Reg Varney

Reg Varney
Varney using the first ATM in 1967
Born	Reginald Alfred Varney (1916-07-11)11 July 1916 Canning Town, East London, England, UK
Died	16 November 2008(2008-11-16) (aged 92) Budleigh Salterton, Devon, England, UK
Cause of death	Chest Infection
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1952–1995
Television	On the Buses
Spouse(s)	Lilian Varney (m. 1939–2002) (her death); 1 daughter
Children	Jeanne Varney
Relatives	Sid Varney (brother) Stanley Varney (brother) Bella Varney (sister) Doris Varney (sister)

Reginald Alfred "Reg" Varney (11 July 1916 – 16 November 2008) was an English actor, entertainer and comedian best known for his television roles on The Rag Trade and On the Buses, appearing in the latter's three spin-off film versions.

Varney was born in Canning Town, East London. His father worked in a rubber factory in Silvertown and he was one of five children who grew up in Addington Road, Canning Town. Varney was educated at the nearby Star Lane Primary School in West Ham and after leaving school at 14, he worked as a messenger boy and a page boy at the Regent Palace Hotel. He took piano lessons as a child and was good enough to find employment as a part-time piano player. His first paid engagement was at Plumstead Radical Club in Woolwich, for which he was paid eight shillings and sixpence (42½p). He also played in working men's clubs, pubs and ABC cinemas, and later sang with big bands of the time. He and his mother decided that show business was the career for him, and he gave up his day jobs.

During the Second World War, Varney joined the Royal Engineers, but continued his performing career as an army entertainer, touring in the Far East for a time. After being demobilised in the late 1940s, he starred on stage in a comic revue entitled Gaytime, with Benny Hill as his partner in a double act. He then became an all-round entertainer, working his way around the music halls.

Varney was cast in the role of a foreman in the television sitcom The Rag Trade (1961–63), which made him a household name. He was aware that he was the only performer without West End acting experience and worked hard to make up for it. Slightly later, he starred in a show for BBC TV called The Valiant Varneys (1964–65), performing various characters in front of a live audience. After that followed another comedy role in Beggar My Neighbour (1966–68); this also starred Pat Coombs, June Whitfield, and Peter Jones. Pat Coombs played the wife of Varney's character. Varney featured in The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery (1966) with Frankie Howerd, Dora Bryan and George Cole.