In its infancy and in my opinion, television output was pretty poor. Look how far it has come in seven decades. For some reason, a British TV character called Mr Pastry appeared in my mind today. I remember him vaguely from the last years of the fifties into the sixties. Played by Richard Hearne, Mr Pastry was a clownish figure whose act harked back to the antics of other clownish characters who appeared in silent films between the wars.
Mr Pastry was more about what he did than what he said. He was very popular and even appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in America. It is claimed that Hearne was once offered the role of Dr Who but that offer was withdrawn when he insisted that he would play the famous Time Lord like bumbling Mr Pastry. Richard Hearne was born in Norwich in 1908 and died in Bearsted, Kent in 1979. He also appeared in seventeen full length films. I guess the number of people who can recall his famous television show is dwindling with each passing year.
I've never heard of him, he was funny, but a bit too bumbling with that Tuba.
ReplyDeleteI remember Dr Who though. The original William Hartnell, the show back then was much milder that it is these days. I remember rushing home from school to watch it at 4.30 at my friend's home.
Back then I guess that Australian TV was still in its cradle and the bond with Britain was stronger than it is today.
DeleteAHH yes, Dr Who - the start of that programme nicely coincided with my parents getting their first TV (ostensibly so that my elder brother could watch some educational programmes on the BBC - that was in the days that they really did make educational programmes!).
DeleteI think "Mr Pastry" was educational. It taught us how to fool around and be silly.
DeleteHmmm... is it just me who can't see the fun in someone falling over, dropping things and generally making a fool of themselves for the "amusement" of others?
ReplyDeleteI must also admit that I never liked clowns, not as a child and not as I grew up.
Yes. It's just you Meike. I bet you don't like being tickled either!
DeleteOh my goodness I remember Mr Pastry. That is a name from the past. He was a bit of a Charlie Chaplinesque sort of figure.
ReplyDeleteBeing a little older than me, I thought you would remember him ADDY.
DeleteI was vaguely aware of Mr Pastry but am too young to remember any of his TV shows. We used to visit my grandparents' house if we wanted to watch TV as mum and dad couldn't afford one back then.
ReplyDeleteThere was no TV in our house till I was about five years old. I am happy to think that my first formative years were not accompanied by a blaring TV in the corner.
DeleteAh! Yes, I remember him well. I am also beginning to dwindle.
ReplyDeleteYou need "Philosan" Potty! It fortifies the over forties.
DeleteSanatagen for the over seventies!
DeleteI thought it was Zimmerframe for the Over Zeventies!
DeleteI can vaguely remember the early days of TV - well there wasn't much to forget with only one channel.
ReplyDeleteAs a small child I must have watched Muffin the Mule and Prudence kitten, but can't remember many other children's programmes. Later there were plays suitable for teenagers. What a naïve generation they were in those days - the boys all wore short trousers and the girls wore ankle socks!
Mr Pastry also featured, and I can vaguely remember him, although I've never liked slapstick comedy. Watched the first couple of minutes of the video and turned off - it was all so amateur and, to me, not in the least bit funny. I've read that there was still a strong Music Hall (Vaudeville) influence in those days, which is where many of the first TV performers came from.
I imagine that your character was modelled upon Prudence Carol? Mine was modelled on Muffin the Mule with a little of Popeye thrown in.
DeleteWhat - do you mean you ate tins of spinach? What about Bill and Ben the flowerpot men?
DeleteI believe they were a gay couple in real life.
DeleteVaguely remember him, as some has said an imitation of Charley Chaplin. He was bringing the old clown of the circus to the modern TV but without the funny clothes and nose.
ReplyDeleteI guess you were too busy unearthing things in the garden to watch "Mr Pastry".
DeleteI have never in my life heard of Mr. Pastry! (Or Richard Hearne, for that matter.) That's some very old-fashioned comedy -- Chaplinesque, as someone said above.
ReplyDeleteI am happy to have broadened your cultural horizons.
DeleteMy English born companion does not remember him. Nowt more to say.
ReplyDeleteDoes "R" suffer from memory loss?
DeleteGreat tv comedy character.
ReplyDeleteAs I say, in his time he was very popular.
DeleteI thought he was crap before I knew the word for it.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he thought the same about you Tasker.
DeleteI love physical comedy. I can't help it, it always makes me laugh out loud. I love the clip you shared and I'm happy to know of him. "Mr. Pastry" Great name.
ReplyDeleteHe was of his time with roots in the old music halls.
DeleteI've always hated that sort of slapstick bumbling comedy. It only serves to make me anxious.
ReplyDeleteApparently, Mr Pastry was admired by Buster Keaton.
DeleteI had never heard of him before. I imagine he was often quite black and blue after one of his sketches! Surprised he didn't hurt himself!
ReplyDeleteWe had the goofy "Three Stooges" over here but my Mom didn't allow us to watch them - too much hitting and poking she said! Bad examples for children! :)
I guess you were able to make up for that deprivation when you became an adult!
DeleteHe reminds me of Mr. Bean.
ReplyDeleteI can see what you mean - also in that clownish tradition.
DeleteEarly television had a kind of Sci-Fi quality.
ReplyDeleteIt was hard to believe that these talking people were being transmitted through the airwaves, into millions of homes.
All thanks to a brilliant Scotsman, John Logie Baird (1888-1946) who had been experimenting with a cathode tube, in his workshop in Yoker, near Clydebank.
Television on winter nights, in grainy black and white, enthralled us all, whether it was Mr Pastry, Blue Peter, BBC's Tomorrow's World, or Cilla Black and the Beatles.
We watched Zapruder's film of the assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas.
One of my uncles, known for his skills as a marksman, said it was a conspiracy.
Patrick Troughton, another forgotten face, can be seen as Robin Hood, Paul of Tarsus, Allan Breck Stewart from RL Stevenson's Kidnapped, and Doctor Who.
YouTube.
*Cilla Black & Dudley Moore.* YouTube.
Cilla is singing vintage Beatles and Dudley is playing piano + pulling faces.
Fred Zinnemann said BBC Television in those days was like RKO, stuffed with talent and ideas, but operating on a miniscule budget, compared with Hollywood studios.
Mr Pastry, England's Mack Sennett, was one of BBC's school of talents.
I rescinded my BBC licence years ago.
Haggerty, you missed out the Potter's Wheel "interlude"! The programmes (according to my father) were all live in the early days and sometimes stopped broadcasting, due to a technical hitch. The BBC would show the film of a potter at his wheel!
Delete"I rescinded my BBC licence years ago" = I am a stingy old bugger and refuse to pay for a TV licence even though I am perfectly happy to listen to BBC stations on the radio, check out the BBC News website and watch old BBC shows on YouTube.
ReplyDelete