George Wallace (Australian comedian)

George Stephenson Wallace (4 June 1895 – 19 October 1960), was an Australian comedian, vaudevillian and film star. He was one of the most famous and successful Australian comedians on stage and screen in the twentieth century.

He was born George Wallace at Aberdeen, New South Wales, and died at Kensington, New South Wales. His career as one of Australia's most popular comedians spanned four decades from the 1920s to 1960 and encompassed stage, radio and film. Ken G. Hall, who directed him in two films, wrote in his autobiography that George Wallace was the finest Australian comedian he had known.

The story goes that Wallace was born in a tent in the middle of winter in the New England region of New South Wales. The midwife reportedly fed the newborn baby hot porridge to help him survive the freezing temperatures. George later turned the resultant damage to his vocal cords to his advantage and his raucous voice soon became part of the trademark for the "Boy From Bullamakanka".

In the 1920s he appeared as part of a duo with 'Dinks' Patterson named Dinks and Onkus. The pair danced and sang, and for someone who looked like a wharfie (with his barrel chest and short legs) Wallace was surprisingly acrobatic and light on his feet, and the public loved him for his slapstick style and everyman appeal.

Turning solo, Wallace was soon snapped up by the Fuller circuit in Sydney and from there he moved to the Tivoli Theatre circuit. By the 1920s he was considered to be one of the "Big Three" most popular performers in Australian comedy. He wrote all of his own scripts and in 1942 penned a song that was to become a World War II standard, "A Brown Slouch Hat with The Side Turned Up".

The 1930s saw George turn his talents to film. He starred in five films, all comedies and was the biggest, if not the biggest, Australian star. Three of these, His Royal Highness (1932), Harmony Row (1933) and A Ticket in Tatts (1934), were directed by F. W. Thring for Thring's company, Efftee Film Productions. Wallace was under contract to Efftee during this time for an estimated £3000 – £5000 per year, during which he also made stage appearances for the company.

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