Arthur Haynes (14 May 1914–19 November 1966) was an English comedian and star of The Arthur Haynes Show, a comedy sketch series produced by ATV from 1956 until his death from a heart attack in 1966. Haynes also appeared on radio and in films. In 1965, he appeared in the Rock Hudson/Gina Lollobrigida film Strange Bedfellows. When in Hollywood, Cary Grant happened to visit with an entourage at a location where Haynes was residing and gave great praise lavished on him, stating that he was the greatest comedy star in the world. In 1966, he appeared as a patient in the British film Doctor in Clover.
Early life
Arthur Haynes was born in London, the only child of a Fulham baker. He started in several odd jobs, doing painting (he was very proud of his painting in later years), plumbing, and joinery until the Second World War broke out. During the war, he became an entertainer while serving with the Royal Engineers. Fellow comedian Charlie Chester told a story of how they were waiting outside Caen, and Haynes pointed to a trench full of mud and a million tiny frogs and said nothing would get him into that. Just then a German aircraft started firing near them, and Haynes dived straight into the trench and afterwards emerged covered in mud and frogs.
What Was the Arthur Haynes Show?
With Charlie Chester, he was a member of the British Army concert party troupe Stars in Battledress. He remained with Chester after the war in the BBC Radio Series Stand Easy (1946–49). Chester hadn’t wanted to include him because he had a full cast, but when he heard Haynes give a high-pitched laugh, he knew he could use it and found a place for him. They became a double act in the show where Chester wrote the scripts. Much later, the comedian returned to BBC Radio with The Arthur Haynes Show (1962–65), which ran over four series. He also recorded Arthur Again. Both series were scripted by Johnny Speight. One compilation set titled The Collected Arthur Haynes Show, comprising all seven volumes, was released on 24 April 2017.
How Did Arthur Haynes Start His Career?
On 21 February 1956, Haynes appeared in the first edition of the ATV variety series Strike a New Note, which was intended to debut talent for the new independent television station. According to Nicholas Parsons (in That Reminds Me, April 1999), the show was terrible, but he was taken on after some initial episodes had been filmed. After a few more shows, there was a clearout, and everyone but Haynes and Parsons went. After several appearances in this show, written by Dick Barry and John Antrobus along with Johnny Speight, who had been sending in sketches for Haynes. The show was soon renamed Get Happy. Haynes, who had been a stand-up comedian, was given his series later in the year, and Parsons, who had been an all-rounder, found himself cast as his straight man.
Why is Arthur Haynes the Most Popular Comedian?
His ATV series, The Arthur Haynes Show (1956–66), networked on ITV, made Haynes the most popular comedian in Britain. There were 95 thirty-minute shows, 62 thirty-five-minute shows, and one fifty-minute show, spread over fifteen series. The most popular of Haynes’s characters was his working-class tramp creation, Johnny Speight, now better known for creating Alf Garnett. He said that the inspiration for the tramp came to him from a real-life tramp who hopped aboard his Rolls-Royce as it sat at a traffic light.
In 1963 and 1964, Haynes worked with Dermot Kelly, who played another tramp (called Irish), who was not very bright. Sometimes Patricia Hayes would join them as a female tramp. In early episodes, the shows were played out on a theatre stage, and basic scenery and props were used where, for instance, the audience could see outside and inside a house, as there was no wall on their side. Later episodes had better sets. The stars sometimes forgot or did not bother to learn their lines and would ad-lib them. If someone fluffed a line, that would be used to get more laughs. Haynes and others sometimes failed to keep a straight face and occasionally burst into laughter.
Who Were the Most Notable Guests at the Arthur Haynes Show?
Musical guests for the shows would include the Spring Fields in 1963, Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen and the Rolling Stones in 1964, and Joe Brown and the Bruvvers and the Dave Clark Five in 1965. A few of the programs opened and closed with Arthur Haynes driving a horse and cart down a rural country lane, whistling and playing (poorly) a harmonica. Some of them are cartoons, beginning with a workman using a road drill on the title.
Royal Variety Performance
Haynes received the Variety Club’s award as ITV Personality of 1961 and appeared on the Royal Variety Performance in the same year. The shows also made a star of Nicholas Parsons, who had first appeared with Haynes in Strike a New Note and Get Happy and who tended to play supercilious neighbors and authority figures in the comedy sketches. Eventually, when the public started to realize that Parsons was a talented straight man, Haynes dropped him. Other stars also made early appearances: in 1962, Michael Caine played a burglar burgling the same house as Haynes’s character. Haynes had a nice singing voice, which he used only rarely on TV, and in 1960 appeared in a sketch called The Haynes Brothers, where he and Dickie Valentine, sporting a mustache, sang together.
Music
In 1963 he recorded the novelty songs “Not to Worry” and “Looking Around.”.
What happened to Arthur Haynes?
Arthur Haynes died of a heart attack on 19 November 1966 in Ealing, at the age of 52, shortly after he returned from America, where he had appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, and just before the commencement of shooting for the 16th series of his ITV television series.
Where is Arthur Haynes buried?
He is buried at Mortlake Cemetery in Kew, London. His wife, Queenie, died on 7 November 2010, aged 95.