Editing Harry Secombe (section)

==As an entertainer==
He made his first radio broadcast in May 1944 on a variety show aimed at the military services. Following the end of fighting in the war but prior to demobilisation, Secombe joined a pool of entertainers in [[Naples]] and formed a comedy duo with [[Spike Milligan]].<ref name="entertainmentscene360.com"/>

Secombe joined the cast of the [[Windmill Theatre]] in 1946, using a routine he had developed in Italy about how people shaved.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/> An early review said that Secombe was "an original humorist of the infectious type and is very funny in a series showing how different men shave and in an impression of a vocalist."<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Stage |journal=The Stage |date=October 10, 1946 |page=3}}</ref> Secombe always claimed that his ability to sing could always be counted on to save him when he bombed.

Following a regional touring career, his first break came in radio in 1951 when he was chosen as resident comedian for the Welsh series ''[[Welsh Rarebit (radio programme)|Welsh Rarebit]],''<ref>{{cite journal |title=Nottingham Evening Post |journal=Nottingham Evening Post |date=April 5, 1951 |page=2}}</ref> followed by appearances on ''[[Variety Bandbox]]'' and a regular role in ''[[Educating Archie]]''.

Secombe met [[Michael Bentine]] at the Windmill Theatre, and he was introduced to [[Peter Sellers]] by his agent [[Jimmy Grafton]]. Together with Spike Milligan, the four wrote a comedy radio script, and ''Those Crazy People'' was commissioned<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/thegoonshow/ "Comedy The Goon Show"], BBC website</ref> and first broadcast on 28 May 1951. Produced by [[Dennis Main Wilson]], this soon became ''[[The Goon Show]]'' and the show remained on the air until 1960.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/><ref>{{cite book |title= Radio Comedy 1938–1968|last1 = Foster |first1 = Andy| last2 = Furst | first2 = Steve | publisher=Virgin |year=1996 |page=147|isbn=0-86369-960-X}}</ref> Secombe mainly played [[Neddie Seagoon]], around whom the show's absurd plots developed.<ref name="BBCWales"/> In 1955, whilst appearing on ''The Goon Show'', Secombe was approached by the BBC to step in at short notice to take the lead in the radio comedy ''[[Hancock's Half Hour]]''.<ref name="BBC Hancock">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/andrew-secombe-cast-in-missing-hancocks|title=Andrew Secombe cast in his father's role in new episodes of BBC Radio 4's The Missing Hancocks|publisher=BBC Media Centre|access-date=29 March 2017}}</ref> The star of the show, [[Tony Hancock]], had decided to take an unannounced break abroad, on the day before the live airing of the second season. Secombe appeared in the lead for the first three episodes and had a guest role in the fourth after Hancock's return. All four episodes are lost, but following the discovery of the original scripts, the episodes were rerecorded in 2017, with his son, [[Andrew Secombe]] performing the role held by his late father.<ref name="BBC Hancock"/><ref name="BBC Radio Times">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-03-14/how-radio-4-is-bringing-tony-hancock-back-to-life|title=How Radio 4 is bringing Tony Hancock back to life|magazine=Radio Times|first=Stephen|last=Armstrong|access-date=29 March 2017|date=14 March 2017}}</ref>

With the success of ''The Goon Show'', Secombe developed a dual career as both a comedy actor and a singer. At the beginning of his career as an entertainer, his act would end with a joke version of the duet ''[[Sweethearts (song)|Sweethearts]],'' in which he sang both the [[baritone]] and [[falsetto]] parts. Trained under Italian [[maestro]] [[Manlio di Veroli]], he emerged as a ''[[bel canto]]'' [[tenor]] (characteristically, he insisted that in his case this meant "can belto") and had a long list of best-selling record albums to his credit.<ref name="BBCWales">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southwest/halloffame/showbiz/harrysecombe.shtml|title=Sir Harry Secombe|access-date=2 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120729144318/http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southwest/halloffame/showbiz/harrysecombe.shtml|archive-date=29 July 2012}}</ref>

In 1958 he appeared in the film ''[[Jet Storm]],'' which starred [[Dame Sybil Thorndike]] and [[Richard Attenborough]]<!-- he wasn't knighted until 1976. --> and in the same year Secombe starred in the title role in ''[[Davy (film)|Davy]]'', one of [[Ealing Studios]]' last films.<ref name="BBCWales"/> By this time he was invited to appear on the Royal Command Performance (1958) where he struck up a lifelong friendship with [[Roy Castle]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://legendsmanagement.co.uk/we-represent/roy-castle |title=Roy Castle OBE 31 August 1931 – 2 September 1994|access-date=19 October 2024}}</ref>

The power of his voice allowed Secombe to appear in many stage [[musicals]]. This included 1963's ''[[Pickwick (musical)|Pickwick]],'' based on [[Charles Dickens]]'s ''[[The Pickwick Papers]]'', which gave him the no. 18 hit single "[[If I Ruled the World]]" – his later signature tune. In 1965 the show was produced on tour in the United States, where, on Broadway, he garnered a nomination for a [[Tony Award]] for Best Actor in a Musical.<ref name="BBCWales"/> Secombe scored his biggest hit single in 1967 with his version of "[[This Is My Song (1967 song)|This Is My Song]]", which peaked at no. 2 on the charts in March 1967 while a recording by [[Petula Clark]], which had hit no. 1 in February, was still in the top ten. He also appeared in the musical ''[[The Four Musketeers (musical)|The Four Musketeers]]'' (1967) at Drury Lane,<ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/> as Mr. Bumble in [[Carol Reed]]'s film of ''[[Oliver! (film)|Oliver!]]'' (1968),<ref>{{Cite web |date=2001-04-12 |title=Obituary: Harry Secombe |url=http://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/apr/12/guardianobituaries1 |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref> and in the Envy segment of ''[[The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins]]'' (1971).

He went on to star in his own television show, ''The Harry Secombe Show'', which debuted on Christmas Day 1968 on [[BBC1]] and ran for 31 episodes until 1973. A [[sketch comedy]] show featuring [[Julian Orchard]] as Secombe's regular [[sidekick]], the series also featured guest appearances by fellow Goon Spike Milligan as well as leading performers such as [[Ronnie Barker]] and [[Arthur Lowe]]. Secombe later starred in similar vehicles such as ''Sing a Song of Secombe'' and [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]'s ''Secombe with Music'' during the 1970s.<ref>Jack Kibble-White & Steve Williams, ''The Encyclopedia of Classic Saturday Night Telly'', London: 2007, pp 158–9</ref>