| Larry Grayson | |
|---|---|
Larry Grayson on The Generation Game |
|
| Birth name | William Sulley White |
| Born | 31 August 1923 Banbury, England, UK |
| Died | 7 January 1995 (aged 71) Nuneaton, Warwickshire, UK |
| Medium | Comedian, TV Presenter |
| Nationality | English |
| Years active | 1937–1994 |
| Notable works and roles | The Generation Game |
Larry Grayson (31 August 1923 – 7 January 1995), born William Sulley White,[1] was an English stand-up comedian and television presenter of the 1970s and early 80s. He is best remembered for hosting the BBC's popular series The Generation Game and for his high camp and English music hall humour.
His unique stand-up act consisted mainly of anecdotes about a cast of imaginary friends, the most famous of which were 'Everard' and 'Slack Alice'. He achieved television stardom in his fifties and is often cited as one of the first openly-gay entertainers to have enjoyed mass appeal, although he never made direct reference to his sexuality. He made frequent references to his hometown Nuneaton, where a museum and memorial have been established.
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Grayson was born William Sulley White in Banbury, north Oxfordshire, in 1923. His parents were unmarried and he never met his father. When Grayson was ten days old, his mother Ethel White arranged for him to be adopted by Alice and Jim Hammond in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. He had two adoptive sisters, Flo and May. His adoptive mother Alice died when he was six years old, and he was brought up by his eldest adoptive sister, Flo, with whom he lived for much of his life. It's been reported that his birth mother stayed in touch with the family and was known to Grayson as "Aunt Ethel" throughout his childhood, until he discovered her true identity in later life.[2].
Grayson left school at the age of 14 and was soon working professionally under the name of Billy Breen as a supporting drag act on the comedy club circuit. Over the next thirty years, he toured the UK not only in male revues and drag shows, but also in variety shows. He also added stand-up comedy to his act and appeared in London at the Metropolitan.
In the 1950s, on the advice of his agent, he changed his stage-name to Larry Grayson, but the origins of the name are unknown. He was very popular in revue and working men's clubs with a unique and very gentle anecdotal style of comedy. It was usually based around his various imaginary friends such as Everard, Apricot Lil, Slack Alice, and the postman Pop-It-In Pete. A lot of his material was observational. In his early years, Grayson's family owned the only telephone in the street, and his inspiration came from listening to his neighbours using the phone.
An early TV appearance in the 1950s had led to complaints about his act being too outrageous, and Grayson had resigned himself to a career off television. Then in the early 70s his club act was seen by TV impressario Michael Grade, who immediately signed him for ATV. Following a hit run of guest spots on ATV variety shows, he was rewarded by Lew Grade with his own show, Shut That Door!, in 1972 and the self-titled Larry Grayson Show.
He also made two memorable cameo appearances in the Midlands-based soap opera Crossroads, as a flouncing, difficult customer at the Crossroads Motel and as the chauffeur at the wedding of Meg Richardson (played by his close friend Noele Gordon). Ironically, Grayson couldn't drive. He also made a number of guest appearances in variety shows, chat shows and panel games.
Grayson was one of the first television comedians to suggest an openly gay persona and many of his catchphrases, gestures and anecdotes were certainly suggestive, although he never publicly discussed or made direct reference to his sexuality and was never known to have a partner.
Grayson's popularity peaked when he was hired by the BBC to present the Saturday night show The Generation Game in 1978, as replacement for Bruce Forsyth. The show became hugely successful, attracting audiences of up to 24 million each week, and the title of the show was changed to Larry Grayson's Generation Game to reflect his popularity. Grayson was aided and abetted by his co-star Isla St Clair, whom he always referred to as "my lovely Isla".
Despite its huge popularity, by 1981 The Generation Game had started being beaten in the ratings by ITV's rival show Game for a Laugh. Grayson decided to leave The Generation Game in 1982 while it was still relatively successful. The BBC decided he couldn't be replaced, and the show was cancelled. It was only resurrected eight years later when the original host, Bruce Forsyth, returned to the BBC.
Grayson went into semi-retirement, enjoying time on his own at his bungalow with his beloved dogs, although he did return to television to present the game show "Sweethearts" for ITV in 1987. He made a number of other TV and radio appearances.
Grayson moved with Flo (his adoptive older sister) to Torquay, Devon as part of his semi-retirement, but moved back to Nuneaton after just a couple of years.
On New Year's Eve 1994, Grayson was rushed into hospital. The diagnosis was that he had suffered from a perforated appendix. After being allowed home from hospital, Grayson died on 7 January 1995 in Nuneaton, at the age of 71. Grayson's final public appearance was on 3 December 1994 at the Royal Variety Performance. During this performance he referred to his hiatus from television, by commenting to the audience, "They thought I was dead!". His last words during the performance were his catchphrase "Shut that door!", followed by "I love you."[3] He is buried alongside other members of his family in his home town of Nuneaton.
It was said that he had been incensed at an objection by one councillor at a Nuneaton town council meeting to the idea of a monument for Grayson in the town. Apparently, the comments made were unpleasantly homophobic. Grayson asked his family to ensure that no memorial to him was ever to be erected there. However, a permanent tribute to Larry Grayson was opened in April 2009 at the Riversley Park museum, Nuneaton, with a display of personal memorabilia and items from his showbiz career.
The exhibition, in the ground-floor Local History Room, includes his trademark gold bentwood chair, a plaque from the star dressing room at the London Palladium, trophies, gifts and souvenir programmes.[4]
A new Lloyds Bar was opened in May 2010 in Nuneaton, named the William White, Larry's Birthname.
Journalist Suzi Pritchard wrote in The Guardian:
"His camp, deliciously naughty humour was never crude or vulgar. The gentle ambivalence of his humour made him attractive to an extraordinarily diverse range of people. But his real appeal was that of a valued neighbour perceptively observing the details of every day life and commenting on it across the garden fence, creating an emotional intimacy in a society starting to fragment." [5]
Ken Dodd, comedian, said of Larry Grayson's appeal and warmth:
"He loved everybody and he wanted them to love him in return and yes, they did, they all loved Larry". [5]
In 2009, Network DVD released a 3 disc set Shut That Door – Larry Grayson At ITV, which features material from his ITV days, including the one existing episode of his series Shut That Door and both series of The Larry Grayson Show.
| Preceded by Bruce Forsyth |
Host of The Generation Game 1978–81 |
Succeeded by Bruce Forsyth (in 1990) |