Malcolm Vaughan
| Malcolm Vaughan | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Malcolm James Thomas |
| Born |
22 March 1929 Abercynon, South Wales |
| Died | 9 February 2010 (aged 80) Eastbourne, East Sussex, England |
| Genres | Traditional pop music |
| Labels | HMV |
Malcolm Vaughan (22 March 1929 – 9 February 2010) was a Welsh traditional pop music singer and actor. Known for his distinctive tenor voice, he had a number of chart hits in the United Kingdom during the 1950s.
He was born Malcolm James Thomas, in Abercynon, South Wales. He spent much of his childhood in the village of Troedyrhiw, near Merthyr Tydfil after his family relocated there, and sang with the local choir.
He first appeared as a stage actor in 1944 when he was cast in Emlyn Williams's comedy The Druid's Rest at the St. Martin's Theatre in London's West End. He went on to appear at the London Hippodrome in the musical comedy Jenny Jones, where his singing abilities were first noted by the critic James Agate who said of him that he was "allowed to talk too much and sing too little". He followed this up with a role in a variety show organised by the bandleader and impresario Jack Hylton, and a part in the Thornton Wilder play The Skin of Our Teeth at the Piccadilly Theatre, which was directed by Laurence Olivier. He also appeared in the first stage production of the popular BBC Children's Hour programme The Adventures of Larry the Lamb in which he was Dennis the Dachshund, and was an errand boy in the film Bedelia alongside Margaret Lockwood.
He was called up for National Service in 1947, and served with the Army in Egypt and Greece, but returned to acting after being demobbed. He appeared in Aladdin and Dick Whittington on ice in Brighton, and in 1952 teamed up with three other vocalists to form the Welsh Street Singers. He went on to support Old Mother Riley in pantomime, then appeared in the revue Going Gay in Eastbourne in 1953, where he befriended the comedian Kenneth Earle. The pair decided to form a double act, but did not like the sound of "Earle and Thomas". However, after trying out different names they settled on "Earle and Vaughan". In 1963, Malcolm Thomas changed his name by deed poll to Malcolm Vaughan.
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