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Harry Worth (born Harry Bourlon Illingsworth; 20 November 1917, Hoyland Common, South Yorkshire – 20 July 1989, Hertfordshire) was an English comedy actor and comedian. Unlike the brash humour of other comedians at the time, Harry portrayed a charming, gentle and genial character, totally bemused by life, creating comedic confusion wherever he went. ==Early life== Worth was the youngest child of a miner. He had ten siblings. When he was only five months old his father died from injuries resulting from an industrial accident. He left school at 14 and was a miner for eight years. He earned 2s 2½d and worked near the lift in the mine, and said he hated every minute of it. He later joined the RAF in 1941.〔''Daily Mirror'', 15 August 1971, page 11: "Harry Lands a Scoop"〕 As a teenager he was in the Tankersley Amateur Dramatic Society and taught himself ventriloquism from a book he borrowed from the local library, buying his first dummy in 1936.〔 During World War Two, he performed in an RAF Variety show in India and had extra material written for him by the show's director, Wallie Okin. Harry Worth warned his audience beforehand that he was not very good, according to ''ITMA'' impressionist Peter Cavanagh, the start of his apologetic and inept style. He was a variety act for many years before he became known and was often at the bottom of any "bill". Having left the RAF and adamant he would never go down the mines again, he started in show business with his first booking at the Bradford Mechanics Institute in 1946. In 1947 he married his wife Kay and in 1948 like many other comedians from the forces of the day, he got his audition at London's Windmill Theatre in 1948. Of 40 in the audition, he passed, along with Morecambe and Wise, who were sacked after just one week. He did six shows a day as comedian between fan dancers. In 1948 he also made his first radio appearance in a show ''New to You''. He now had two dummies for his ventriloquist act, Fotheringay and Clarence but meanwhile developed his performing voice. He toured for two years with Laurel and Hardy towards the end of their careers. He said he could always go in and talk with them and they told him about Hollywood and their careers. In 1952, in Nottingham, Oliver Hardy who watched his show persuaded him to drop the ventriloquist routine and concentrate on becoming a comedian which he then did. His first act without them was at a stage act in Newcastle. He did, however, continue to include the vent act in his cabaret act through his career, using much of the material that he'd used during the war. This included an appearance on the Royal Variety Show. After appearing a number of times on ''Variety Bandbox'', Worth gained his own radio show ''Thirty Minutes Worth''. He took his scripts seriously and did not ad lib. He said he built a style of dithering in his shows without even realising it. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Harry Worth」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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