George Formby, OBE (26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961) was an English singer and comedian who became a major star of both cinema and music hall. is the 146th day of the year (147th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ... , Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. ... Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ... is the 65th day of the year (66th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Location within England Coordinates: , Sovereign state United Kingdom Constituent country England Region North West England Ceremonial county Historic county Merseyside Lancashire Admin HQ Liverpool City Centre Founded 1207 City Status 1880 Government  - Type Metropolitan borough, City  - Governing body Liverpool City Council Area  - Borough & City 43. ... Look up genre in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Music Hall is a form of British theatrical entertainment which reached its peak of popularity between 1850 and 1960. ... “Moving picture” redirects here. ... A singer is a musician who uses their voice to produce music. ... A comedian, or comic, is an entertainer who amuses an audience by making them laugh. ... Beryl Ingham was a dancer and actress, and George Formbys wife and manager. ... Year 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Obe can mean: Obe, in Afghanistan Ebenezer Obe, a Nigerian musician. ... is the 146th day of the year (147th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ... is the 65th day of the year (66th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... A singer is a musician who uses their voice to produce music. ... A comedian, or comic, is an entertainer who amuses an audience by making them laugh. ... Music Hall is a form of British theatrical entertainment which reached its peak of popularity between 1850 and 1960. ...

Career

George was born in Wigan, Lancashire, as George Hoy Booth, the eldest of seven surviving children (four girls and three boys). His father (James Booth) was George Formby (Senior) (1875-1921) one of the great music hall comedians of his day, fully the equal of his son's later success. His father not wishing him even to watch his performances, he was apprenticed as a jockey when he was seven and rode his first professional race at ten when he weighed under four stone (56 pounds, 25.4 kg). , Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. ... Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ... George Formby (now known as George Formby Senior) (1875 - 1921) was the father of ukulele playing star George Formby, and a star in his own right. ...

On the death of his father in 1921, Formby abandoned his career as a jockey and started his own music hall career using his father's material. He originally called himself George Hoy (George Hoy was also his father in-law's name, who originally came from Newmarket, Suffolk a famous horseracing town & whose family were involved in horse training). In 1924 he married dancer Beryl Ingham, who managed his career (and it is said his personal life to an intolerable degree - see biographies below) until her death in 1960. He allegedly took up the ukulele, for which he was later famous, as a hobby and first played it on stage for a bet. Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... Newmarket is a market town in the English county of Suffolk,approximately 65 miles (105 kilometres) north of London, which has grown and become famous because of its connection with race horses and Thoroughbred horse racing at Newmarket Racecourse. ... Suffolk (pronounced ) is a large historic and modern non-metropolitan county in East Anglia, England. ... Year 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A contemporary dancer rehearsing in a dance studio Dance generally refers to human movement either used as a form of expression or presented in a social, spiritual or performance setting. ... Beryl Ingham was a dancer and actress, and George Formbys wife and manager. ... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The ukulele (Hawaiian: , IPA pronunciation: ; Anglicised pronunciation usually IPA: ), sometimes spelled ukelele (particularly in the UK) or uke, is a chordophone classified as a plucked lute; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four strings or four courses of strings. ...

George Formby endeared himself to his audiences with his cheeky Lancashire humour and folksy Northern England persona. In film and on stage, he generally adopted the character of an honest, good-hearted but accident-prone innocent who used the phrases: "It's turned out nice again!" as an opening line and "Ooh, mother!" when escaping from trouble. Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ... The north, the midlands and the south Northern England, The North or North of England is a rather ill-defined term, with no universally accepted definition. ...

What made him stand out, however, was his unique and often mimicked musical style. He sang comic songs, full of double entendre, to his own accompaniment on the banjolele, for which he developed a catchy syncopated style which became his trademark. Some of his best-known songs were written by Noel Gay. It has been suggested that Triple entendre be merged into this article or section. ... The banjolele (brand name; sometimes banjo ukulele or banjo uke) is a four-stringed musical instrument with a banjo-type body and a neck with sixteen frets (shorter than a banjo, but longer than a ukulele). ... In music, syncopation is the stressing of a normally unstressed beat in a bar or the failure to sound a tone on an accented beat. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ...

He made his first successful record (he had been making records as early as 1926) in 1932 with the Jack Hylton Band, and his first sound film Boots! Boots! in 1934 (Formby had appeared in a sole silent film in 1915). The film was successful and he signed a contract to make a further 11 with Associated Talking Pictures, earned him a then-astronomical income of £100,000 per year. A subsequent contract with Columbia Pictures earned him a further £500,000. Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1932 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jack Hylton (July 2, 1892–January 29, 1965) was an English band leader and impresario. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ealing Studios, a TV and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London, claims to be the oldest film studio in the world. ...

Between 1934 and 1945 Formby was the top box-office attraction in British cinema. He appeared in the 1937 Royal Variety Show, and entertained troops with ENSA in Europe and North Africa during World War II. He received an OBE in 1946. He had received a Stalin Prize in 1944, prompted by the popularity of his films in the USSR. His most popular film, and still regarded as probably his best, is the espionage comedy Let George Do It, in which he is a member of a concert party, takes the wrong ship by mistake during a blackout, and finds himself in Norway (mistaking Bergen for Blackpool) as a secret agent. A dream sequence in which he punches Hitler on the nose and addresses him as a "windbag" is one of the most enduring moments in film comedy. Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Entertainments National Service Association, or ENSA was an organisation set up in 1939 by the British Government to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during World War 2. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The USSR State Prize (Russian:Госуда́рственная пре́мия СССР) was the Soviet Unions highest civilian honour. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Let George Do It is a wartime British film by George Formby, widely recognised as his best. ... Hitler redirects here. ...

Formby suffered his first heart attack in 1952. His wife Beryl died of leukaemia on 24 December 1960 and he planned to marry Pat Howson, a 36-year-old schoolteacher, in the spring of 1961. However he had a second heart attack before then and died in hospital on 6 March 1961. His funeral was held in St Charles' Church in Aigburth, Liverpool and an estimated 100,000 mourners lined the route as his coffin was driven to Warrington Cemetery, where he was buried in the Booth family grave. Year 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Leukemia or leukaemia (see spelling differences) is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow and is characterized by an abnormal proliferation (production by multiplication) of blood cells, usually white blood cells (leukocytes). ... is the 358th day of the year (359th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Acute myocardial infarction (AMI or MI), more commonly known as a heart attack, is a disease state that occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart is interrupted. ... is the 65th day of the year (66th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Aigburth (pronounced egg-birth) is a suburb of Liverpool, England. ... Location within England Coordinates: , Sovereign state United Kingdom Constituent country England Region North West England Ceremonial county Historic county Merseyside Lancashire Admin HQ Liverpool City Centre Founded 1207 City Status 1880 Government  - Type Metropolitan borough, City  - Governing body Liverpool City Council Area  - Borough & City 43. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Beryl Ingham: wife and manager of George Formby

Beryl Ingham was born in Haslingden, Lancashire in 1901. She was a champion clogdancer and actress, winning the All England Step Dancing Title at the age of 11. Later she formed a dancing act with her sister May, which they called themselves "The Two Violets" [1]. It was in 1923 while they were appearing in music hall in Yorkshire that she met George Formby. They married in George's home town of Wigan, Lancashire the following year [2]. Haslingden is a small town in the Rossendale Valley in Lancashire, lying 19 miles north of Manchester. ... Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ... Year 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Clogging is a traditional type of percussive folk dance which is associated with a number of different regions across the world. ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ... Look up Yorkshire in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... , Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. ... Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ...

The couple worked together as a variety act until 1932 when she became his full time manager and mentor, though she did in fact appear in two of his films for which George was paid up to £35,000 per performance. It was due to Beryl's business nous that she guided George to be the UK's highest paid entertainer (at a time of high taxation he was paying 97.5% of his earnings as revenues). Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1932 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1946 Beryl Ingham was with George on a tour of South Africa, where he played to black audiences despite threats from the National Party leader Daniel François Malan. Beryl embraced a three year old black girl who had presented her with a box of chocolates. When Malan started shouting at the Formbys, threatening to throw the couple out of the country, Beryl, with a typical northern response, replied "Why don't you piss off you horrible little man" [3] Daniel François Malan Daniel François Malan (22 May 1874 – 7 February 1959) was a Prime Minister of South Africa. ...

Beryl continued to manage George's career until she contracted leukemia. She died on Christmas Day 1960 in Blackpool. Leukemia or leukaemia (see spelling differences) is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow and is characterized by an abnormal proliferation (production by multiplication) of blood cells, usually white blood cells (leukocytes). ... It has been suggested that South Shore, Blackpool be merged into this article or section. ...

Playing Styles

George Formby's trademark was playing the banjolele in a highly syncopated style, collectively referred to as the 'Formby style'. The banjolele (brand name; sometimes banjo ukulele or banjo uke) is a four-stringed musical instrument with a banjo-type body and a neck with sixteen frets (shorter than a banjo, but longer than a ukulele). ... In music, syncopation is when a stressing of a normally unstressed beat in a bar or failure to sound a tone on an accented beat occurs. ...

Among the several styles that he used, the most commonly emulated stroke of Formby's is a simple but clever technique, called the "Split Stroke", a technique which could produce some distinctive (but relatively easy to copy) effects. He sang in his own Lancashire accent. Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ...

Other strokes used by Formby include the triple, the circle, the fan, and the shake.

Trivia

• One of his most popular films is No Limit and used to be shown every year in the Isle of Man TT week. George rides a 'Shuttleworth Snap' in the film. The Shuttleworth Snap was actually a disguised 1928 AJS - it was the Rainbow that was the disguised Ariel Red Hunter. In real life Formby owned a Norton International 500cc OHC single sports model, one of the most desirable machines of the day.
• In a TV programme towards the end of his life, Formby admitted that he had never learned to read or write music.
• His father, George Formby Senior, had intended to retire from music-hall and buy some horses, employing George to train them, but died before he could put this plan into effect.
• In the British radio programme, The Bradshaws, all of Formby's songs were said to have been written by Uncle Wally One-Ball.
• There is a bronze statue of George leaning on a lampost on Ridgeway Street in Douglas, Isle of Man.
• The British comedian Peter Kay makes reference to George Formby in a comedy sketch. Kay describes how his 'Nana' finds it difficult to pronounce product names. Examples include: "VD Player" instead of "DVD Player", and "George Formby Grill" instead of "George Foreman Grill".
• George is referenced in many episodes of the Marks and Gran sitcom Goodnight Sweetheart, and is portrayed, with his wife Beryl, in the series 3 episode "Turned Out Nice Again".
• Appears in the back cover of Alice in Chains self-titled album, also known as Tripod, with a Computer Edited third leg.

No Limit was a popular Ealing comedy which was released in 1936. ... Joey Dunlop riding down from Kates Cottage towards Creg-ny-Baa. ... AJS was the name used for cars and motorcycles made by the Wolverhampton, England company A. J. Stevens Ltd. ... Ariel was a British bicycle, motorcycle and automobile marque manufactured in Birmingham. ... Norton 850 Commando Norton is a British motorcycle marque from Birmingham and founded in 1898. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Goodnight Sweetheart was a British sitcom starring Nicholas Lyndhurst as Gary Sparrow, an ordinary modern man who discovers a time portal in Stepney, in the East End of London that allows him to travel back to the Second World War. ... Alice in Chains is a popular and influential rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1987. ... Singles from Alice in Chains Released: 1995 Released: 1996 Released: 1996 Released: 1996 Alice in Chains is the self-titled album by the Seattle grunge group Alice in Chains. ...

Selected Songs

• "Auntie Maggie's Remedy"
• "Chinese Laundry Blues"
• "The Isle of Man"
• "The Window Cleaner"/"When I'm Cleaning Windows (Audio sample)
• "Leaning on a Lampost"
• "With my Little Ukulele in my Hand"
• "With my Little Stick of Blackpool Rock"
• "Mother What'll I do Now"
• "Mr Wu's A Window Cleaner Now"
• "Mr Wu's An Air Raid Warden Now"
• "Our Sergeant Major"
• "My Grandad's Flanalette Night Shirt"

The Window Cleaner (also known as When Im Cleaning Windows) is a comedy song performed by Lancastrian comic, actor and Ukulele player George Formby. ...

Filmography

• By the Shortest of Heads
• Boots! Boots!
• Off The Dole
• The Song That Made A Star
• No Limit
• Keep Your Seats Please
• Feather Your Nest
• Keep Fit
• I See Ice
• It's In The Air
• Trouble Brewing
• Come On George
• Let George Do It
• Spare A Copper
• Turned Out Nice Again
• South American George
• Much Too Shy
• Get Cracking
• He Snoops To Conquer
• Bell Bottom George
• I Didn't Do It
• George in Civvy Street

No Limit was a popular Ealing comedy which was released in 1936. ... Keep Fit is a 1937 British slapstick comedy film. ... It’s in the Air is a 1938 British slapstick comedy film. ... For the 1924 film starring Oliver Hardy, see Trouble Brewing (1924 film). ... Let George Do It is a wartime British film by George Formby, widely recognised as his best. ...

In the Thursday Next series

A fictional George Formby appears in the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. In the "Nextiverse", Formby was part of the resistance during the Nazi occupation of England, broadcasting inspirational songs and jokes to the occupied English on "Wireless Saint George" (essentially the opposite of Lord Haw-Haw). Such was Formby's popularity that Hitler ordered all banjos and ukeleles burned. Following the collapse of the occupation, Formby was appointed President-for-Life, to replace the (presumed defunct) Royal Family as an inspirational figurehead for the country (and unlike the Royal Family, was genuinely beloved by the vast majority of his subjects). The Nextiverse version of Formby held the rank until his death in 1988. The Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde currently consists of the novels, The Eyre Affair, Lost in a Good Book, The Well of Lost Plots, Something Rotten and First Among Sequels. ... Thursday Next is the protagonist in the series of novels by Jasper Fforde. ... Jasper Fforde (born in London on 11 January 1961) is a novelist and aviator living in Wales. ...

References

External links

• George Formby at the Internet Movie Database
• George Formby biography and credits at the BFI's Screenonline
• The Guardian: Naughty but nice (George Formby by David Bret)
• 'Ukulele king' Formby dies (BBC News)
• The George Formby Society
• homage to Mancunian Films
• Profile of George Formby Snr and Jnr
• George Formby website by Stan Evans
• George Formby's Gravesite