Gladys Morgan
Encyclopedia
Gladys Morgan was a Welsh
comedienne, billed variously as the 'Queen of Comedy' or 'the Queen of Laughter', and was renowned for her toothless, ear-splitting, infectious laugh.
, Wales
, in 1898 and, though her family was not theatrical, she was always interested in the stage and by the time she turned eleven she had her own song and dance act. She joined a children’s concert party
called The Brilliant Gems, where one of her colleagues was Albert Burdon, who was later to become known as an actor and comedian.
Four foot ten inch Morgan then formed an act called The Three Virgins, with the equally diminutive Betty Jumel
on violin and Vy Vivienne on piano.
While touring as a solo singer in a concert party in the Isle of Man
, she was asked by the company manager to play the part of an old deaf woman in a sketch. She reluctantly agreed to do so, and was amazed and delighted to find that the audience found her hilarious.
She teamed up with and married fellow comedian Frank Laurie, whom she had first met when he was only sixteen. The act was not very successful until it was suggested that they swap jobs, with Morgan becoming the comic and Laurie the straight man. The scheme worked and plentiful dates followed. By this time she had dropped her broad Welsh accent in favour of a Lancashire
one, possibly in imitation of her great hero Frank Randle
.
Like many other entertainers Morgan and Laurie worked for ENSA
during the war, being joined in the act by their daughter, Joan.
The ENSA organiser for northwest England at the time was a man called Bert Hollman. Joan later became Mrs Hollman, with Bert joining the act both as a performer and manager.
Morgan's big break came when she auditioned for the popular BBC
radio variety show
Welsh Rarebit
. As the show was for Welsh performers only, producer Mai Jones
was reluctant to cast her, as Morgan was well-known for her Lancashire accent. A week performing at the Town Hall, Pontypridd
using her natural accent was enough to convince Mai that Morgan was indeed Welsh, and she was given a two-minute spot on the show. Her great friend, comedian Wyn Calvin
, is reported to have said, "Her maniacal laugh created such a furore it practically filled the two minutes." Morgan became resident comedienne on the show, sharing top billing with a rising young star, Harry Secombe
.
Morgan's success on Welsh Rarebit led to many successful variety tours around all the major theatres in the UK, including supporting Frankie Vaughan
at the London Palladium
in 1961. Along with many television appearances in shows like the The Good Old Days
, she was frequently heard in popular radio shows such as Workers' Playtime and Midday Music Hall.
Regular appearances on Educating Archie
and The Frankie Howerd
Show, with her trademark striped blazer
and cheeky grin established her as one of the country's best-loved performers.
Throughout the nineteen sixties she was kept busy with pantomime
and summer season, five tours to Australia
, and four sell-out tours of South Africa
where the family also had their own series on Springbok Radio
called The Morgans.
Morgan made a film with Nancy Kwan
, Jack Hawkins
and Bud Flanagan
in 1965 called The Wild Affair
.
Arthritis
forced Morgan to retire from show business when she was in her seventies, and she died in Worthing
, West Sussex
where she had been a resident for 47 years, in 1983.
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
comedienne, billed variously as the 'Queen of Comedy' or 'the Queen of Laughter', and was renowned for her toothless, ear-splitting, infectious laugh.
Early life and career
Gladys Morgan was born in SwanseaSwansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, in 1898 and, though her family was not theatrical, she was always interested in the stage and by the time she turned eleven she had her own song and dance act. She joined a children’s concert party
Concert Party (entertainment)
A concert party, also called a Pierrot troupe, is the collective name for a group of entertainers, or Pierrots, popular in Britain during the first half of the 20th century. The variety show given by a Pierrot troupe was called a Pierrot show...
called The Brilliant Gems, where one of her colleagues was Albert Burdon, who was later to become known as an actor and comedian.
Four foot ten inch Morgan then formed an act called The Three Virgins, with the equally diminutive Betty Jumel
Betty Jumel
Betty Jumel was a British variety hall entertainer and actress.Betty Jumel was born in Fairhaven, Lytham St Annes, Lancashire in 1901. She was aged only 10 years-old when she made her first stage appearance, alongside her father Harold Jumel, who toured an act round the music halls entitled The...
on violin and Vy Vivienne on piano.
While touring as a solo singer in a concert party in the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, she was asked by the company manager to play the part of an old deaf woman in a sketch. She reluctantly agreed to do so, and was amazed and delighted to find that the audience found her hilarious.
She teamed up with and married fellow comedian Frank Laurie, whom she had first met when he was only sixteen. The act was not very successful until it was suggested that they swap jobs, with Morgan becoming the comic and Laurie the straight man. The scheme worked and plentiful dates followed. By this time she had dropped her broad Welsh accent in favour of a Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
one, possibly in imitation of her great hero Frank Randle
Frank Randle
Frank Randle was an English comedian...
.
Like many other entertainers Morgan and Laurie worked for ENSA
ENSA
ENSA may refer to:* ENSA, the Entertainments National Service Association* ENSA * École Nationale des Sciences Appliquées d'Oujda, an engineering school in Morocco* EC-Council Network Security Administrator...
during the war, being joined in the act by their daughter, Joan.
The ENSA organiser for northwest England at the time was a man called Bert Hollman. Joan later became Mrs Hollman, with Bert joining the act both as a performer and manager.
Welsh Rarebit
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
radio variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
Welsh Rarebit
Welsh Rarebit (radio programme)
Welsh Rarebit was a Welsh radio variety show broadcasted from Cardiff by the BBC. First transmitted in 1938 by the Welsh Home Service, it became the main English language entertainment programme from the BBC in Wales during Second World War...
. As the show was for Welsh performers only, producer Mai Jones
Mai Jones
Mai Jones , was a Welsh songwriter, entertainer and radio producer.She was born in Newport, the daughter of a railway stationmaster. Having won a scholarship to study music at the University of Wales, Cardiff, she went on to the Royal College of Music...
was reluctant to cast her, as Morgan was well-known for her Lancashire accent. A week performing at the Town Hall, Pontypridd
Pontypridd
Pontypridd is both a community and a principal town of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales and is situated 12 miles/19 km north of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff...
using her natural accent was enough to convince Mai that Morgan was indeed Welsh, and she was given a two-minute spot on the show. Her great friend, comedian Wyn Calvin
Wyn Calvin
Wyn Calvin, MBE OStJ , sometimes called the "Clown Prince of Wales" and "The Welsh Prince of Laughter", is a veteran Welsh comedian and entertainer....
, is reported to have said, "Her maniacal laugh created such a furore it practically filled the two minutes." Morgan became resident comedienne on the show, sharing top billing with a rising young star, Harry Secombe
Harry Secombe
Sir Harry Donald Secombe CBE was a Welsh entertainer with a talent for comedy and a noted fine tenor singing voice. He is best known for playing Neddie Seagoon, the central character in the BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show...
.
Morgan's success on Welsh Rarebit led to many successful variety tours around all the major theatres in the UK, including supporting Frankie Vaughan
Frankie Vaughan
Frankie Vaughan, CBE, DL was an English singer of traditional pop music, who issued more than 80 recordings in his lifetime. He was known as "Mr. Moonlight" after one of his early hits.-Life and career:...
at the London Palladium
London Palladium
The London Palladium is a 2,286 seat West End theatre located off Oxford Street in the City of Westminster. From the roster of stars who have played there and many televised performances, it is arguably the most famous theatre in London and the United Kingdom, especially for musical variety...
in 1961. Along with many television appearances in shows like the The Good Old Days
The Good Old Days
The Good Old Days is a popular BBC television light entertainment programme which ran from 1953 to 1983.It was performed at the Leeds City Varieties and recreated an authentic atmosphere of the Victorian–Edwardian music hall with songs and sketches of the era performed by present-day...
, she was frequently heard in popular radio shows such as Workers' Playtime and Midday Music Hall.
Regular appearances on Educating Archie
Educating Archie
Educating Archie was a BBC Light Programme comedy show broadcast from June 1950 to February 1958 on Sunday lunchtimes featuring ventriloquist Peter Brough and his doll Archie Andrews. The programme was successful despite a ventriloquist on radio seeming strange, though in the United States, Edgar...
and The Frankie Howerd
Frankie Howerd
Francis Alick "Frankie" Howerd OBE was an English comedian and comic actor whose career, described by fellow comedian Barry Cryer as "a series of comebacks", spanned six decades.-Early career:...
Show, with her trademark striped blazer
Blazer
A blazer is a type of jacket. The term blazer occasionally is synonymous with boating jacket and sports jacket, two different garments. A blazer resembles a suit coat cut more casually — sometimes with flap-less patch pockets and metal buttons. A blazer's cloth is usually durable , because it is an...
and cheeky grin established her as one of the country's best-loved performers.
Throughout the nineteen sixties she was kept busy with pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
and summer season, five tours to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and four sell-out tours of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
where the family also had their own series on Springbok Radio
Springbok Radio
Springbok Radio was a South African radio station that operated from 1950 to 1985.-History:On 1 May 1950, the first commercial radio station in South Africa, Springbok Radio took to the airwaves broadcasting in both English and Afrikaans...
called The Morgans.
Morgan made a film with Nancy Kwan
Nancy Kwan
Nancy "Ka Shen" Kwan is a Eurasian-American actress, who played a pivotal role in the acceptance of actors of Asian descent in major Hollywood film roles...
, Jack Hawkins
Jack Hawkins
Colonel John Edward "Jack" Hawkins CBE was an English actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman. The youngest of four children in a close-knit family,...
and Bud Flanagan
Bud Flanagan
Bud Flanagan was a popular English music hall and vaudeville entertainer from the 1930s until the 1960s. Flanagan was famous as a wartime entertainer and his achievements were recognised when he was awarded the O.B.E. in 1960.- Family background :Flaganan was born Chaim Reuben Weintrop in...
in 1965 called The Wild Affair
The Wild Affair
The Wild Affair is a 1963 British comedy film directed by John Krish and starring Nancy Kwan, Gladys Morgan and Betty Marsden.-Cast:* Nancy Kwan as Marjorie Lee* Gladys Morgan as Mrs...
.
Arthritis
Arthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
forced Morgan to retire from show business when she was in her seventies, and she died in Worthing
Worthing
Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
, West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
where she had been a resident for 47 years, in 1983.
Quotation
A joke from Workers Playtime: "I gave the lodger a boiled egg for his tea. Me and the kids had egg soup".See also
- Gladys Morgan on Fandango
- Gladys Morgan on Famous Welsh