Cardew Robinson
Encyclopedia
Douglas John Cardew Robinson (born 14 August 1917 in Goodmayes
, Essex
– 28 December 1992) was a British comic, whose craft was rooted in the music hall
and Gang Show
s.
, featuring Billy Bunter
of Greyfriars and the weekly magazine The Gem with the adventures of Ralph Reckness Cardew of St. Jim's. On leaving school, he took a job with a local newspaper, but it folded and he then joined Joe Boganny's touring Crazy College Boys, which opened at The Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith
, London. However, Robinson knew that he required a more traditional training and went into repertory theatre, where one of his roles was as the monster in an adaptation of Frankenstein. It was while serving in the RAF during the Second World War that he created his 'Cardew the Cad of the School' character. Promoted to flight-sergeant and put in charge of the show, Robinson toured France, Belgium and Holland. After the war, he appeared with the commercial production of the Gang Show in variety theatres. He began in variety
and also played the character on radio
and stage and later in a film, Fun at St Fanny’s. 'Cardew the Cad' became a cartoon strip in Film Fun
, a children’s comic of the period.
. He successfully made the transition from Variety and radio into TV and films. In the latter, he nearly always played small but memorable cameo
parts, thus an early theatrical review mentioned “…Mr Cardew Robinson, who seems to specialise in grotesques…”. One of his last appearances on television, in an episode of Last of the Summer Wine
, in which he played a hen-pecked husband, led astray by Compo and Clegg, showed him to be a fine exponent of physical comedy into his seventies. Also appeared in an episode of Hancock's Half Hour. When Hancock was holding a reunion of his old army friends, Cardew Robinson was the only one who appeared not to have become staid and boring - but when he took off his coat it was seen that he had become a vicar.
In the production of Camelot
in London in 1964, Robinson played King Pellenore. The show apparently ran for 650 performances, although it was not well received by the critics. Also, in 1964, Robinson's TV work included the series 'Fire Crackers', featuring the day-to-day challenges and mishaps of the Cropper's End Fire Brigade. Cardew Robinson was best known in Britain for appearances on TV and in radio shows like You’ve Got to be Joking which he created, as well as Does the Team Think…
. He only acted in one Carry On film, Carry On Up the Khyber
; he played a fakir
drawing the memorable line from Bernard Bresslaw
, whose character, Bungdit Din, tells him to “Fakir…off!”.
Goodmayes
Goodmayes is a district of Ilford in north-east London, England. It is a suburban development in the London Borough of Redbridge and forms part of the Ilford post town, situated approximately two miles to the east of Ilford town centre....
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
– 28 December 1992) was a British comic, whose craft was rooted in the music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
and Gang Show
Gang Show
A Gang Show is a theatrical performance with a cast of youth members of Scouts and sometimes Guides too, by invitation. Adult leaders and parents help out behind the scenes. The aim of the shows is to give young people in Scouting and Guiding the opportunity to develop performance skills and...
s.
Early life and career
Robinson was educated at Harrow County School for Boys. He enjoyed acting in school productions and loved the books of Frank RichardsCharles Hamilton (writer)
Charles Harold St. John Hamilton , was an English writer, specializing in writing long-running series of stories for weekly magazines about recurrent casts of characters, his most frequent and famous genre being boys' public school stories, though he also dealt with other genres...
, featuring Billy Bunter
Billy Bunter
William George Bunter , is a fictional character created by Charles Hamilton using the pen name Frank Richards...
of Greyfriars and the weekly magazine The Gem with the adventures of Ralph Reckness Cardew of St. Jim's. On leaving school, he took a job with a local newspaper, but it folded and he then joined Joe Boganny's touring Crazy College Boys, which opened at The Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith
Lyric Hammersmith
The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on King Street, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, which takes pride in its original, "groundbreaking" productions....
, London. However, Robinson knew that he required a more traditional training and went into repertory theatre, where one of his roles was as the monster in an adaptation of Frankenstein. It was while serving in the RAF during the Second World War that he created his 'Cardew the Cad of the School' character. Promoted to flight-sergeant and put in charge of the show, Robinson toured France, Belgium and Holland. After the war, he appeared with the commercial production of the Gang Show in variety theatres. He began in variety
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
and also played the character on radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and stage and later in a film, Fun at St Fanny’s. 'Cardew the Cad' became a cartoon strip in Film Fun
Film Fun
Film Fun was a British comic book that ran from 17 January 1920 to 15 September 1962, when it merged with Buster, a total of 2225 issues. There were also annuals in the forties and fifties. It had been renamed Film Fun and Thrills in 1959...
, a children’s comic of the period.
Television, films and theatre
As a young man he had appeared in films as early as 1938, starting in a short in the series Ghost Tales Retold and following it ten years later with A Piece of Cake starring Cyril FletcherCyril Fletcher
Cyril Fletcher was an English comedian; his catchphrase was 'Pin back your lugholes'. He was most famous for his Odd Odes, which was a section of the television show That's Life!. Fletcher had first begun performing the Odd Odes in 1937, long before they first appeared on television...
. He successfully made the transition from Variety and radio into TV and films. In the latter, he nearly always played small but memorable cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
parts, thus an early theatrical review mentioned “…Mr Cardew Robinson, who seems to specialise in grotesques…”. One of his last appearances on television, in an episode of Last of the Summer Wine
Last of the Summer Wine
Last of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom written by Roy Clarke that was broadcast on BBC One. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973 and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. From 1983 to 2010, Alan J. W. Bell produced and...
, in which he played a hen-pecked husband, led astray by Compo and Clegg, showed him to be a fine exponent of physical comedy into his seventies. Also appeared in an episode of Hancock's Half Hour. When Hancock was holding a reunion of his old army friends, Cardew Robinson was the only one who appeared not to have become staid and boring - but when he took off his coat it was seen that he had become a vicar.
In the production of Camelot
Camelot (musical)
Camelot is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe . It is based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T. H. White tetralogy novel The Once and Future King....
in London in 1964, Robinson played King Pellenore. The show apparently ran for 650 performances, although it was not well received by the critics. Also, in 1964, Robinson's TV work included the series 'Fire Crackers', featuring the day-to-day challenges and mishaps of the Cropper's End Fire Brigade. Cardew Robinson was best known in Britain for appearances on TV and in radio shows like You’ve Got to be Joking which he created, as well as Does the Team Think…
Does the Team Think…
Does The Team Think? is a radio panel game broadcast originally on the BBC Light Programme from 1957 to 1976, and revived, again on Radio 2, with a new cast in 2007.-Format:...
. He only acted in one Carry On film, Carry On Up the Khyber
Carry On up the Khyber
Carry On Up the Khyber is the sixteenth Carry On film, released in 1968. It stars Carry On regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Bernard Bresslaw and Peter Butterworth. Roy Castle makes his only Carry On appearance in the "romantic male lead" part usually played by Jim...
; he played a fakir
Fakir
The fakir or faqir ; ) Derived from faqr is a Muslim Sufi ascetic in Middle East and South Asia. The Faqirs were wandering Dervishes teaching Islam and living on alms....
drawing the memorable line from Bernard Bresslaw
Bernard Bresslaw
Bernard Bresslaw was an English actor. He is best remembered for his comedy work, especially as a member of the Carry On team.-Biography:...
, whose character, Bungdit Din, tells him to “Fakir…off!”.
Obituary
Robinson died at the age of 75. His obituary in The Times, described him as “a quiet studious man, whose private face belied his public appearance”. A letter to the paper from a later headmaster of his old school, talked about his “generous spirit”. He had divorced before he died, but had two daughters, Leanne and Lindy.Selected filmography
- Fun at St. Fanny's (1956)
- Happy is the BrideHappy is the BrideHappy is the Bride is a 1958 British comedy film written and directed by Roy Boulting and starring Ian Carmichael, Janette Scott, Cecil Parker, Terry-Thomas and Joyce Grenfell...
(1958) - The Navy LarkThe Navy Lark (film)The Navy Lark is a 1959 British comedy film adaptation of The Navy Lark radio series broadcast on the BBC Light Programme. It featured Cecil Parker, Ronald Shiner and Leslie Phillips, Gordon Jackson and Hattie Jacques...
(1959) - I'm All Right JackI'm All Right JackI'm All Right Jack is a 1959 British comedy film directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting from a script by Frank Harvey, John Boulting and Alan Hackney, based on the novel Private Life by Hackney...
(1959) - Let's Get Married (1960)
- Light Up the Sky!Light Up the Sky! (film)Light Up the Sky! is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Ian Carmichael, Tommy Steele, Benny Hill and Dick Emery- Plot :...
(1960) - A French MistressA French MistressA French Mistress is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Roy Boulting and starring Cecil Parker, James Robertson Justice, Ian Bannen, Raymond Huntley, Irene Handl and Thorley Walters.-External links:* at Yahoo Canada movies...
(1960) - Three on a SpreeThree on a SpreeThree on a Spree is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Sidney J. Furie.-Cast:* Jack Watling as Michael Brewster* Carole Lesley as Susan* Renee Houston as Mrs. Gray* John Slater as Sid Johnson* Colin Gordon as Mitchell* John Salew as Mr...
(1961) - Hair of the DogHair of the Dog (film)Hair of the Dog is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Terry Bishop and starring Reginald Beckwith, Dorinda Stevens and John Le Mesurier.-Cast:* Reginald Beckwith as Fred Tickle* Dorinda Stevens as Ann Tickle* John Le Mesurier as Sir Mortimer Gallant...
(1962) - Waltz of the ToreadorsWaltz of the Toreadors (film)Waltz of the Toreadors is a 1962 film directed by John Guillermin. It stars Peter Sellers and Dany Robin. It was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 1963.-Cast:*Peter Sellers as General Leo Fitzjohn*Dany Robin as Ghislaine...
(1962) - Crooks AnonymousCrooks AnonymousCrooks Anonymous is a British comedy film from 1962. Directed by Ken Annakin, it starred Leslie Phillips and Stanley Baxter and was notable for one of the earliest appearances of Julie Christie.-Plot:...
(1962) - The Wrong Arm of the LawThe Wrong Arm of the LawThe Wrong Arm of the Law is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Cliff Owen and starring Peter Sellers, Bernard Cribbins, Lionel Jeffries, John Le Mesurier and Bill Kerr...
(1963) - Heavens Above!Heavens Above!Heavens Above! is a 1963 British satirical comedy film starring Peter Sellers, directed by John and Roy Boulting, who also co-wrote along with Frank Harvey, from an idea by Malcolm Muggeridge...
(1963) - Ladies Who DoLadies Who DoLadies Who Do 1963 British comedy film starring Peggy Mount, Robert Morley and Harry H. Corbett.-Cast:*Peggy Mount as Mrs. Cragg*Robert Morley as Colonel Whitforth*Harry H. Corbett as James Ryder*Miriam Karlin as Mrs. Higgins...
(1963) - A Stitch in TimeA Stitch in Time (film)A Stitch in Time is a 1963 Norman Wisdom comedy film set in a children's hospital. It was directed by Robert Asher and edited by Gerry Hambling. The cast includes Edward Chapman, Jeanette Sterke, Jerry Desmonde, Jill Melford, Glyn Houston, Vera Day, Patsy Rowlands, Peter Jones, Ernest Clark,...
(1963) - Father Came Too!Father Came Too!Father Came Too! is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Peter Graham Scott. It is a sequel to The Fast Lady.-Plot:Dexter and Juliet Munro are a married couple who move to a run-down cottage in hopes of escaping from Juliet's overbearing father. However, the couple are soon confronted by their...
(1963) - Hide and Seek (1964)
- Alfie (1966)
- Three Bites of the Apple (1967)
- Carry On Up the KhyberCarry On up the KhyberCarry On Up the Khyber is the sixteenth Carry On film, released in 1968. It stars Carry On regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Bernard Bresslaw and Peter Butterworth. Roy Castle makes his only Carry On appearance in the "romantic male lead" part usually played by Jim...
(1968) - The Nine Ages of NakednessThe Nine Ages of NakednessThe Nine Ages of Nakedness is a 1969 British sex film, directed by Harrison Marks, and also starring Marks as himself and several of his ancestors...
(1969) - Where's Jack?Where's Jack?Where's Jack? is a 1969 film based around the exploits of notorious 18th century criminal Jack Sheppard and London "thieftaker" Jonathan Wild....
(1969) - The Magnificent Seven Deadly SinsThe Magnificent Seven Deadly SinsThe Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins is a 1971 British comedy film directed and produced by Graham Stark. Its title is a conflation of The Magnificent Seven and the seven deadly sins. It comprises a sequence of seven sketches, each representing a sin and written by an array of British comedy-writing...
(1971) - What's Up Nurse! (1977)
- Come Play With Me (1977)
- Shirley ValentineShirley Valentine (film)Shirley Valentine is a 1989 British/American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert. The screenplay by Willy Russell is based on his 1986 one-character play of the same title.-Plot:...
(1989)