The Good Old Days
Encyclopedia
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 performers in the style of the original artistes.
The audience dressed in period costume and joined in the singing, especially "Down at the Old Bull and Bush" which closed the show. The show was compered by Leonard Sachs
. In the course of its run it featured about 2,000 performers.
The Good Old Days was inspired by the success of the "Ridgeway's Late Joys" at the Players' Theatre
Club in London: a private members' club that ran fortnightly programmes of variety acts in London's West End
.
Typical line-ups were :
BBC Wednesday 19 September 1956
BBC Saturday 26 December 1959
BBC1 Sunday 27 November 1966
BBC1 Sunday 13 August 1972 at 7.25 pm
BBC1 Sunday 30 March 1973 at 7.25 pm
BBC1 Friday 8 February 1974 at 8.15 pm
BBC1 Thursday 25 March 1976 at 9.25 pm
BBC1 Sunday 31 December 1978 at 11.05 pm
BBC1 Friday 20 April 1979 at 8.10 pm
BBC1 Monday 10 May 1982 at 9.05 pm
BBC1 Sunday 2 October 1983 at 8.55 pm
BBC1 Friday 30 December 1983 at 3.50 pm
Goodbye to the Good Old Days
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...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
light entertainment
Light entertainment
Light entertainment is a term used to describe a broad range of usually televisual performances. These include comedies, variety shows, quiz/game shows, sketch shows and people/surprise shows.-Light entertainment in Britain:...
programme which ran from 1953 to 1983.
It was performed at the Leeds City Varieties
Leeds City Varieties
The Leeds City Varieties is a Grade II* listed music hall in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.It was built in 1865 as an adjunct to the White Swan Inn in Swan Street and the original interior is largely unaltered. Along with Hoxton Hall and Wilton's Music Hall , it is a rare surviving example of the...
and recreated an authentic atmosphere of the Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
–Edwardian
Edwardian period
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period in the United Kingdom is the period covering the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910.The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 and the succession of her son Edward marked the end of the Victorian era...
music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
with songs and sketches of the era performed by present-day performers in the style of the original artistes.
The audience dressed in period costume and joined in the singing, especially "Down at the Old Bull and Bush" which closed the show. The show was compered by Leonard Sachs
Leonard Sachs
Leonard Sachs was a British actor.-Early life and career:Sachs was born in South Africa in the town of Roodepoort, Transvaal...
. In the course of its run it featured about 2,000 performers.
History
The show was first broadcast on 20 July 1953.The Good Old Days was inspired by the success of the "Ridgeway's Late Joys" at the Players' Theatre
Players' Theatre
The Players' Theatre was a theatre in London as well as a theatre club for music hall in the style of the BBC programme "The Good Old Days".-Origins:...
Club in London: a private members' club that ran fortnightly programmes of variety acts in London's West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
.
Typical line-ups were :
The 1950s
BBC Wednesday 29 December 1954- Cast: Rex Jameson, Tod SlaughterTod SlaughterTod Slaughter was an English actor, best known for playing over-the-top maniacs in macabre film adaptations of Victorian melodramas.-Ealy life:...
, Bertha Wilmot, Harry BaileyHarry BaileyHarry Richard Bailey was a controversial Australian psychiatrist. He bore the primary responsibility for treatment of mental patients via Sledge hammers, and other methods, at a Sydney mental hospital. He has been linked with the deaths of a total of 85 patients...
with host Leonard SachsLeonard SachsLeonard Sachs was a British actor.-Early life and career:Sachs was born in South Africa in the town of Roodepoort, Transvaal...
BBC Wednesday 19 September 1956
- Cast: Barry Anthony, The Hindley-Taylor Olde Tyme Singers, Jack Daly, The Three Bolandos, Jill SummersJill SummersHonour Margaret Rosell Santoi Fuller, better known as Jill Summers , was a British music hall performer and comedienne born in Eccles, Lancashire...
, Gilbert and Partner, The Ballet Montmartre, Albert Burdon and Company with host Leonard Sachs
BBC Saturday 26 December 1959
- Cast: Morecambe and WiseMorecambe and WiseEric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, usually referred to as Morecambe and Wise, or Eric and Ernie, were a British comic double act, working in variety, radio, film and most successfully in television. Their partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death in 1984...
, Betty JumelBetty JumelBetty 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...
, Cardew RobinsonCardew RobinsonDouglas John Cardew Robinson was a British comic, whose craft was rooted in the music hall and Gang Shows.-Early life and career:Robinson was educated at Harrow County School for Boys...
, Norberti, Smoothey and Layton, Manton Brothers, Patricia BredinPatricia BredinPatricia Bredin is a British actress and one-time singer from Hull, England, who was best known as the very first United Kingdom representative in the Eurovision Song Contest. She took part in the 1957 contest, held in Frankfurt, and finished in seventh place out of ten entries with the song All,...
with host Leonard SachsLeonard SachsLeonard Sachs was a British actor.-Early life and career:Sachs was born in South Africa in the town of Roodepoort, Transvaal...
The 1960s
BBC Sunday 17 April 1960- Cast The Gaunt Brothers, The Falcons, June Merlin and her doves, Jimmy Gay, Harry Bailey and Nancy and Molly Munks with host Leonard SachsLeonard SachsLeonard Sachs was a British actor.-Early life and career:Sachs was born in South Africa in the town of Roodepoort, Transvaal...
BBC1 Sunday 27 November 1966
- Cast Ted RayTed Ray (comedian)Ted Ray was a popular English comedian of the 1940s, 50s and 60s....
, Reg VarneyReg VarneyReginald Alfred "Reg" Varney was an English actor, most notable for his role as Stan Butler in 1970s TV sitcom On the Buses.-Early life:...
, Barbara Law, George ChisholmGeorge Chisholm (musician)George Chisholm OBE was a Scottish jazz trombonist.Born in Glasgow to a family of musicians, Chisholm's musical career began in the Glasgow Playhouse orchestra. In the late 1930s he moved to London, where he played in dance bands led by Bert Ambrose and Teddy Joyce...
, Eithne Milne, Michael Allport and Company, Ivane and Andre Astor and Les Aguanitos with host Leonard SachsLeonard SachsLeonard Sachs was a British actor.-Early life and career:Sachs was born in South Africa in the town of Roodepoort, Transvaal...
The 1970s
BBC1 Sunday 16 April 1972 at 7.25 pm- Cast Eartha KittEartha KittEartha Mae Kitt was an American singer, actress, and cabaret star. She was perhaps best known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 hit recordings of "C'est Si Bon" and the enduring Christmas novelty smash "Santa Baby." Orson Welles once called her the "most exciting woman in the...
, Arthur AskeyArthur AskeyArthur Bowden Askey CBE was a prominent English comedian.- Life and career :Askey was born at 29 Moses Street, Liverpool, the eldest child and only son of Samuel Askey , secretary of the firm Sugar Products of Liverpool, and his wife, Betsy Bowden , of Knutsford, Cheshire...
, Eira Heath, Neville King, Larry Parker, Barrie Brothers, Terry Lightfoot and His Band, Macardis with host Leonard SachsLeonard SachsLeonard Sachs was a British actor.-Early life and career:Sachs was born in South Africa in the town of Roodepoort, Transvaal...
BBC1 Sunday 13 August 1972 at 7.25 pm
- Cast Rod HullRod HullRodney Stephen Hull , better known as Rod Hull, was a popular entertainer on British television in the 1970s and 1980s. He rarely appeared without Emu, a mute, highly aggressive arm-length puppet of the flightless emu bird...
, Joe Castor, Pat Mooney, Doreen Hermitage, Jan Hunt, Jimmy Webster, Tessie O'SheaTessie O'SheaTeresa Mary "Tessie" O'Shea was a Welsh entertainer and actress.Born in Cardiff to Nellie Theresa and James Peter O'Shea, a soldier who was the son of Irish emigrants, Tessie was reared in the British music hall tradition, appearing on stage as "The Wonder of Wales" as early as the age of six...
, Robert Young, Patsy MacLean with host Leonard SachsLeonard SachsLeonard Sachs was a British actor.-Early life and career:Sachs was born in South Africa in the town of Roodepoort, Transvaal...
BBC1 Sunday 30 March 1973 at 7.25 pm
- Cast Bruce ForsythBruce ForsythSir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson, CBE , commonly known as Bruce Forsyth, or Brucie, is an English TV personality...
, Georgia BrownGeorgia BrownGeorgia Brown, pseudonym of Rossana Monti is an Italian Brazilian singer noted for her extensive vocal range. She was listed in the 2005 Guinness World Records for hitting the highest vocal note and for possessing the greatest range, claimed to be exactly 8 octaves from G2-G10 using scientific...
, Charlie WilliamsCharlie Williams (comedian)Charles Adolphus Williams MBE was a mixed-race English professional footballer , and later became Britain's first well-known black stand-up comedian.He became famous from his appearances on Granada Television's The Comedians and ATV's The Golden Shot, delivering...
, Julius Nehring, Gerry Atkins, Pigalle Girls with host Leonard SachsLeonard SachsLeonard Sachs was a British actor.-Early life and career:Sachs was born in South Africa in the town of Roodepoort, Transvaal...
BBC1 Friday 8 February 1974 at 8.15 pm
- Cast Roy CastleRoy CastleRoy Castle OBE was an English dancer, singer, comedian, actor, television presenter and musician. He attended Honley High School, where there is now a building in his name...
, Jean Bayliss, Gil Dova, Peter Wallis, Les Aguanitos with host Leonard SachsLeonard SachsLeonard Sachs was a British actor.-Early life and career:Sachs was born in South Africa in the town of Roodepoort, Transvaal...
BBC1 Thursday 25 March 1976 at 9.25 pm
- Cast Larry GraysonLarry GraysonLarry Grayson , born William Sulley White, was an English stand-up comedian and television presenter of the 1970s and early 80s...
, Frank CarsonFrank CarsonFrank Carson is a Northern Irish comedian and actor, best known on television in series such as The Comedians and Tiswas.-Early life:...
, Margaret Savage, Sheila Mathews, Ted Durante, Peter Gale, Edward WoodwardEdward WoodwardEdward Albert Arthur Woodward, OBE was an English stage and screen actor and singer. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art , Woodward began his career on stage, and throughout his career he appeared in productions in both the West End in London and on Broadway in New York...
with host Leonard SachsLeonard SachsLeonard Sachs was a British actor.-Early life and career:Sachs was born in South Africa in the town of Roodepoort, Transvaal...
BBC1 Sunday 31 December 1978 at 11.05 pm
- Cast Roy CastleRoy CastleRoy Castle OBE was an English dancer, singer, comedian, actor, television presenter and musician. He attended Honley High School, where there is now a building in his name...
, Dolores Gray, Eira Heath, Michel Arene, Lido Can-Can Girls, Perkano and Christina with host Leonard SachsLeonard SachsLeonard Sachs was a British actor.-Early life and career:Sachs was born in South Africa in the town of Roodepoort, Transvaal...
BBC1 Friday 20 April 1979 at 8.10 pm
- Cast Eleanor McCready, Les DawsonLes DawsonLeslie "Les" Dawson was a popular English comedian remembered for his deadpan style, curmudgeonly persona and jokes about his mother-in-law and wife.-Life and career:...
, Sweet Substitute, Peter Hudson, Joan Merrigan, Paul Rhodes, Julia Sutton, Ralph Heid, Eve n Alan with host Leonard SachsLeonard SachsLeonard Sachs was a British actor.-Early life and career:Sachs was born in South Africa in the town of Roodepoort, Transvaal...
The 1980s
BBC1 Wednesday 2 January 1980 at 9.25 pm- Cast John InmanJohn InmanFrederick John Inman was an English actor best known for his role as Mr. Humphries in Are You Being Served?, a British sitcom in the 1970s and 1980s. Inman was also well known in the United Kingdom as a pantomime dame....
, Gemma CravenGemma CravenGemma Craven is an award-winning Irish actress.She is possibly best known for her role in the Irish TV drama The Clinic as Dr...
, David KernanDavid KernanDavid Kernan is an English actor and singer, best known as an interpreter of the songs of Stephen Sondheim. He has appeared in stage musicals and was a soloist in British TV variety shows of the 1960s and 1970s including That Was the Week That Was 1962-63.Kernan was born in London...
, Bernard Spear, Gino Donati, Michel Arene, Lido Can-Can Girls with host Leonard SachsLeonard SachsLeonard Sachs was a British actor.-Early life and career:Sachs was born in South Africa in the town of Roodepoort, Transvaal...
BBC1 Monday 10 May 1982 at 9.05 pm
- Cast Bernard CribbinsBernard CribbinsBernard Cribbins, OBE is an English character actor, voice-over artist and musical comedian with a career spanning over half a century who came to prominence in films in the 1960s, has been in work consistently since his professional debut in the mid 1950s, and as of 2010 is still an active...
, Lorna Dallas, Barry CryerBarry CryerBarry Charles Cryer OBE is a British writer and comedian. Cryer has written for many noted performers, including Dave Allen, Stanley Baxter, Jack Benny, Rory Bremner, George Burns, Jasper Carrott, Tommy Cooper, Les Dawson, Dick Emery, Kenny Everett, Bruce Forsyth, David Frost, Bob Hope, Frankie...
, Anna Dawson, Josephine Gordon, Bill Drysdale, Christine Cartwright, Inga-Lise with host Leonard SachsLeonard SachsLeonard Sachs was a British actor.-Early life and career:Sachs was born in South Africa in the town of Roodepoort, Transvaal...
BBC1 Sunday 2 October 1983 at 8.55 pm
- Cast John InmanJohn InmanFrederick John Inman was an English actor best known for his role as Mr. Humphries in Are You Being Served?, a British sitcom in the 1970s and 1980s. Inman was also well known in the United Kingdom as a pantomime dame....
, Mary O'HaraMary O'HaraMary O'Hara is an Irish soprano and harpist from County Sligo. O'Hara achieved fame on both sides of the Atlantic in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Her recordings of that period influenced a generation of Irish female singers who credit O'Hara with influencing their style, among them Carmel...
, Neville King, Jacquie Toye, Ted Durante, Vince HillVince HillVince Hill is an English traditional pop music singer, songwriter and record producer.-Biography:...
with host Leonard SachsLeonard SachsLeonard Sachs was a British actor.-Early life and career:Sachs was born in South Africa in the town of Roodepoort, Transvaal...
BBC1 Friday 30 December 1983 at 3.50 pm
Goodbye to the Good Old Days
- Documentary celebrating the longest running TV variety show in the UK, which ended its 30-year run this year. With Roy HuddRoy HuddRoy Hudd, OBE is an English comedian, actor, radio host and author, and an authority on the history of music hall entertainment.- Early life :...
, Frankie VaughanFrankie VaughanFrankie 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:...
, Les DawsonLes DawsonLeslie "Les" Dawson was a popular English comedian remembered for his deadpan style, curmudgeonly persona and jokes about his mother-in-law and wife.-Life and career:...
, Larry GraysonLarry GraysonLarry Grayson , born William Sulley White, was an English stand-up comedian and television presenter of the 1970s and early 80s...
and narrated by Barry CryerBarry CryerBarry Charles Cryer OBE is a British writer and comedian. Cryer has written for many noted performers, including Dave Allen, Stanley Baxter, Jack Benny, Rory Bremner, George Burns, Jasper Carrott, Tommy Cooper, Les Dawson, Dick Emery, Kenny Everett, Bruce Forsyth, David Frost, Bob Hope, Frankie...
External links
- '1950's British TV Milestones', Whirligig (2003). Retrieved 1 June 2005.
- 'History Of The Players' Theatre Club', The Players' Theatre (2004). Retrieved 1 June 2005.