When a shy 17-year-old ex-jockey called George Hoy took to the Newcastle stage during 1921, no-one realised it was the start of the phenomenal career of the great George Formby. Earlier that same year George had been a spectator at the Newcastle Empire, watching for the first and only time in his life, his famous dad George senior in pantomime, only months before he died. This was the point when George decided on a career change and, adopting his mother's maiden name, Hoy, he took to the boards. By all accounts his act emulated his father's portrayal of a clownish comedian - but without the same panache. George junior had decided he would not adopt his father's stage name until his act was worthy of it and, by all accounts, he was so bad that all his bookings came out of respect for his father. Years earlier another little-known comedian had also adopted a trait of George Formby senior's act. Charlie Chaplin decided he liked the way he swung his cane as he walked and incorporated it into his own act. But the great George Formby, writing in the Radio Pictorial, in 1938, while appearing in pantomime - again on Tyneside - said: "I actually began my career in Newcastle, appearing in a revue. Eighteen months later I was in variety, singing comic songs and I felt I could now use my own name." In fact George really struggled at first, a pale imitation of his father, having long `rest' periods when there was no work. However, he then picked up a ukulele and met a girl called Beryl in 1923. Beryl Ingham was part of a clog dancing team, The Two Violets, with her sister, May. Beryl may not have been impressed with George's act but, after being in the business for 10 years, she realised there was a star in the making. They fell in love and got married, in 1924, and the ambitious Beryl took over the management of George's career. Beryl turned out to be a brilliant manager and cajoled and modernised Formby's act, she also became a tough negotiator and soon George was on the path to a glittering career involving stage, films and records. From being the shy, clownish, sentimental comic, he became a smiling cheeky-chappy with the slick image. His act was full of double entendre and catchy tunes. George's love of pantomime and practical jokes came through in his 1938 Newcastle interview. "I wouldn't miss pantomime for the world," said George. "It's something I look forward to all year round. It permits you to go crackers. You can wear comic clothes and give vent to your feelings. Pantomime is ageless." Talking about life behind scenes at the previous year's record-breaking pantomime in Birmingham, George said: "We formed an Invisible Club. It was crazy - but how we enjoyed it! Everything concerned with it was invisible. Every member of the cast received an invitation to join. This consisted with a letter with nothing on it. "The would-be member then had to see the secretary. He was ushered into a room and made to face the secretary's desk. Then he had to ask to join, and give particulars about himself. Quite straightforward - except that there was no secretary, and the member had to speak to an empty chair. "Having been duly accepted by the secretary, he would then receive a membership card and badge. They had nothing on them. "There were various rules to be followed. One of them concerned exercise. You simply had to stand still, doing nothing! "It sounds crazy in print. It was even crazier than that, really." Before the Second World War George was the top box office star in British entertainment, earning the phenomenal amount of £90,000 a year. At the outbreak of war he joined the Home Guard as a dispatch rider and launched into a serious of troop concerts. With Beryl at his side he went on tour, raising money for families caught up in the London Blitz, and touring battle fronts in North Africa, India, Burma, Malta, Gibraltar and Italy, staging concerts for the troops. He was even in Normandy only a week after D-Day. Unfortunately, this exhausting series of troop concerts severely affected his health and left him with a weak heart. After the war the return of a Labour government became a financial disaster for George. Income tax was raised to 19s 6d in the pound. In almost every interview in the 1940s he mentioned the Chancellor, Stafford Cripps. `Why should I work for tanners?' was his cry in 1949. Rather than pay tax he resorted to such requests as asking theatre managers to give him carpets and other household items for his lounge, rather than a fee. While driving home after a performance in the hit, Zip Goes a Million in 1952, he suffered a massive heart attack. He was back on stage 18 months later but his health had obviously suffered. Beryl died on Christmas Day, 1960 and George died in March, 1961, aged 56 and, at his own request, was buried beside his father, in Warrington. Newcastle had seen the end of one George Formby's career and the launching of new and glittering one. NDid you see George Formby on stage in Newcastle? If so, write to Ray Marshall, Remember When, Evening Chronicle, Groat Market, Newcastle, NE1 1ED. | 
Tyne Bridge Publishing
