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Desert Island Discs
Presented by Roy Plomley
British actor who began his career in Will Hay films and stage shows, and was a WWII prisoner of war.
Eight records
The keepsakes
No book or luxury recorded for this episode.
In conversation
Presenter asks
Did you take it for granted that you'd follow the family tradition and go into the profession?
Not really. I I suppose if you go and see hundreds and hundreds of shows I did as a child … You vaguely think of yourself on that stage doing it. But when it came to the push and I left school, I wasn't going to be on the stage at all. I was going to be a film cameraman and start as a clapper boy … And it was all arranged and then uh a few weeks before I was to start the job, uh the company went bust before it started, so to speak. And I automatically I think there was hardly any conversation about it at all. I I went to Italia Conte Stage School and that was it.
Presenter asks
What was your first appearance [on stage]?
Well, my first paid job as a professional was in the crowd in a Will Hay film. I think the film is called Boys Will Be Boys. One of the knockover films. … And then I'd been at Italy Contrast a few months and I went into a show called Where the Rainbow Ends at the Hoban Empire and played the part of a frog, a dancing frog, and then in another part of the show I was a flying dragon.
Presenter asks
The recording
Timestamps play the recording from that turn
Clive Dunn
This download is the only extract the BBC has of this edition of Desert Island Discs. The presenter was Roy Plumley.
Presenter
You're in London, aren't you, Clive? Yes, I was born in Brixton.
Clive Dunn
Share business background.
Presenter
Hmm. Yeah.
Clive Dunn
Did you travel around with your your parents? They have a variety of
Presenter
People, weren't they? Yeah, well, they were everything, you know. My grandfather was a musical comedian.
Presenter
I didn't travel around with him. Uh but my mother used to do summer shows all she was in the full roles year after year in various seaside towns. And I used to I was lucky enough as a child to spend
Clive Dunn
Oh, you
Presenter
nearly every summer at some new seaside place, you know. Did you take it for granted that
Clive Dunn
You'd follow the family tradition and go into the profession.
Presenter
Not really. I I suppose if you go and see hundreds and hundreds of shows I did as a child.
Presenter
To um
Presenter
You vaguely think of yourself on that stage doing it. But when it came to the push and I left school, I wasn't going to be on the stage at all. I was going to be a film cameraman and start as a clapper boy.
Presenter
where the new company, sort of movie tone news type company. And it was all arranged and then uh a few weeks before I was to start the job, uh the company went bust before it started, so to speak.
Presenter
And I automatically I think there was hardly any conversation about it at all. I I went to Italia Conte Stage School and that was it. What was your first appearance?
Presenter
Well, my first paid job as a professional was in the crowd in a Will Hay film. I think the film is called Boys Will Be Boys. One of the knockover films. Right, yeah. And after that.
Clive Dunn
Then
Presenter
Uh
Presenter
Um well then I still had another couple of years to do at ordinary school, and then I'd been at Italy Contrast a few months and I went into a show called Where the Rainbow Ends at the Hoban Empire and played the part of a frog.
Presenter
a dancing frog, and then in another part of the show I was a flying dragon. Yes, that was a busy evening. Mm. And I went on tour with um Peter Pan with the Nona Wynne.
Presenter
She played Peter Penn and the An Eagle and then I was in one or two films.
Presenter
And then I left and I got a job as ASM at the Richmond Theatre, which was then a tryout theatre for West End Productions and I and played small parts and um stage managed there.
Clive Dunn
Yeah.
Presenter
I used to go to work on a bicycle hang on the back of a lorry skirt at nine o'clock in the morning and finish at eleven o'clock at night, ten and six a week.
Clive Dunn
Ten six
Presenter
It's a good experience. I know that your badding career was soon to be interrupted by the war. You joined the army, didn't you? Yes. We went out to Egypt.
Presenter
via South Africa and the fourth of ours. I was in a tank regiment. We painted all the tanks desert colour and then we quickly painted them to Greek colour, whatever colour Greece is. And then we went to Greece and uh I was there a few weeks and managed through influence to b get captured.
Presenter
And you spent
Clive Dunn
Uh
Presenter
Yeah.
Clive Dunn
Practically the rest of the war in a prisoner of war camp.
Presenter
Yes. Whereabouts? Mostly in a little town called Lietzen in Austria.
Presenter
Over a hairdresser's shop. Over a hairdresser's shop. Mm.
Presenter
But it seemed a nice place to stay.
Presenter
This city's a curious curious place for a prisoner of war camp.
Clive Dunn
See you, period.
Clive Dunn
Prisoner of war.
Presenter
It was two school rooms over a hairdresser's shop in this old
Presenter
old building right in the middle of the village. Yes. And they they used to take us out to work every morning and lock us in at night.
Presenter
How long were you in the bag altogether?
Presenter
Uh foot near enough four years.
Clive Dunn
Uh
Clive Dunn
When it was all over, when you were liberated, what effect did it have on you? What sort of
Presenter
Uh What rehabilitation did you need? Well, I don't know, it was very slow really. Unfortunately, I was my age group, I was still in the army. You see, I was stuck in the army for another eighteen months or so. And um I was in a camp up near Newcastle a long time, wandering about this big camp, picking up pieces of paper. And in some ways, that was worse than being a prisoner of war,'cause when I was in the prison, I knew I was there, you know, I was captured. But this was a terrific waste of time. So I imagine
Presenter
But that sort of delayed the rehabilitation a bit.
Presenter
But then I got a job in a pantomime, you know, and um started to live again.
Presenter
So you were out of uniform and into pantomime. Mm-hmm. What part did you play? I got a job as second tenor in a quartet called the Normandy Singers. I did an audition at the Palace Theatre with about sixty other singers. Now I'm not really a singer at all, but I bought this piece of music and it's summertime. It's a woman's song really. I soprano I suppose from Paul Guambest. Anyway, I went and learnt it.
Clive Dunn
Any of the
Presenter
And uh I got the job.
Presenter
And after I'd been in the pantomime a few weeks I asked the musical director why he'd chosen me as second tenor for this show with all those good singers. He said I like the song.
Presenter
So that was a good lesson. Good. What else did you do? Summer shows? Mm. Yes, did concert parties and um
Presenter
odd odd television shows and then worked at the Players' Theatre.
Clive Dunn
Yeah. He worked quite a lot at the play.
Presenter
Where's the other?
Clive Dunn
Yeah.
Presenter
On and off for about nine years.
Clive Dunn
And it was there I
Presenter
I believe that you met Her wife, Priscilla Moore. Uh
Clive Dunn
Yeah.
Presenter
Yeah.
Clive Dunn
Yeah.
Presenter
Yeah, yes, we can.
Clive Dunn
You started
Presenter
Doing what in television?
Presenter
I started to do children's television and I did some several children's television series, you know. That was my bread and butter really. And you were in the Tony Hancock show, I remember? Mm. You played an old man in that. I did indeed, yes. Um Eric Sykes wrote that, you know. There were a lot of old chaps in it, written into it. And one of them was Lady Chatterley's Lovers, a very, very ancient gardener.
Presenter
And um that was me, and Hattie Jakes was Lady Chatterley.
Clive Dunn
There.
Clive Dunn
Then another old man, old Johnson in Bootsy and Snudge.
Presenter
Okay.
Clive Dunn
Now you were at that time in your
Presenter
Uh
Clive Dunn
Thirties. What led you to specialize in this?
Clive Dunn
Elderly part.
Presenter
Uh Well, you know, in repertory and, um
Presenter
there's always character pods about and there's always someone's got to play the old man. It's usually the man that isn't particularly a romantic actor and looks a bit quaint probably. And so you get lumbered with these old men parts. So having been lumbered you try to do them
Presenter
Very, very well. And, um
Presenter
Apparently somebody thought I was doing it very well, and they thought we want an active old man. You see, in light entertainment, if you have a very old man, you can't knock him about and push him around,'cause it isn't funny somewhere along the line there's got to be a cheat.
Clive Dunn
Fanny
Presenter
And um people sense that
Presenter
This old chap can stand being pushed around a bit, you know, and he's battling and he's got the energy. So I suppose that's it's sort of filled a filled the bill in some way or other.
Clive Dunn
Another successful old gentleman recently, of course, was in Dad's Army. That must have been fun to play.
Presenter
Oh yes, great fun, yes. He's a proper old clown, you know, it's really good. I enjoyed that. Corporal Dells.
Presenter
And you've done a film version, of course.
Clive Dunn
Yeah.
Presenter
Yes, yes, which is um going around at the moment, I think, and doing quite well, I believe.
Clive Dunn
Yeah. And Corporal Jones was number one in the hit parade quite recently.
Presenter
Well
Presenter
Yeah, grandad was. He wasn't exactly Corporal Jones. I mean, he's He would have sung in a slightly different way. But I mean, yes, it's it's an old chap, an old chap.
Clive Dunn
And then
Presenter
And it's a jolly little song, I like it. Were your own two young daughters in the backing group of Grand Dad? No, they went and they're absolutely furious because of this, but they were at school when they did it.
Clive Dunn
Right.
Presenter
And now you're playing the palladium.
Presenter
Yes. Yeah.
Clive Dunn
Yes, having a nice time there. And what's for the future? What would you like?
Clive Dunn
To be offered tonight if the telephone rang.
Presenter
I'd like someone to say, um, that film story that you've you've got, Clive, uh we've decided to use it. Will you come to the office tomorrow morning? And we're going to give you a terrific lot of money and we'd like you not actually to have to write the whole thing, but to be advising them and sitting there now
Presenter
You know, and we're going to give you a lot of money for this marvellous idea. And of course, we want you to play a small character part.
Presenter
Yeah, we're going to the south of France for five months next year and we're going to pay you a terrific lot of money.
Clive Dunn
Yeah, so
Presenter
Yeah.
Clive Dunn
Third time you've mentioned a lot.
Presenter
Third time you've mentioned a lot of money. And we're going to give you top billing. Yes.
Clive Dunn
Money.
Presenter
Yeah.
What effect did [the war and being a prisoner of war] have on you? What sort of rehabilitation did you need?
Well, I don't know, it was very slow really. Unfortunately, I was my age group, I was still in the army. You see, I was stuck in the army for another eighteen months or so. And um I was in a camp up near Newcastle a long time, wandering about this big camp, picking up pieces of paper. And in some ways, that was worse than being a prisoner of war, 'cause when I was in the prison, I knew I was there, you know, I was captured. But this was a terrific waste of time. … But that sort of delayed the rehabilitation a bit. But then I got a job in a pantomime, you know, and um started to live again.
Presenter asks
What led you to specialise in these elderly parts?
Well, you know, in repertory and, um there's always character pods about and there's always someone's got to play the old man. It's usually the man that isn't particularly a romantic actor and looks a bit quaint probably. And so you get lumbered with these old men parts. So having been lumbered you try to do them very, very well. … Apparently somebody thought I was doing it very well, and they thought we want an active old man. You see, in light entertainment, if you have a very old man, you can't knock him about and push him around, 'cause it isn't funny somewhere along the line there's got to be a cheat. … This old chap can stand being pushed around a bit, you know, and he's battling and he's got the energy. So I suppose that's it's sort of filled a filled the bill in some way or other.
Presenter asks
What's for the future? What would you like to be offered tonight if the telephone rang?
I'd like someone to say, um, that film story that you've you've got, Clive, uh we've decided to use it. Will you come to the office tomorrow morning? And we're going to give you a terrific lot of money and we'd like you not actually to have to write the whole thing, but to be advising them and sitting there now … And, of course, we want you to play a small character part. … Yeah, we're going to the south of France for five months next year and we're going to pay you a terrific lot of money … And we're going to give you top billing.
“I used to go to work on a bicycle hang on the back of a lorry skirt at nine o'clock in the morning and finish at eleven o'clock at night, ten and six a week. It's a good experience.”
“We painted all the tanks desert colour and then we quickly painted them to Greek colour, whatever colour Greece is. And then we went to Greece and uh I was there a few weeks and managed through influence to b get captured.”
“It was two school rooms over a hairdresser's shop in this old old building right in the middle of the village. Yes. And they they used to take us out to work every morning and lock us in at night.”
“I got a job as second tenor in a quartet called the Normandy Singers. I did an audition at the Palace Theatre with about sixty other singers. Now I'm not really a singer at all, but I bought this piece of music and it's summertime. It's a woman's song really. I soprano I suppose from Paul Guambest. Anyway, I went and learnt it … And uh I got the job. … After I'd been in the pantomime a few weeks I asked the musical director why he'd chosen me as second tenor for this show with all those good singers. He said I like the song. So that was a good lesson.”