May 31, 2004

George Formby

Posted by Harry

Last week was the centenary of George Formby’s birth. You can hear about his life in a sweet bio-documentary by Russell Davies (probably only for the next couple of days) called (misleadingly) George on George. The best bit concerns Beryl Formby (George’s wife and manager) who, when the South Afrcan Prime Minister phoned her to complain about George’s enthusiam about playing to mixed audiences and apparent colour blindness, shouted “Why don’t you just piss off you horrible little man”, and slammed the phone down. If only more had been like them.

Posted on May 31, 2004 01:12 AM UTC
Comments

“If only there had been more like them.”

Quite, but since governments feel free to ignore even millions of protestors it still wouldn’t have been enough.

Posted by Jack · May 31, 2004 08:21 AM

There was a little review of that radio programme in yesterday’s Observer.

The review also points out that Formby regularly played dangerously close to the front line while entertaining troops in WWII (at one point picking his way through a live minefield to get to his destination) and that he also got in trouble for refusing to play to audiences in which the officers were allocated better seats than the ordinary soldiers.

It also points out (as you say) that he refused to play to racially segregated audiences in South Africa.

It’s amazing to discover a political side to some old entertainer that I was only ever aware of in re-runs of his movies on BBC 2.

Not just any political side too, but an egalitarian anti-racist side.

Formby rocks… [quietly and in a high-pitched voice]

Posted by Matthew McGrattan · May 31, 2004 08:37 AM

Another story: GF is playing somewhere in (I think) Canada, spots, sitting some way back in the stalls, a schoolfriend who’d emigrated there some 20 years ago, calls out “By ‘eck Walter, is that you?”, invites him on stage and takes him out to dinner.

Posted by John Kozak · May 31, 2004 11:45 AM

One of the many good things about Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series is being set in an alternative universe in which George Formby is a hero of British national liberation and non-executive President for life.

Posted by Nasi Lemak · May 31, 2004 11:19 PM

Is he still alive?

Posted by Claire · June 1, 2004 12:24 PM

No, he died in the early ’60s.

Bio here: http://www.georgeformby.co.uk/gf_story/gfstory.htm

Posted by Matt McGrattan · June 1, 2004 01:58 PM
Followups

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