers' Playtime''. Search, Robert Moreton, ''Radio Times'', BBC
Retrieved 22 December 2020 In 1950, he appeared in the first series of the popular radio comedy series ''

Educating Archie ''Educating Archie'' was a BBC Light Programme comedy show which was broadcast for nearly ten years between June 1950 and February 1960, mostly at lunchtime on Sundays. The programme featured ventriloquist Peter Brough and his doll Archie Andr ...

'', as Archie's tutor. He was replaced in later series by Tony Hancock. Moreton also had his own radio series starting in 1951, ''Bumblethorpe'', scripted by

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British Colonial India, where h ...

, in which he would repeatedly search for the eponymous character. He failed to maintain the momentum of his career in subsequent years,

Roy Hudd Roy Hudd, OBE (16 May 1936 – 15 March 2020) was an English comedian, actor, presenter, radio host, author and authority on the history of music hall entertainment. Early life Hudd was born in Croydon on 16 May 1936 to Evalina "Evie" (née ...

suggesting that "the public tired of isone-joke approach". However, he appeared in several comedy films, including ''

One Wild Oat ''One Wild Oat'' is a 1951 British comedy film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Stanley Holloway, Robertson Hare and Sam Costa with a notable appearance by a pre-stardom Audrey Hepburn as an extra. Plot Barrister Humphrey Proudfoot ...

'' (1951) and ''

The Time of His Life ''The Time of His Life'' is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Richard Hearne, Ellen Pollock, Richard Wattis and Robert Moreton. The screenplay concerns a man who is released from prison and goes to live with ...

'' (1955). He also appeared in the pilot series of the radio show ''

The Clitheroe Kid ''The Clitheroe Kid'' was a BBC Radio comedy show featuring diminutive Northern comic Jimmy Clitheroe in the role of a cheeky schoolboy, who lived with his family at Lilac Avenue in an unnamed town in the North of England. The pilot show, pil ...

'' in 1956. ''Radio Times'', Issue 1693, 24 April 1956, p.24
/ref> Moreton killed himself in 1957, aged 35, after suffering depression from his lack of work.Roy Hudd and Philip Hindin, ''Roy Hudd's Cavalcade of Variety Acts'', Robson Books, 1998, , pp.125-126

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moreton, Robert 1922 births 1957 deaths 20th-century English comedians English radio personalities 1957 suicides Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Suicides in Chelsea Royal Air Force airmen Military personnel from Middlesex People from Teddington