Leslie Sarony
Encyclopedia
Leslie Sarony was a British
entertainer, singer and songwriter. Sarony was born in Surbiton
, Surrey
and died in London
.
He began his stage career aged 14 with the group Park Eton's Boys. In 1913 he appeared in the revue
Hello Tango.
In the Great War, Sarony served in the London Scottish regiment in France
and Salonika. His stage credits after the war include revues, pantomimes and musicals, including the London productions of Show Boat
and Rio Rita
.
Sarony became well known in the 1920s and 1930s as a variety artist and radio performer. In 1928 he made a short film made in the Phonofilm
sound-on-film system, Hot Water and Vegetabuel. In this film, he sang, interspersed with his comic patter
, the two eponymous songs – the first as a typical Cockney
geezer
outside a pub, the second (still outside the pub) as a less typical vegetable rights campaigner ("Don't be cruel to a vegetabuel").
He went on to make a number of recordings of novelty songs, such as He Played his Ukulele as the Ship Went Down, including several with Jack Hylton
and his Orchestra. He teamed up with Leslie Holmes in 1935 under the name The Two Leslies. The partnership lasted until 1946. Their recorded output included such gems as "I'm a Little Prairie Flower".
His song "Jollity Farm" was covered by Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
.
Sarony continued to perform into his eighties, moving on to television and films. In the 1970s he appeared in hit programmes including the Harry Worth
Show, Crossroads, Z-Cars
, The Good Old Days
, and The Liberace
Show, as well as the famous sitcom Nearest and Dearest
. He took over from Bert Palmer as the senile Uncle Stavely ("I heard that! Pardon?") in the fourth and final series of I Didn't Know You Cared
in 1979.
In 1983 Sarony appeared as one of a number of elderly insurance clerks in the The Crimson Permanent Assurance
segment of Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.
His son Peter Sarony is a successful gunsmith with a business in London.
"Bunkey-doodle-I-doh" was the B side of "Jollity Farm" by the International Novelty Orchestra on Zonophone 5513 (pressing no. 30-2138). "Jollity Farm" was pressing no. 30-2139.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
entertainer, singer and songwriter. Sarony was born in Surbiton
Surbiton
Surbiton, a suburban area of London in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, is situated next to the River Thames, with a mixture of Art-Deco courts, more recent residential blocks and grand, spacious 19th century townhouses blending into a sea of semi-detached 20th century housing estates...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
and died in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
He began his stage career aged 14 with the group Park Eton's Boys. In 1913 he appeared in the revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
Hello Tango.
In the Great War, Sarony served in the London Scottish regiment in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Salonika. His stage credits after the war include revues, pantomimes and musicals, including the London productions of Show Boat
Show Boat
Show Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was originally produced in New York in 1927 and in London in 1928, and was based on the 1926 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. The plot chronicles the lives of those living and working...
and Rio Rita
Rio Rita (musical)
Rio Rita is a 1927 stage musical with a book by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson , music by Harry Tierney, lyrics by Joseph McCarthy, and produced by Florenz Ziegfeld...
.
Sarony became well known in the 1920s and 1930s as a variety artist and radio performer. In 1928 he made a short film made in the Phonofilm
Phonofilm
In 1919, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patent on a sound-on-film process, DeForest Phonofilm, which recorded sound directly onto film as parallel lines. These parallel lines photographically recorded electrical waveforms from a microphone, which were translated back...
sound-on-film system, Hot Water and Vegetabuel. In this film, he sang, interspersed with his comic patter
Patter
Patter is a prepared and practiced speech, that is designed to produce a desired response from its audience. Examples of occupations with a patter might include the: auctioneer, salesperson, dance caller, or comedian....
, the two eponymous songs – the first as a typical Cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
geezer
Geezer
Geezer is a term for a man. It can carry either the connotation of age and eccentricity or, in the UK, that of self-education such as craftiness or stylishness.Geezer may also refer to:* Geezer Butler, the founding bassist for Black Sabbath...
outside a pub, the second (still outside the pub) as a less typical vegetable rights campaigner ("Don't be cruel to a vegetabuel").
He went on to make a number of recordings of novelty songs, such as He Played his Ukulele as the Ship Went Down, including several with Jack Hylton
Jack Hylton
Jack Hylton was a British band leader and impresario.He was born John Greenhalgh Hilton in the Great Lever area of Bolton, Lancashire, the son of George Hilton, a cotton yarn twister. His father was an amateur singer at the local Labour Club and Jack learned piano to accompany him on the stage...
and his Orchestra. He teamed up with Leslie Holmes in 1935 under the name The Two Leslies. The partnership lasted until 1946. Their recorded output included such gems as "I'm a Little Prairie Flower".
His song "Jollity Farm" was covered by Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band are a band created by a group of British art-school denizens of the 1960s...
.
Sarony continued to perform into his eighties, moving on to television and films. In the 1970s he appeared in hit programmes including the Harry Worth
Harry Worth
Harry Worth was an English comedy actor and comedian...
Show, Crossroads, Z-Cars
Z-Cars
Z-Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby in the outskirts of Liverpool in Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.-Origins:The series was developed by...
, The Good Old Days
The Good Old Days
The Good Old Days is a popular BBC television light entertainment programme which ran from 1953 to 1983.It was performed at the Leeds City Varieties and recreated an authentic atmosphere of the Victorian–Edwardian music hall with songs and sketches of the era performed by present-day...
, and The Liberace
Liberace
Wladziu Valentino Liberace , best known simply as Liberace, was a famous American pianist and vocalist.In a career that spanned four decades of concerts, recordings, motion pictures, television and endorsements, Liberace became world-renowned...
Show, as well as the famous sitcom Nearest and Dearest
Nearest and Dearest
Nearest and Dearest is a British television sitcom that ran from 1968 to 1973. A total of 46 episodes were made, 18 in monochrome and 28 in colour...
. He took over from Bert Palmer as the senile Uncle Stavely ("I heard that! Pardon?") in the fourth and final series of I Didn't Know You Cared
I Didn't Know You Cared
I Didn't Know You Cared is a British television comedy set in a working class household in South Yorkshire in the 1970s, written by Peter Tinniswood and loosely based upon his books A Touch Of Daniel, I Didn't Know You Cared and Except You're A Bird...
in 1979.
In 1983 Sarony appeared as one of a number of elderly insurance clerks in the The Crimson Permanent Assurance
The Crimson Permanent Assurance
The Crimson Permanent Assurance is a short film that plays as the beginning of the feature-length motion picture Monty Python's The Meaning of Life...
segment of Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.
His son Peter Sarony is a successful gunsmith with a business in London.
Songs
- "I Lift Up My Finger (and I Say "Tweet Tweet")" (1929)(Featured in Jeeves and WoosterJeeves and Wooster-External links:*—An episode guide to the series, including information about which episodes were adapted from which Wodehouse stories.*—Episode guides, screenshots and quotes from the four series....
) - "Jollity Farm" (1929)
- "Rhymes' (1931)
- "Ain't It Grand to be Bloomin' Well Dead" (1932)
- "Wheezy Anna" (1933)
- We're Going to Hang out the Washing on the Siegfried LineWe're Going to Hang out the Washing on the Siegfried Line"We're Going to Hang out the Washing on the Siegfried Line" is a popular song written by Ulster songwriter Jimmy Kennedy, whilst he was a Captain in the British Expeditionary Force during the early stages of the Second World War. The Siegfried Line was a chain of fortifications along Germany's...
- "Flirtation Waltz" (1953)
- Forty-Seven Ginger-Headed Sailors (1929, featured in Jeeves and WoosterJeeves and Wooster-External links:*—An episode guide to the series, including information about which episodes were adapted from which Wodehouse stories.*—Episode guides, screenshots and quotes from the four series....
)
"Bunkey-doodle-I-doh" was the B side of "Jollity Farm" by the International Novelty Orchestra on Zonophone 5513 (pressing no. 30-2138). "Jollity Farm" was pressing no. 30-2139.
External links
- Hot Water and Vegetabuel at screenonlineScreenonlineScreenonline is a Web site devoted to the history of British film and television, and to social history as revealed by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute and funded by a £1.2 million grant from the National Lottery New Opportunities Fund.Reviews...