Wyn Calvin

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

OStJ The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of c ...

(born Joseph Wyndham Calvin-Thomas; 28 August 1925 – 25 January 2022), known affectionately as "The Clown Prince of Wales" and "The Welsh Prince of Laughter", was a Welsh comedian, pantomime dame, television and theatre actor, radio personality, television chat show host, after-dinner speaker, lecturer, philanthropist and newspaper columnist.The incredibly colourful life of the Welshman celebrating 75 years in showbiz - Wales Online He worked with numerous stars within the entertainment industry including

Harry Secombe Sir Harold Donald Secombe (8 September 1921 – 11 April 2001) was a Welsh comedian, actor, singer and television presenter. Secombe was a member of the British radio comedy programme ''The Goon Show'' (1951–1960), playing many characters, m ...

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

Christopher Biggins Christopher Kenneth Biggins (born 16 December 1948) is an English actor and television presenter. Early life Biggins was born in Oldham, Lancashire, the son of William and Pamela Biggins. He was brought up in Salisbury, Wiltshire, attended St P ...

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...

Frankie Vaughan Frankie Vaughan (born Frank Fruim Abelson; 3 February 1928 – 17 September 1999) was an English singer and actor who recorded more than 80 easy listening and traditional pop singles in his lifetime. He was known as "Mr. Moonlight" after his ...

Vic Morrow Victor Morrow (born Victor Morozoff; February 14, 1929 – July 23, 1982) was an American actor. He came to prominence as one of the leads of the ABC drama series ''Combat!'' (1962–1967), which earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstandin ...

Bud Flanagan Bud Flanagan, (born Chaim Reuben Weintrop, 14 October 1896 – 20 October 1968) was a British music hall and vaudeville entertainer and comedian, and later a television and film actor. He was best known as a double act with Chesney Allen. Fla ...

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 ...

Max Boyce Maxwell Boyce, (born 27 September 1943) is a Welsh comedian, singer and entertainer. He rose to fame in the mid-1970s with an act that combined musical comedy with his passion for rugby union and his origins in a South Wales mining community. B ...

Morecambe and Wise Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew, 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman, 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, working i ...

and

Ken Dodd Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd (8 November 1927 – 11 March 2018) was an English comedian, singer and occasional actor. He was described as "the last great music hall entertainer", and was primarily known for his live stand-up performances. A life ...

Life and career

Born in

Narberth, Pembrokeshire Narberth ( cy, Arberth) is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was founded around a Welsh court and later became a Norman stronghold on the Landsker Line. It became the headquarters of the hundred of Narberth. It was once ...

, he was the seventh of eight children in the Calvin-Thomas family. At the age of four, the family left for

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. His father John Calvin-Thomas felt there would be a better chance of employment there. Calvin was a pupil of Kitchener Road School and Radnor Road School before attending Canton High School for Boys in

. In 1944 he was called up and enlisted in the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

aged 17. He collapsed during training and, when a heart condition was diagnosed, was invalided out. Having left the army, he went straight into entertainment, breaking the family tradition of producing

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

preachers. He auditioned at the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dr ...

, for he served with

ENSA The Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) was an organisation established in 1939 by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during World War II. ENSA operated as part of the Navy, ...

(Entertainments National Service Association), the forces entertainment service during

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. With war still raging he toured camps in Britain and a few weeks later, on 14 May, six days after fighting in Europe ended, his troupe sailed to France to entertain allied soldiers in newly liberated France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. After leaving

he spent five years in

repertory theatre A repertory theatre is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawing ...

touring Great Britain, and found his forte as a comedian. His first big break on stage came in the 1960s in the guise of

Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty is a character in an English nursery rhyme, probably originally a riddle and one of the best known in the English-speaking world. He is typically portrayed as an anthropomorphic egg, though he is not explicitly described as such. ...

in a part written for Sir

who performed it 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 an ...

. Wyn took the show on the road from London 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 ...

. As a comedy performer he appeared in

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

s around the country including summer shows (seven in

Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2011 UK census, the community – which includes Gogarth, Penrhyn Bay, Craigsi ...

and four in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

where he was referred to as "Blackpool's favourite Welsh comedian"). He was particularly well known for

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 ...

. Appearing annually in over 50 pantomimes, he achieved the status of one of Britain's premier

pantomime dame A pantomime dame is a traditional role in British pantomime. It is part of the theatrical tradition of ''travesti'' portrayal of female characters by male actors in drag. Dame characters are often played either in an extremely camp style, or else ...

s especially renowned as a classic

Widow Twankey Widow Twankey (originally Twankay, sometimes Twanky) is a female character in the pantomime '' Aladdin''. She is a pantomime dame, played by an older man. History The story of Aladdin is drawn from the '' Arabian Nights'', a collection of Midd ...

in ''

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 of ...

'' which he played until 2011. Prior to

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural i ...

playing the role in an

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

production (2004 and 2005), he contacted Calvin for guidance. He broke into radio in the 1950s as Tommy Trotter in the radio show

Welsh Rarebit Welsh rarebit or Welsh rabbit ( or ) is a dish consisting of a hot Cheese sauce, cheese-based sauce served over slices of Toast (food), toasted bread. The original 18th-century name of the dish was the jocular "Welsh rabbit", which was later fo ...

on BBC Wales. He appeared on the

BBC Light Programme The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 1. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the ...

's '' Workers’ Playtime'' on 47 separate occasions from 1951 to 1964 and on Midday Music Hall on 13 occasions from 1953 to 1964 as well as many other programmes. He was a columnist in the '' Western Mail'' for many years. He supported many charities. In 1991 he became the first Welshman ever to be elected King Rat 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 a ...

, a show business fraternity and charity, and was also the Welsh chairman of the

Variety Club of Great Britain Variety, the Children's Charity is a charitable organization founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1927. History On October 10, 1927, a group of eleven men involved in show business set up a social club which they named the "Variety Club". On ...

, executive member of The

Royal Variety Charity The Royal Variety Charity is a British charity based in Twickenham, London, England. It is dedicated to giving support to those who have professionally served the entertainment industry and find themselves sick, impoverished or elderly. The char ...

and supported the

Cerebral Palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...

charity. Calvin-Thomas was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) for charitable services in 1991 and the Officer of the Order of Saint John (OStJ) in 1993. An accomplished after-dinner speaker, he spoke at

St. David's Day Saint David's Day ( cy, Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant or ; ), or the Feast of Saint David, is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1 March, the date of Saint David's death in 589 AD. The feast has been regularly celebrat ...

events all over the world. He lectured on the subject 'Laughter - The Antidote to Stress'. He appeared in Malaysia,

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

and Vietnam in the Far East and many American states in the West. In 1994, he was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. He became Vice President of both the British Music Hall Society and the Max Miller Appreciation Society.

Personal life and death

Calvin was a founding member and trustee of the Noah's Ark Children's Hospital Charity. He married Carole Calvin, a former dancer from Tenby, in 1985. At a special event in 2021, he celebrated 75 years in show business. He died on 25 January 2022, at the age of 96. "One of Wales’ greatest entertainers Wyn Calvin has died", ''Nation.Cymru'', 25 January 2022
Retrieved 25 January 2022

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Calvin, Wyn 1925 births 2022 deaths Welsh comedians Pantomime dames People from Narberth British Army personnel of World War II Royal Army Service Corps soldiers People educated at Cardiff High School