Elton Hayes
Encyclopedia
Elton Hayes was a British actor and guitar
ist.
Hayes was born in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire
, England
. Both his parents were actors and he made his first stage appearance aged nine. He too wanted to be an actor, but he also learned the violin
and the ukelele. In his teens, he won a scholarship to the Fay Compton School of Dramatic Arts
. There he received an extensive theatrical education. His first job was as assistant stage manager with the Old Stagers' Company at the Canterbury Theatre and he sang in his spare time at local social clubs.
Hayes took up the guitar shortly before World War II
when he accepted one as security from a friend who had borrowed 30 shillings. Guitars would cause his later fame, accompanying him while he sang old English folk songs and ballads. Hayes volunteered for military service in 1939. He was commissioned in the Royal West Kent Regiment and was posted to India. After the Japanese surrender, he hitch-hiked to Bombay where he was appointed Officer Commanding ENSA
in Rawalpindi
.
Despite contracting rheumatic fever, which caused his fingers to stiffen, he continued playing. A few days after returning to Britain, he visited the BBC
, still in uniform, to watch a broadcast of Children's Hour
and was immediately taken on to write and perform a slot in the programme based on Edward Lear
's Nonsense Rhymes. Soon after he was given a regular slot on the BBC Radio
show "In Town Tonight
" in 1946. From then on he performed on radio and television frequently in Britain. On an eight week tour of North America, he made 113 appearances.
One of his best-loved songs was his recording of the Victor Hely-Hutchinson
setting of Edward Lear
's The Owl and the Pussycat
. This recording was one of six song recordings he made of Edward Lear
's nonsense verse, the others being the Dudley Glass settings of The Duck and the Kangaroo, The Table and the Chair, The Broom, the Shovel, the Poker and the Tongs, The Jumblies and The Quangle-Wangle's Hat. It was regularly requested on the BBC radio programme Children's Favourites
, as was The Whistling Gypsy
. Later he had his own television shows called:
As an actor he appeared in
He was highly nervous before live performances and so retired from show business in the 1960s. He bought a small thatched cottage on the Essex
-Suffolk
border and, after studying at a local agricultural college, became a farmer, breeding pedigree livestock. He took up carriage driving and became a member of the British Driving Society.
After suffering a stroke in 1995, Hayes had to give up his farm and moved to live with friends, who cared for him until his death. He married in 1942, Betty Inman, who died in 1982.
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist.
Hayes was born in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Both his parents were actors and he made his first stage appearance aged nine. He too wanted to be an actor, but he also learned the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and the ukelele. In his teens, he won a scholarship to the Fay Compton School of Dramatic Arts
Fay Compton
Fay Compton was an English actress from a notable acting lineage; her father was actor/manager Edward Compton; her mother, Virginia Bateman, was a distinguished member of the profession, as were her sister, the actress Viola Compton, and her uncles and aunts. Her grandfather was the 19th-century...
. There he received an extensive theatrical education. His first job was as assistant stage manager with the Old Stagers' Company at the Canterbury Theatre and he sang in his spare time at local social clubs.
Hayes took up the guitar shortly before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
when he accepted one as security from a friend who had borrowed 30 shillings. Guitars would cause his later fame, accompanying him while he sang old English folk songs and ballads. Hayes volunteered for military service in 1939. He was commissioned in the Royal West Kent Regiment and was posted to India. After the Japanese surrender, he hitch-hiked to Bombay where he was appointed Officer Commanding ENSA
Entertainments National Service Association
The Entertainments National Service Association or ENSA was an organisation set up in 1939 by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during World War II. ENSA operated as part of the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes...
in Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
.
Despite contracting rheumatic fever, which caused his fingers to stiffen, he continued playing. A few days after returning to Britain, he visited the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, still in uniform, to watch a broadcast of Children's Hour
Children's Hour
Children's Hour—at first: "The Children's Hour", from a verse by Longfellow—was the name of the BBC's principal recreational service for children during the period when radio dominated broadcasting....
and was immediately taken on to write and perform a slot in the programme based on Edward Lear
Edward Lear
Edward Lear was an English artist, illustrator, author, and poet, renowned today primarily for his literary nonsense, in poetry and prose, and especially his limericks, a form that he popularised.-Biography:...
's Nonsense Rhymes. Soon after he was given a regular slot on the BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
show "In Town Tonight
In Town Tonight
In Town Tonight was a BBC radio programme broadcast on Saturday evening from 1933 to 1960 . It was an early example of the chat show, originally presented by Eric Maschwitz.Its theme music was the Knightsbridge March by Eric Coates...
" in 1946. From then on he performed on radio and television frequently in Britain. On an eight week tour of North America, he made 113 appearances.
One of his best-loved songs was his recording of the Victor Hely-Hutchinson
Victor Hely-Hutchinson
Christian Victor Hely-Hutchinson was a British composer, born in Cape Town, Cape Colony ....
setting of Edward Lear
Edward Lear
Edward Lear was an English artist, illustrator, author, and poet, renowned today primarily for his literary nonsense, in poetry and prose, and especially his limericks, a form that he popularised.-Biography:...
's The Owl and the Pussycat
The Owl and the Pussycat
"The Owl and the Pussycat" is a nonsense poem by Edward Lear, first published in 1871.- Background :Lear wrote the poem for a three-year-old girl, Janet Symonds, the daughter of Lear's friend poet John Addington Symonds and his wife Catherine Symonds...
. This recording was one of six song recordings he made of Edward Lear
Edward Lear
Edward Lear was an English artist, illustrator, author, and poet, renowned today primarily for his literary nonsense, in poetry and prose, and especially his limericks, a form that he popularised.-Biography:...
's nonsense verse, the others being the Dudley Glass settings of The Duck and the Kangaroo, The Table and the Chair, The Broom, the Shovel, the Poker and the Tongs, The Jumblies and The Quangle-Wangle's Hat. It was regularly requested on the BBC radio programme Children's Favourites
Children's Favourites
Children's Favourites was a BBC Radio programme from 1954 broadcast on the Light Programme on Saturday mornings from 9:00. A precursor had been called Children's Choice after the style of Housewives' Choice....
, as was The Whistling Gypsy
The Whistling Gypsy
The Whistling Gypsy, sometimes known simply as The Gypsy Rover, is a well-known ballad composed and copyrighted by Dublin songwriter Leo Maguire about 1950....
. Later he had his own television shows called:
- 'Elton Hayes - He Sings to a Small Guitar'. (A slight misquote from "The owl looked up to the stars above and sang to a small guitar").
- 'Close Your Eyes'
- 'Tinker's Tales'
As an actor he appeared in
- 'The Beaux Stratagem' Lyric TheatreLyric Theatre (London)The Lyric Theatre is a West End theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster.Designed by architect C. J. Phipps, it was built by producer Henry Leslie with profits from the Alfred Cellier and B. C. Stephenson hit, Dorothy, which he transferred from the Prince of Wales Theatre to open...
for 18 months from 1949 - 'The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie MenThe Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie MenThe Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men is a 1952 live action Disney version of the Robin Hood story in Technicolor which was filmed in Buckinghamshire, England...
' 1952 Walt Disney film as Alan-a-DaleAlan-a-DaleAlan-a-Dale is a figure in the Robin Hood legend...
, for which he composed some of the music - 'The Black Knight' 1954, a variation on the King Arthur story produced by Irving Allen and Albert 'Cubby' Broccoli and starring Alan Ladd. He can be seen very briefly at the start of the film as a minstrel singing a few bars of The Whistling Gypsy/The Gypsy Rover.
He was highly nervous before live performances and so retired from show business in the 1960s. He bought a small thatched cottage on the 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...
-Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
border and, after studying at a local agricultural college, became a farmer, breeding pedigree livestock. He took up carriage driving and became a member of the British Driving Society.
After suffering a stroke in 1995, Hayes had to give up his farm and moved to live with friends, who cared for him until his death. He married in 1942, Betty Inman, who died in 1982.