Harry Bourlon Illingsworth (20 November 1917 – 20 July 1989), professionally known as Harry Worth, was an English comedy actor, comedian and ventriloquist. Worth portrayed a charming, gentle and genial character, totally bemused by life, creating comedic confusion wherever he went.

Early life

Worth was born in Hoyland Common, West Riding of Yorkshire, the youngest child of a miner. He had ten siblings. When he was only five months old, his father died from injuries resulting from an industrial accident. He left school at 14 and was a miner for eight years. He earned 2 shillings 2½ pence a day and worked near the lift in the mine; he said he hated every minute of it. He joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1941.

As a teenager, he was in the Tankersley Amateur Dramatics Society and taught himself ventriloquism from a book he borrowed from the local library, buying his first dummy in 1936.

Although never scripted, his catchphrase was generally known as "My name is Harry Worth. I don't know why – but, there it is!" It was really invented by impressionists of the day to give a common ground tag line to work with. One running joke in the television show involved references to Harry's never seen aunt known only as "Auntie", the popular nickname for the BBC itself. In one show, Harry commissioned a portrait of Auntie, only to receive a head-and-shoulders print of a woman with no face. He was the subject of This Is Your Life in October 1963 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at Manchester's Gaumont cinema.

By the early to mid-1980s Worth was forced by health problems to retire early from his shows, but he continued working in radio (and made television guest appearances from time to time for either interviews or pop-up guest appearances on some shows) until a few months before he died. Among the last regular appearances of his career were leading roles in the sitcoms How's Your Father? (Yorkshire TV 1979–1980) and Oh Happy Band! (BBC TV 1980).

Worth's last TV appearance was on Comic Relief in 1989 where he appeared with Melvyn Hayes in the BT Tower taking donation calls.

Personal life

Worth married Kay (Daisy) Flynn, who was a principal boy, in 1947. They decided early on that he would continue with his act whilst Kay became a housewife. They had a long and happy marriage and she cared for him during his long illness with cancer. During this time, he referred to her as "Maggie Thatcher" for diligently watching his daily medication intake and exercises. After several short-lived recoveries, Worth finally succumbed to spinal cancer. He died at his home "Arisden" in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, on 20 July 1989, with his wife, daughter (Jobyna) and grandchildren (Dane and Emma-Jo) at his side. Kay lived on for another 10 years.

Worth resisted attempts by publishers to write his biography; it was over 16 years after his death before a book, My Name Is Harry Worth, by Roy Baines, was published.

Legacy

At his memorial service, Sir Harry Secombe said "Harry has left a legacy of laughter and we have all been enriched by his presence here on Earth".

In October 2015, Barnsley-born actor, playwright and director Jack Land Noble (born 1989) brought Worth's life and career to the stage in the world premiere of My Name is Harry Worth. The show was billed as "a one-man tour-de-force written by and featuring Jack Land Noble as the forgotten son of British comedy. Hilarious yet poignant, My Name Is Harry Worth celebrates a pioneering comic talent in style." The play, which had the support of the Harry Worth estate, was first staged to great acclaim in Harry's hometown of Barnsley at the town's Lamproom Theatre, ahead of a prospective 2017 UK tour and run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe marking Harry's centenary. Speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield, Jack Land Noble explained, "The time is ripe to bring Harry's distinct talent back into the public arena. The play is my humble tribute to my comedy idol: a dithering, surreal comic genius and, arguably, Yorkshire's finest comic son."

Memorials

thumb|Comic Heritage plaque, Teddington

On 20 July 2010 a British Comedy Society blue plaque was unveiled by comedian Jimmy Cricket, a friend of Worth's, on the house where he was born in Hoyland Common. The unveiling was arranged in conjunction with Worth's biographer, Roy Baines, and the event was sponsored by Revelation Films, who released a DVD of Worth's work the same week. He has also been commemorated by plaques elsewhere, including those at Teddington Studios, BBC Television Centre and Blackpool Comedy Carpet.

Television

  • The Trouble with Harry (1960)
  • Here's Harry (1960–1965)
  • Harry Worth (1966–1970)
  • Titipu, "the first colour TV production of The Mikado" (1967) – Ko-Ko
  • Scoop (1972) – William Boot
  • Thirty Minutes Worth (1972–1973)
  • My Name Is Harry Worth (1974)
  • How's Your Father? (1979–1980) – Harry Matthews
  • Oh Happy Band! (1980) – (final appearance as lead character and last scripted television show)

Theatre

  • Here's Harry
  • Harvey
  • Pardon Me, Prime Minister
  • See How They Run
  • Norman, Is That You?

Radio

  • Workers Playtime
  • Thirty Minutes Worth
  • Harry Worth in Things Could Be Worse
  • We're in Business (1959-1960, with Peter Jones (actor), broadcast on the BBC Home Service)

References

Further reading

  • Harry Worth: The Man in the Window BBC Radio 4 programme
  • The Official Harry Worth Website