Tommy Handley
| Tommy Handley | |
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| Born | Thomas Reginald Handley 17 January 1892(1892-01-17) Toxteth Park, Liverpool, Lancashire |
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| Died | 9 January 1949 (aged 56) London |
| Cause of death | cerebral haemorrhage |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | comedian |
Tommy (Thomas Reginald) Handley (1892 January 17– 1949 January 9) was an English comedian mainly known for the BBC radio program ITMA ("It's That Man Again").
Born at Toxteth Park, Liverpool in Lancashire.
He served in the British Army during World War 1 and went on to work in variety, and in the infancy of radio became known as a regular broadcaster. He worked with people such as Arthur Askey and Bob Monkhouse, and wrote many radio scripts, but it is the BBC comedy series ITMA for which he is best known. He later starred in the ITMA film in 1942 and in Time Flies in 1944.
In later years, he suffered with high blood pressure, the result of his driving commitment to ITMA, and died suddenly on 1949-01-09 from a brain hemorrhage. He was cremated and interred at the Golders Green Crematorium. In a eulogy at his memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral, the Bishop of London, John W C Wand, said that "he was one whose genius transmuted the copper of our common experience into the gold of exquisite foolery. His raillery was without cynicism, and his satire without malice...".
The BBC decided that he was such a key figure of ITMA that the show must die with him.
On 2006-11-07, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a review of one of his partnerships, Mr Murgatroyd and Mr Winterbottom: "The story of Tommy Handley and Ronald Frankau, a comedy partnership which had its heyday in the 1930s world of radio. There was no straight man, so the partnership was a rare one. Tommy was a fast talking Liverpudlian, while Ronald in contrast was upper class and Eton-educated. Presented by Nicholas Frankau, actor and grandson of Ronald."[1]
References
- ^ "Mr Murgatroyd and Mr Winterbottom". BBC Radio 4: Arts and Drama. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
External links
| Persondata | |
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| NAME | Handley, Tommy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Handley, Thomas Reginald |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Comedian |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1892-01-17 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Toxteth Park, Liverpool |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1949-01-09 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | London |
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