Dick Emery - Life and Career

Life and Career

Richard Gilbert Emery was born in University College Hospital, Bloomsbury, London in 1915. His parents were the comedy double act Callan and Emery. They took him on tour when he was only 3 weeks old and gave him the occasional turn on the stage throughout his childhood, which was always on the move and disrupted, creating problems for the future, but at least setting the scene for eventually going into show business. His parents split up when he was 8 years old and he chose to stay with his mother, who gave up 'showbiz'. He tried a variety of jobs before the stage: mechanic, office boy, farm hand and driving instructor.

During World War II he was called up to the RAF and rose to the rank of corporal.

However, due to family problems, he deserted and returned to London joining the chorus line of The Merry Widow at the Majestic Theatre, London. He was arrested and subsequently imprisoned for desertion.

While in prison, he was divorced by his wife, who later married an American. She returned to the United States after the war taking with her his first child, Gilbert Richard. He did not see his son again until 1976, when Gilbert came to Britain looking for his father.

It was while in military prison that he was recruited by Ralph Reader into the RAF Gang Show to entertain air and ground crew at bases in Great Britain.

At this time he created Vera Thin ('the Forces' Sweetheart'), loosely based on Vera Lynn, later saying, "I was better in drag than combat gear". After D-Day, his unit toured forward airbases.

On leaving the RAF, he returned to the theatre as comedian. He worked at the Windmill Theatre, though his name does not appear on the plaque commemorating the acts that played there. He toured his fledgling act around the United Kingdom.

He also auditioned for various parts and in 1952 he starred in a role in a 15-minute Radio Luxembourg series on Saturdays at 7.00pm called Chance of a Lifetime. This was a quiz sponsored by Marshall Ward in which merchandise to the value of £30 was given to contestants. Other radio work around this time included several appearances on Workers' Playtime on the BBC, a morale boosting show that had started during the war to entertain factory workers in their canteens. Emery also made a guest appearance on the popular BBC radio programme The Goon Show, replacing regular cast member Harry Secombe when he was absent for one episode in 1957.

During 1953 he briefly formed a double act with Charlie Drake. His TV debut came in 1950 on The Centre Show on the BBC. Throughout the 1950s he appeared on programmes including Round the Bend (BBC, 1955–56) and Educating Archie (ITV, 1958–59) and appeared with his friend Tony Hancock in several episodes of The Tony Hancock Show (ITV, 1956) and Hancock's Half Hour (BBC, 1957).

He enhanced his reputation on two series with former Goon Michael Bentine: After Hours (ITV, 1958–59) and It's a Square World (BBC, 1960–64). His role as Private Chubby Catchpole in the final series of The Army Game (ITV 1960) led to an exclusive BBC contract, and the long-running The Dick Emery Show (BBC, 1963–81) began.

The show, which ran irregularly from 1963 to 1981, involved dressing up as various characters, "a flamboyant cast of comic grotesques". These included the buck-toothed Church of England vicar, sex-starved, menopausal, man-eating spinster Hettie, and Clarence, an outrageously camp man who coined the catchphrase "Hello Honky Tonk". Other roles were gormless denim-clad bovver boy Gaylord (in a double act with his long suffering father, played by several actors including Roy Kinnear) where, each week, he would mess up and utter the catchphrase "Dad, I think I got it wrong again", the crusty pensioner James Maynard Kitchener Lampwick, and Mandy, a busty peroxide blonde whose catchphrase, "Ooh, you are awful ... but I like you!" (given in response to a seemingly innocent remark made by her interlocutor, but perceived by her as ribald double entendre), preceded a hefty shove on the shoulder of the interlocutor, and a prompt about-turn walk-off with a leg trip. "It was clever, pure vaudeville, in a television form." (Michael Grade).

In a sporadic film career he made his debut in the Goons' The Case of the Mukkinese Battle Horn (directed by Joseph Sterling, 1954). He also played bungling bank robber Booky Binns in The Big Job (directed by Gerald Thomas, 1965) and was known for vocal talents as an array of characters including "The Nowhere Man" Jeremy Hilary Boob, the Mayor of Pepperland and Max, one of the Blue Meanies in the Beatles' Yellow Submarine (directed by George Dunning, 1968)

Emery appeared in films including as Shingler inThe Fast Lady (1962), as Peter Sellers' neighbour in The Wrong Arm Of The Law, as Harry in Baby Love (1968), as Mr Bateman in Loot (1970) and Ooh… You Are Awful (1972), in which he played most of the characters he had portrayed in his TV series. The plot of this comedy centred on Emery hunting down a bank account number. The digits of the number are tattooed on the bottoms of four young women. The plot centres on Emery's ploys to see the girls naked, which requires disguises.

Emery also recorded several novelty records during his career, most notably "If You Love Her" which reached no.32 in 1969, and "You Are Awful" which just missed the top 40 in 1973. Other singles included "A Cockney Christmas" (1962), "You're The Only One" (1974) and "Rocking Horse Cowboy" (1979). In 1979, Emery moved to ITV for three one-hour specials before returning to the BBC in 1980 and resuming The Dick Emery Show.

By 1982, Emery was tiring of the format for his BBC series and wanted to do something different. Using a new format and character, Jewish private detective Bernie Weinstock, Emery had a new outlet - two series of comedy thrillers under the banner Emery Presents (BBC, 1982–83), Legacy of Murder and Jack of Diamonds