Dick Emery
| Dick Emery | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Richard Gilbert Emery 19 February 1915 Bloomsbury, London, England, UK |
| Died | 2 January 1983 (aged 67) Denmark Hill, London, England, UK |
| Resting place | Mortlake Crematorium |
| Years active | 1946–1983 |
| Spouse(s) | Joan Sainsbury Irene Ansell Iris Tully Victoria Chambers Josephine Blake |
| Children | 4 |
Richard Gilbert "Dick" Emery (19 February 1915 – 2 January 1983) was an English comedian and actor. Beginning on radio in the 1950s, an eponymous television series ran from 1963 to 1981.
Richard Gilbert Emery was born in University College Hospital, Bloomsbury, London. 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 himself. His parents split up when he was 8 and he chose to stay with his mother, who gave up show business. He tried a variety of jobs before the stage: mechanic, office boy, farm hand and driving instructor.
During the Second World War he was called up to the RAF and rose to the rank of corporal. However, because of family problems, he returned to London joining the chorus line of The Merry Widow at the Majestic Theatre, London. 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 a 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 awarded 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.
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