George Formby

George Formby (OBE, Wigan, 26 May 1904 - Preston, 6 March 1961) was an English comedian who also acquired international fame by his movies and music in the thirties and forties of the twentieth century.

Content

[hide]*Youth 1

• Music-hall 2
• 3 new media
• Second World War 4
• 5 Death
• 6 Movies
• 7 best known songs
• 8 Trivia
• 9 external links

Youth

Formby was born in Wigan, Lancashire as George Hoy Booth. His father, James Booth, acted as comedian in music-halls under the stage name George Formby. He would have been that a member of his company, a certain Charlie Chaplin, the opinion gave to try his luck in America. His eldest son took the stage name from his father after his death in 1921 when he entered the music business. George was formerly worked as a professional jockey but was like 17-year-old to do this actually already too old. As George Formby Junior he had in 1915 had a roll in the silent film "By the Shortest of Heads"-he played in this ... a jockey.

Music-hall

The material that Formby's initially was the old material from his father but he managed to acquire a name soon as comic singer who accompanied himself on the banjolele. The banjolele was initially not more than a hobby but also the instrument because of a bet he went on acting and it became his trademark.

George Formby joined the tradition of the music-hall with his folk repertoire of naughty songs full of ambiguities. He played (also later in his films) always the character of naive optimism that the benevolent simple soul full of himself and his environment in the nests works. With its syncopated and catching game on the banjolele, his songs that usually by Noel Gay and came with his inimitable facial expressions, he was in the 1930s and 1940s to darling of the British public

New media

Already in the 1920s were put his songs on the gramophone record . His first commercially successful plate recording with the Jack Hylton Band-dates back to 1932. Overall, Formby throughout his career more than 230 records to his name writing. His first sound film was two years later canned and was an instant success. A contract for a further 11 films with Associated Talking Pictures (forerunner of the Ealing Studios) earned him the for that time unprecedented income of £ 100,000 per year. a subsequent contract with Columbia Pictures -was good for another £ 500,000. Also in his films the character George Formby put down of the humored and musical goofed that, to it the public not too hard to make, usually listens to the name ... George.

Second World War

Its popularity peaked when he was in 1937 a performance should take care in the Royal Variety Show. During World War II, he performed for the British troops in North Africa and Western Europe and also the home front got a moral boost by George as he cheerfully in his films shunned the nazis for. In 1946 he was awarded the Order of the British Empire. Two years earlier, he had all the StalinPrize and in 1943 received theorder of Lenin -an exceptional honour for a non-Russian, who he had due to the immense popularity of his films in the Soviet Union. In the Dutch language area knew Formby in the 1940s to create a following with his movies again during the occupation years, of course, not to see had been in the cinemas.

Death

George Formby in 1951 got his first heart attack. His second, ten years later, he was fatal. His interment on Warrington Cemetery was attended by an estimated 100,000 members of the public.

Movies

• "By the Shortest of Heads" (1915)
• "Boots! Boots! " (1934)
• "Off the Dole" (1935)
• "No Limit (1935)"
• "Keep Your Seats, Please" (1936)-Dutch title: "Yes"
• "Keep Fit" (1937)
• "Feather Your Nest" (1937)-released by ealing Studios aug 2014 (this was previously unreleased)
• "It's In The Air" (1938)-. released in the United States as "George Takes The Air", Dutch title: "it's in the air"
• "I See Ice" (1938)-Dutch title: "on thin ice"
• "Trouble Brewing" (1939)-Dutch title: "life in the brewery"
• "Come On George!" (1939)
• "Let George Do It" (1940)
• "Spare A Copper" (1941)
• "Turned Out Nice Again" (1941)
• "South American George" (1941)
• "Much Too Shy" (1942)
• "Get Cracking" (1943)
• "He Snoops To Conquer" (1944)
• "Bell-bottom George" (1944)
• "I Didn't Do It" (1945)
• "George In Civvy Street" (1946)

Most famous songs

• "Auntie Maggie's Remedy"
• "Chinese Laundry Blues"
• "Happy Go Lucky Me"
• "The Isle of Man"
• "The Window Cleaner" (also known as: "When I'm Cleaning Windows")
• "Leanin' on a Lamp post"
• "With my Little Ukulele in my Hand"
• "Mother What'll I do Now"
• "Mr Woo's a Window Cleaner now"
• "Our Sergeant Major"
• "In my Little snapshot Album"
• "Why don't Women like me"
• "You can't keep a Growing Lad down"
• "Swimmin' with the Wimmin"
• "The Old Kitchen Kettle"
• "Sitting on the Ice in the Ice Rink"
• "Running round the Fountains"
• "Fanlight Fanny"
• "It's no Use Looking at Me"
• "Bless 'em All", 1941 (In 1947 In the Dutch played as "Cheerio" by Willy Vervoort)

Trivia

The popularity of his films caused a number of enduring catchphrases in the English language, such as Gangway! ("On the side!") and Turned out nice again, hasn't it? ("Yet again well past, isn't it?" or "nice, huh?").Any Brit recognize these expressions still if the legacy of George Formby.