#harry secombe

Ernie Wise and Harry Secombe joking around at the Ideal Home Exhibition, London, March 5th 1979.

chubby guys on British TV in the 1960s

Harry Secombe

Harry Secombe began his career on British radio as part of a comedy duo with Spike Milligan in 1950. By 1951 they formed the radio comedy show, The Goon Show with Peter Sellers and Michael Bentine. The comedy of The Goon Show was primarily orchestrated by Milligan and was, to say the least, unconventional, and ground-breaking. It has been described as “Avant-Garde”, “surrealist”, “abstract”, and “four dimensional” and influenced others like Monty Python’s Flying Circus and The Firesign Theatre in the US.

The show lasted until 1960 as Secombe developed a dual career as a singer/comedian, appearing in movies, musical theater and becoming a regular guest on TV programs throughout the 60s. He starred in the British theater musical, Pickwick in 1963 which gave him his first hit single, “If I Ruled the World”. He was also nominated for a Tony when the play toured the US.

In 1968 he appeared in the film musical “Oliver” and was given his own sketch-comedy variety show, “The Harry Secombe Show” which lasted until 1973. In 1969 he starred in the made for TV production of “Pickwick.”