Max Wall
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Max Wall | ||
 King Bruno the Questionable from Jabberwocky (1977) |
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name: | Maxwell George Lorimer | |
| Date of birth: | 12 March 1908 | |
|---|---|---|
| Birth location: | Brixton | |
| Date of death: | 21 May 1990 | |
| Death location: | Westminster Hospital | |
| Genres: | Music hall, television & film comedian | |
Max Wall (12 March 1908 - 21 May 1990) was a British comedian, born in Brixton, London, the son of the successful music-hall entertainer Jack (Jock) Lorimer and Stella. In 1919, he was saved from death by his cast iron bed-frame, but both his younger brother and their nanny, were killed by a gas bomb from a German Zeppelin that destroyed their house.
[edit] Career
Wall made his stage début at the age of 14, as an acrobatic dancer, in pantomime, but is best remembered for his ludicrously attired and hilariously strutting Professor Wallofski. This creation notably influenced John Cleese, who has acknowledged Max Wall's influence on the creation of his own Ministry of Silly Walks sketch for Monty Python. After appearing in many musicals and stage comedies in the 1930s his career went into decline, and he was reduced to working in obscure nightclubs.
Wall re-emerged when producers and directors rediscovered his comic talents, along with the expressive power of his tragic clown face and of the distinctive sad falling cadences of his voice. He secured television appearances, and having attracted Beckett's attention, he won parts in Waiting for Godot and Krapp's Last Tape. In 1966 he appeared as Père Ubu in Jarry's Ubu Roi, whilst in 1972 he toured with Mott the Hoople on their "Rock n' Roll Circus tour", gaining a new audience. His straight acting gained him this review in 1974:
"Max Wall makes Olivier look like an amateur in The Entertainer at Greenwich Theatre..." (The Guardian, 27 November 1974)
He also appeared in Crossroads, Coronation Street and what was then Emmerdale Farm.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Wall also occasionally performed a one-man stage show, An Evening with Max Wall, in which he recaptured the humour of old-time music-hall theatre.
His last film appearance was in the short (12 minutes) film, A Fear of Silence, a dark tale of a man who drives a stranger to a confession of murder by answering only Yes or No to his questions; those two words, repeated, were his only dialogue. The film won a gold award in the New York Film and TV Festival.
Wall did not own a telephone, always attending his local telephone box at 1pm Monday to Saturday if he was at home to collect incoming calls.
On the afternoon of 20 May 1990, Wall fell at Simpson's restaurant in central London fracturing his skull. He never regained consciousness, and died early the next morning at Westminster Hospital. He was 82. His body is buried in Highgate Cemetery.
He was survived by four sons, Michael, Melvin, Martin and Meredith, and a daughter, Maxine.
