Ted Ray (born Charles Olden; 21 November 1905 – 8 November 1977) was an English comedian of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, on radio and television. His BBC radio show Ray's a Laugh ran for 12 years.
Biography
Ray was born Charles Olden[2] in Wigan, Lancashire, England, to comic singer and mimic Charles Olden (who used the stage-name Charlie Alden) and his wife Margaret Ellen (née Kenyon).[1] His parents moved to Liverpool within days of his birth, and Liverpudlians regard him as a local. He was educated at Anfield council school and Liverpool Collegiate School, and as a youth wished to become a footballer.[1] As a comedian of the 1940s and 1950s, he demonstrated his ad-libbing skills in his weekly radio show Ray's A Laugh from 1949 until 1961.[3]
A music hall comedian, Ray usually played violin badly as part of his act, first as Hugh Neek, then "Nedlo the Gypsy Violinist".[2] He also played comedy roles in several British films—notably as the headmaster in Carry On Teacher.[4]
He married showgirl Dorothy Sybil (b. 1909), daughter of mechanical engineer George Henry Stevens;[1] the couple had two sons: Robin Ray, a well-known television personality in the 1960s and 1970s, who initiated Call My Bluff and specialist classical music shows, and Andrew Ray, a child star of the 1950s who had a long career on stage, film and television.[12]
In 1975, returning home from a day of golfing and alcohol, two of his passions, Ray was involved in a serious motor vehicle accident. The injuries sustained were physically debilitating and left him dependent on crutches; he was convicted of dangerous driving under the influence of alcohol.[1][13]
On 16 June 1977, he recorded a half-hour interview talking about his life, which was broadcast on 25 July 1977. This was repeated on Radio 4 Extra's It's a Funny Business series on 3 November 2013.
The Ted Ray Show was a BBC TV production. The first series accented variety, with international guests; the second and third series had greater emphasis on stand-up comedy; the fourth featured domestic routines (with Kitty Bluett as Ted Ray's wife and Kenneth Connor as "that interfering brother-in-law"); the fifth and six—with new writers—concentrated on sketch comedy and were branded 'New Edition' and '1959 Edition' to underline the difference.[15]
^ abcdefMidwinter, Eric (6 January 2011). "Ray, Ted [real name Charles Olden] (1905–1977), comedian". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/64577.
^ abJoseph F. Clarke (1977). Pseudonyms. BCA. p. 137.
^Stevens, Christopher (2010). Born Brilliant: The Life of Kenneth Williams. John Murray. p. 371. ISBN1-84854-195-3.