Ronnie Ronalde
Encyclopedia
Ronnie Ronalde is a British
music hall
singer and siffleur
. Ronalde is famous for his voice, whistling, yodelling, imitations of bird song
and stage personality. His crystal clear yodelling gained him acceptance with connoisseurs of Alpine and Western music around the world.
home, and found a talent for singing, whistling and bird impressions from early childhood. In these formative years, he entertained informally
for pocket money
, or with church and school choirs, developing his talents for stage performance.
During a time in which he was training for accountancy
, Ronalde was invited to become one of Arturo Steffani's Silver Songsters, aged 15. This 21-piece boys’ choir was known for its complex vocal and visual arrangements of popular songs, with each boy usually going into other trades when older. Steffani was so taken with Ronalde’s voice and whistling (he referred to him as “the Pink of Perfection”), that he disbanded the Silver Songsters (in 1947) and became his personal manager, mentor
and chaperone. They later toured all over the world together.
After wartime service, Steffani encouraged Ronalde to study singing in London
and yodelling in Switzerland
, and for nearly a decade he began working his way up the bill, not only as a solo Variety performer
, but also under his new name: Ronnie Ronalde.
(these were only to be whistling performances), but his first major label contract came from EMI
. Ronalde would also join Pye
, Major Minor
and Columbia
records, becoming a million selling artiste.
“If I Were a Blackbird” (1950) is among Ronalde’s most famous songs from this period. This rendering of Delia Murphy
’s Irish folk song had him in the British top 20 for 6 months. She would later jovially express her thanks for boosting her income. Other songs include “Tritsch Tratsch Polka
” (a showcase of Ronalde’s high speed delivery whistling
) and “Bells Across the Meadow” (by Albert Ketèlbey
). His best known recording is “In a Monastery Garden
” (by Albert Ketèlbey
). Ronnie has played it as his show finale for decades, and over a million copies of it have been sold in their varying formats.
Across this decade Ronalde was a headliner, and broke box office
records all over the world: he was a big name in the UK, US, Australasia
, Scandinavia
, Africa
, South America
and Europe
. Such was his success in the US in the 1950s, he was seen as serious competition to Frank Sinatra
and Bing Crosby
, and others such as Richard Tauber
and Josef Locke
.
Ronalde had his own BBC Radio Show from 1949 called The Voice of Variety. During this series, the volume of Ronalde’s fan mail
caused a problem for the BBC. The Voice of Variety News fan publication had a print of 55,000 copies twice yearly, and Fan Clubs
during this era existed all across the UK. Thames TV also presented a weekly show titled Meet Ronnie Ronalde.
In 1949 Ronalde filled Radio City Music Hall
in New York City
(with capacity of over six thousand) every night for ten weeks. He was at that time the most frequent UK artiste to ever perform there (over a thousand times). During the same period he filled a 25,000 capacity venue in Toronto
Canada
for a fortnight. In February 1956, the British music magazine, NME
, reported that Billy Cotton
and Ronalde had released versions of "Happy Trails", the theme music
to ATV
's weekly Roy Rogers
series.
Ronalde also performed for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at the Royal Command Performance
at the London Coliseum. A Daily Express
reporter commented on the Prince’s attempts to demonstrate whistling to the Queen after this performance. He appeared before Prince Philip again.
in the 1960s, being attracted to it after a performance there. He purchased a hotel (St Martin’s, which would come to be known as Ronnie Ronalde’s Hotel), and met Austrian wife Rosemarie who would become his business manager after Steffani’s death. After raising three children, both he and Rosemarie moved to the Isle of Man
in the late 1980s, then to New Zealand
in the 1990s (to Whistler’s Lodge). He now lives in Gold Coast, Queensland
, Australia
.
Now in his 80's, he still broadcasts and does concerts. In New Zealand
in 1990, Ronalde filled the 2500 capacity Aotea Theatre
, and was asked to stay for another concert. He was also asked to return for repeat performances in Auckland’s
Town Hall and the Town Hall in Christchurch
.
Ronalde was awarded America’s North Carolina Louisburg Hall of Fame Award in 1995, their highest acclaim, given only to artists of outstanding international distinction.
His recording “Bird Song at Eventide” was featured in the hit TV series, and subsequent best-selling soundtrack, The Singing Detective
in 1986.
His 1998 autobiography
entitled Around the World on a Whistle drew extensively on memorabilia, theatre bills, photographs and clippings, and is a document of the published history of variety circuits
. His next book, he has quipped, will be “an Encyclopaedia of Whistling
”.
EMI Australia released a CD with the same title (Around the World on a Whistle) in the 1990s. In testament to the longevity of his popularity, this gained him another Gold Disc
and a small upsurge in his career. Since Around the World EMI have released a number of albums of Ronalde’s early works that have not been available since their original gramophone
releases.
Ronalde appeared in the 2007 Australian feature film, Clubland.
The comedian
s Bob Hope
, Jimmy Edwards
, Morecambe and Wise
, Bob Monkhouse
, Peter Cook
, Max Wall
and Max Bygraves
have all made references to ‘Whistling Ronnie’ in their routines. Terry-Thomas
joked that he was sick of hearing Ronalde’s whistling, and attempted impersonations.
of showbusiness. Such artists include:
Max Wall
, Peter Sellers
, Danny Kaye
, Spike Milligan
, Tommy Cooper
, Shirley Bassey
, Duke Ellington
, Sir Harry Secombe
, Sophie Tucker
, Edith Piaf
, Josef Locke
, Julie Andrews
, Laurel and Hardy
, Ginger Rogers
, George Formby, Tommy Sands
, Vera Lynn
, Bruce Forsyth
, Ole Olsen
and Chic Johnson
, Neil Finn
, Wee Georgie Wood
, Nat Gonella
, Harry Corbett
, Tony Pastor
, Arthur Tracy
, Gracie Fields
, Max Bygraves
, Benny Hill
, Sandy Powell
, Catarina Valente, Semprini
, Frankie Howerd
, Anne Shelton, Alma Cogan
, Bert Weedon
, Arthur Askey
, Max Bygraves
, Charlie Chester
, Bud Flanagan
, Ted Ray
, Frankie Vaughan
, Terry-Thomas
, Reginald Dixon
, Dorothy Squires
, Billy Reid, Nicholas Parsons
, Josephine Baker
, Jack Train
, Charlie Naughton
and Jimmy Gold
, Robert Harbin
, Frank Cordell
, Jimmy Scott
, Jack Jackson
, Janet Brown, Stan Stennett
, Wilfred Pickles
, Hughie Green
, Winifred Atwell
and Harry Shields
.
Ronalde also became acquainted with Marilyn Monroe
, Jane Russell
, Louis Armstrong
, Laurence Harvey
, Abe Saperstein
, Jack Fox
, Beryl Reid
, Richard Murdoch
, Joan Collins
, Roy Castle
and Meat Loaf
, some of whom stayed at Ronalde’s Hotel.
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...
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...
singer and siffleur
Whistling
Human whistling is the production of sound by means of carefully controlling a stream of air flowing through a small hole. Whistling can be achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips and then blowing or sucking air through the hole...
. Ronalde is famous for his voice, whistling, yodelling, imitations of bird song
Bird song
Bird vocalization includes both bird calls and bird songs. In non-technical use, bird songs are the bird sounds that are melodious to the human ear. In ornithology and birding, songs are distinguished by function from calls.-Definition:The distinction between songs and calls is based upon...
and stage personality. His crystal clear yodelling gained him acceptance with connoisseurs of Alpine and Western music around the world.
Early life: the Silver Songsters
Ronalde grew up in a poor but supportive IslingtonIslington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
home, and found a talent for singing, whistling and bird impressions from early childhood. In these formative years, he entertained informally
Busking
Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...
for pocket money
Allowance
Allowance may refer to:*Allowance *Allowances in accounting, see Accounts receivable*Personal allowance in the United Kingdom's taxing system* Jobseeker's Allowance, a term for unemployment benefit in the United Kingdom* EU Allowances...
, or with church and school choirs, developing his talents for stage performance.
During a time in which he was training for accountancy
Accountancy
Accountancy is the process of communicating financial information about a business entity to users such as shareholders and managers. The communication is generally in the form of financial statements that show in money terms the economic resources under the control of management; the art lies in...
, Ronalde was invited to become one of Arturo Steffani's Silver Songsters, aged 15. This 21-piece boys’ choir was known for its complex vocal and visual arrangements of popular songs, with each boy usually going into other trades when older. Steffani was so taken with Ronalde’s voice and whistling (he referred to him as “the Pink of Perfection”), that he disbanded the Silver Songsters (in 1947) and became his personal manager, mentor
Mentorship
Mentorship refers to a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person....
and chaperone. They later toured all over the world together.
After wartime service, Steffani encouraged Ronalde to study singing 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...
and yodelling in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and for nearly a decade he began working his way up the bill, not only as a solo Variety performer
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...
, but also under his new name: Ronnie Ronalde.
1950s: the halcyon years
After early struggles, Ronalde's first successful UK tour (in the late 1940s) met him with a wave of interest. Ronalde’s first recordings were with Decca RecordsDecca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
(these were only to be whistling performances), but his first major label contract came from EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
. Ronalde would also join Pye
Pye Records
Pye Records was a British record label. In its first incarnation, perhaps Pye's best known artists were Lonnie Donegan , Petula Clark , The Searchers , The Kinks , Sandie Shaw and Brotherhood of Man...
, Major Minor
Major Minor Records
Major Minor Records was a record label started by Phil Solomon in 1966. It had a distribution deal with Decca Records. Artists on the label included The Dubliners and Johnny Nash. Ultimately the label was bought by EMI....
and Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
records, becoming a million selling artiste.
“If I Were a Blackbird” (1950) is among Ronalde’s most famous songs from this period. This rendering of Delia Murphy
Delia Murphy
Delia Murphy was a singer and collector of Irish ballads. Her notable voice gave her the nickname the "Queen of Connemara".-Early life:...
’s Irish folk song had him in the British top 20 for 6 months. She would later jovially express her thanks for boosting her income. Other songs include “Tritsch Tratsch Polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
” (a showcase of Ronalde’s high speed delivery whistling
Whistling
Human whistling is the production of sound by means of carefully controlling a stream of air flowing through a small hole. Whistling can be achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips and then blowing or sucking air through the hole...
) and “Bells Across the Meadow” (by Albert Ketèlbey
Albert Ketèlbey
Albert William Ketèlbey , born Ketelbey, was an English composer, conductor and pianist.-Biography:...
). His best known recording is “In a Monastery Garden
In a Monastery Garden
In a Monastery Garden is a British drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring John Stuart, Hugh Williams, Alan Napier, and Frank Pettingell. An Italian musician begins to steal his brother's compositions after he is jailed for shooting a prince.-External links:**...
” (by Albert Ketèlbey
Albert Ketèlbey
Albert William Ketèlbey , born Ketelbey, was an English composer, conductor and pianist.-Biography:...
). Ronnie has played it as his show finale for decades, and over a million copies of it have been sold in their varying formats.
Across this decade Ronalde was a headliner, and broke box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
records all over the world: he was a big name in the UK, US, Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
, Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Such was his success in the US in the 1950s, he was seen as serious competition to Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
and Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, and others such as Richard Tauber
Richard Tauber
Richard Tauber was an Austrian tenor acclaimed as one of the greatest singers of the 20th century. Some critics commented that "his heart felt every word he sang".-Early life:...
and Josef Locke
Josef Locke
Josef Locke was the stage name of Joseph McLaughlin , a tenor singer who was successful in the United Kingdom and Ireland in the 1940s and 1950s....
.
Ronalde had his own BBC Radio Show from 1949 called The Voice of Variety. During this series, the volume of Ronalde’s fan mail
Fan mail
Fan mail is mail sent to a public figure, especially a celebrity, by their admirers or "fans".In return celebrities may send a poster or picture and usually a return letter.-Overview:...
caused a problem for the BBC. The Voice of Variety News fan publication had a print of 55,000 copies twice yearly, and Fan Clubs
Fan club
A fan club is a group that is dedicated to a well-known person, group, idea or sometimes even an inanimate object . Most fan clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to supporting them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the person...
during this era existed all across the UK. Thames TV also presented a weekly show titled Meet Ronnie Ronalde.
In 1949 Ronalde filled Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(with capacity of over six thousand) every night for ten weeks. He was at that time the most frequent UK artiste to ever perform there (over a thousand times). During the same period he filled a 25,000 capacity venue in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
for a fortnight. In February 1956, the British music magazine, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
, reported that Billy Cotton
Billy Cotton
William Edward Cotton , better known as Billy Cotton, was a British band leader and entertainer, one of the few whose orchestras survived the dance band era. Today, he is mainly remembered as a 1950s and 1960s radio and television personality, although his musical talent emerged as early as the 1920s...
and Ronalde had released versions of "Happy Trails", the theme music
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
to ATV
Associated TeleVision
Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...
's weekly Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers, born Leonard Franklin Slye , was an American singer and cowboy actor, one of the most heavily marketed and merchandised stars of his era, as well as being the namesake of the Roy Rogers Restaurants franchised chain...
series.
Ronalde also performed for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at the Royal Command Performance
Royal Command Performance
For the annual Royal Variety Performance performed in Britain for the benefit of the Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund, see Royal Variety Performance...
at the London Coliseum. A Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
reporter commented on the Prince’s attempts to demonstrate whistling to the Queen after this performance. He appeared before Prince Philip again.
Later life
At the height of his popularity, Ronalde foresaw a decline in variety performing and took a step away from the limelight. Nonetheless, Ronalde did not abandon the entertainment industry: he has always maintained an engagement diary and summer seasons, as well as TV and radio appearances. He first settled on the island of GuernseyGuernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
in the 1960s, being attracted to it after a performance there. He purchased a hotel (St Martin’s, which would come to be known as Ronnie Ronalde’s Hotel), and met Austrian wife Rosemarie who would become his business manager after Steffani’s death. After raising three children, both he and Rosemarie moved to the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
in the late 1980s, then to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in the 1990s (to Whistler’s Lodge). He now lives in Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Now in his 80's, he still broadcasts and does concerts. In New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in 1990, Ronalde filled the 2500 capacity Aotea Theatre
Aotea Square
Aotea Square is a large paved public area in the CBD, of Auckland, New Zealand. Officially opened in 1979 by Sir Dove-Myer Robinson next to Queen Street, it is used for open-air concerts and gatherings, and markets and political rallies....
, and was asked to stay for another concert. He was also asked to return for repeat performances in Auckland’s
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
Town Hall and the Town Hall in Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
.
Ronalde was awarded America’s North Carolina Louisburg Hall of Fame Award in 1995, their highest acclaim, given only to artists of outstanding international distinction.
His recording “Bird Song at Eventide” was featured in the hit TV series, and subsequent best-selling soundtrack, The Singing Detective
The Singing Detective
The Singing Detective is a BBC television miniseries written by Dennis Potter, which stars Michael Gambon, and was directed by Jon Amiel. The six episodes were "Skin", "Heat", "Lovely Days", "Clues", "Pitter Patter" and "Who Done It"....
in 1986.
His 1998 autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
entitled Around the World on a Whistle drew extensively on memorabilia, theatre bills, photographs and clippings, and is a document of the published history of variety circuits
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...
. His next book, he has quipped, will be “an Encyclopaedia of Whistling
Whistling
Human whistling is the production of sound by means of carefully controlling a stream of air flowing through a small hole. Whistling can be achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips and then blowing or sucking air through the hole...
”.
EMI Australia released a CD with the same title (Around the World on a Whistle) in the 1990s. In testament to the longevity of his popularity, this gained him another Gold Disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
and a small upsurge in his career. Since Around the World EMI have released a number of albums of Ronalde’s early works that have not been available since their original gramophone
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
releases.
Ronalde appeared in the 2007 Australian feature film, Clubland.
The comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
s Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
, Jimmy Edwards
Jimmy Edwards
Jimmy Edwards DFC was an English comedic script writer and comedy actor on both radio and television, best known as Pa Glum in Take It From Here and as the headmaster 'Professor' James Edwards in Whack-O!-Biography:...
, Morecambe and Wise
Morecambe and Wise
Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, usually referred to as Morecambe and Wise, or Eric and Ernie, were a British comic double act, working in variety, radio, film and most successfully in television. Their partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death in 1984...
, Bob Monkhouse
Bob Monkhouse
Robert Alan "Bob" Monkhouse, OBE was an English entertainer. He was a successful comedy writer, comedian and actor and was also well known on British television as a presenter and game show host...
, Peter Cook
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
, Max Wall
Max Wall
Max Wall , was an English comedian and actor, whose performing career covered music hall, theatre, films and television.-Early years:...
and Max Bygraves
Max Bygraves
Max Bygraves OBE is an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, sometimes performing comedy sketches between songs...
have all made references to ‘Whistling Ronnie’ in their routines. Terry-Thomas
Terry-Thomas
Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens was a distinctive English comic actor, known as Terry-Thomas. He was famous for his portrayal of disreputable members of the upper classes, especially cads and toffs, with the trademark gap in his front teeth, cigarette holder, smoking jacket, and catch-phrases such as...
joked that he was sick of hearing Ronalde’s whistling, and attempted impersonations.
Other artists
Due to the nature of variety performing, artists that have shared stages with Ronalde run to a formidable list, often reading like a Who's WhoWho's Who
Who's Who is the title of a number of reference publications, generally containing concise biographical information on a particular group of people...
of showbusiness. Such artists include:
Max Wall
Max Wall
Max Wall , was an English comedian and actor, whose performing career covered music hall, theatre, films and television.-Early years:...
, Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
, Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
, Spike Milligan
Spike Milligan
Terence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
, Tommy Cooper
Tommy Cooper
Thomas Frederick "Tommy" Cooper was a very popular British prop comedian and magician from Caerphilly, Wales.Cooper was a member of The Magic Circle, and respected by traditional magicians...
, Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
, Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Sir Harry Secombe
Harry Secombe
Sir Harry Donald Secombe CBE was a Welsh entertainer with a talent for comedy and a noted fine tenor singing voice. He is best known for playing Neddie Seagoon, the central character in the BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show...
, Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker was a Russian/Ukrainian-born American singer and actress. Known for her stentorian delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertainers in America during the first half of the 20th century...
, Edith Piaf
Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf , born Édith Giovanna Gassion, was a French singer and cultural icon who became widely regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads...
, Josef Locke
Josef Locke
Josef Locke was the stage name of Joseph McLaughlin , a tenor singer who was successful in the United Kingdom and Ireland in the 1940s and 1950s....
, Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews
Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...
, Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
, Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
, George Formby, Tommy Sands
Tommy Sands
Tommy Adrian Sands is an American pop music singer and actor.-Early life:Born into a musical family in Chicago, Illinois, Sands' father was a pianist and his mother a big-band singer. While still young, he moved with his family to Shreveport, Louisiana...
, Vera Lynn
Vera Lynn
Dame Vera Lynn, DBE is an English singer-songwriter and actress whose musical recordings and performances were enormously popular during World War II. During the war she toured Egypt, India and Burma, giving outdoor concerts for the troops...
, Bruce Forsyth
Bruce Forsyth
Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson, CBE , commonly known as Bruce Forsyth, or Brucie, is an English TV personality...
, Ole Olsen
Ole Olsen (comedian)
John Sigvard "Ole" Olsen was an American vaudevillian and comedian.Born in Peru, Indiana, he graduated from Northwestern University in 1912 with a degree in music and hit the Vaudeville circuit...
and Chic Johnson
Chic Johnson
Chic Johnson was the barrel-chested half of the Swedish-American comedy team of Olsen and Johnson, known for his strangely infectious, high-pitched laugh.-Background:...
, Neil Finn
Neil Finn
Neil Mullane Finn, OBE is a New Zealand Pop recording artist. Along with his brother Tim Finn, he was the co-frontman for Split Enz and is now frontman for Crowded House...
, Wee Georgie Wood
Wee Georgie Wood
George Wood, better known as Wee Georgie Wood, was a British actor and comedian who appeared in films, plays and music hall revues. Wood, who was a midget, worked most his professional life in the guise of a child, appearing in comic and sentimental sketches. He also wrote a column in the weekly...
, Nat Gonella
Nat Gonella
Nathaniel Charles Gonella was an English jazz trumpeter, bandleader, vocalist and mellophonist born in London, perhaps most notable for his work with the big band he founded, The Georgians....
, Harry Corbett
Harry Corbett
Harry Corbett OBE was a British puppeteer, known as the creator in 1948 of the long running 'Sooty' glove puppet character.He was born in Bradford to coal miner James W...
, Tony Pastor
Tony Pastor
Tony Pastor was an American impresario, variety performer and theatre owner who became one of the founding forces behind American vaudeville in the mid-to-late nineteenth century...
, Arthur Tracy
Arthur Tracy
Arthur Tracy was an American vocalist, billed as The Street Singer. His performances in theatre, films and radio, along with his recordings, brought him international fame in the 1930s...
, Gracie Fields
Gracie Fields
Dame Gracie Fields, DBE , was an English-born, later Italian-based actress, singer and comedienne and star of both cinema and music hall.-Early life:...
, Max Bygraves
Max Bygraves
Max Bygraves OBE is an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, sometimes performing comedy sketches between songs...
, Benny Hill
Benny Hill
Benny Hill was an English comedian and actor, notable for his long-running television programme The Benny Hill Show.-Early life:...
, Sandy Powell
Sandy Powell (comedian)
Sandy Powell MBE was an English comedian best known for his radio work of the 1930s and for his catchphrase Can You Hear Me, Mother?-Life and career:...
, Catarina Valente, Semprini
Semprini
Alberto Fernando Riccardo Semprini known by his stage name Alberto Semprini, or Semprini, was an English pianist, famous for appearances on the BBC, mainly on radio....
, Frankie Howerd
Frankie Howerd
Francis Alick "Frankie" Howerd OBE was an English comedian and comic actor whose career, described by fellow comedian Barry Cryer as "a series of comebacks", spanned six decades.-Early career:...
, Anne Shelton, Alma Cogan
Alma Cogan
Alma Cogan was an English singer of traditional pop music in the 1950s and early 1960s. Dubbed "The Girl With the Laugh/Giggle/Chuckle In Her Voice", she was the highest paid British female entertainer of her era...
, Bert Weedon
Bert Weedon
Herbert Maurice William 'Bert' Weedon OBE is an English guitarist and composer whose style of guitar playing was popular and influential during the 1950s and 1960s. He was born in Burges Road, East Ham, Essex, now Greater London....
, Arthur Askey
Arthur Askey
Arthur Bowden Askey CBE was a prominent English comedian.- Life and career :Askey was born at 29 Moses Street, Liverpool, the eldest child and only son of Samuel Askey , secretary of the firm Sugar Products of Liverpool, and his wife, Betsy Bowden , of Knutsford, Cheshire...
, Max Bygraves
Max Bygraves
Max Bygraves OBE is an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, sometimes performing comedy sketches between songs...
, Charlie Chester
Charlie Chester
Charlie Chester was a British comedian and TV and radio presenter, broadcasting almost continuously from the 1940s to the 1990s. His style was similar to that of Max Miller.- Life and career :...
, Bud Flanagan
Bud Flanagan
Bud Flanagan was a popular English music hall and vaudeville entertainer from the 1930s until the 1960s. Flanagan was famous as a wartime entertainer and his achievements were recognised when he was awarded the O.B.E. in 1960.- Family background :Flaganan was born Chaim Reuben Weintrop in...
, Ted Ray
Ted Ray (comedian)
Ted Ray was a popular English comedian of the 1940s, 50s and 60s....
, Frankie Vaughan
Frankie Vaughan
Frankie Vaughan, CBE, DL was an English singer of traditional pop music, who issued more than 80 recordings in his lifetime. He was known as "Mr. Moonlight" after one of his early hits.-Life and career:...
, Terry-Thomas
Terry-Thomas
Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens was a distinctive English comic actor, known as Terry-Thomas. He was famous for his portrayal of disreputable members of the upper classes, especially cads and toffs, with the trademark gap in his front teeth, cigarette holder, smoking jacket, and catch-phrases such as...
, Reginald Dixon
Reginald Dixon
Reginald Dixon MBE, ARCM, was an English theatre organist. He was best known as resident organist at the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool, where he played the Wurlitzer organ from 1930 until his retirement in 1970.-Biography:...
, Dorothy Squires
Dorothy Squires
Dorothy Squires was a Welsh vocalist. Among her recordings were versions of "A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening", "I'm in the Mood for Love", "Anytime", "If You Love Me " and "And So to Sleep Again".-Biography:...
, Billy Reid, Nicholas Parsons
Nicholas Parsons
Nicholas Parsons OBE is a British actor and radio and television presenter.-Early life:...
, Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker was an American dancer, singer, and actress who found fame in her adopted homeland of France. She was given such nicknames as the "Bronze Venus", the "Black Pearl", and the "Créole Goddess"....
, Jack Train
Jack Train
Jack Train was a British radio and film actor popular during the Second World War.Born in Plymouth, Train was on BBC radio in many productions, but his characters in the BBC series ITMA with Tommy Handley gave him fame...
, Charlie Naughton
Charlie Naughton
Charles John "Charlie" Naughton was a Scottish comedian.He was a member of The Crazy Gang, and part of a double act with fellow Glaswegian Jimmy Gold...
and Jimmy Gold
Jimmy Gold
Jimmy Gold was a comedian and part of the music hall act of Naughton and Gold. Later they became part of The Crazy Gang....
, Robert Harbin
Robert Harbin
Robert Harbin was a British magician and writer. He is noted as the inventor of a number of classic illusions, including the Zig Zag Girl...
, Frank Cordell
Frank Cordell (musician)
Frank Cordell was a British music composer, arranger and conductor, who was actively involved with the Institute of Contemporary Arts. He also wrote music under the name Frank Meilleur or Meillear .-Early life:He was born Frank Cordell in Kingston-upon-Thames...
, Jimmy Scott
Jimmy Scott
Jimmy Scott , aka "Little" Jimmy Scott, is an American jazz vocalist famous for his unusually high contralto voice which is due to Kallmann's syndrome, a very rare genetic condition. The condition stunted his growth at four feet eleven inches until, at age 37, he grew another 8 inches to the...
, Jack Jackson
Jack Jackson (British radio)
Jack Jackson was a British trumpeter and bandleader who became a highly influential radio disc jockey....
, Janet Brown, Stan Stennett
Stan Stennett
Stan Stennett is a Welsh comedian, actor and jazz musician.Stennett was born in Cardiff. During World War II, he served in the army and also worked as an entertainer. He made his professional stage debut with a group called the Harmaniacs...
, Wilfred Pickles
Wilfred Pickles
Wilfred Pickles OBE was an English actor and radio presenter.Born in Halifax in the West Riding of Yorkshire, Pickles was a proud Yorkshireman, and having been selected by the BBC as an announcer for its North Regional radio service, went on to be an occasional newsreader on the BBC Home Service...
, Hughie Green
Hughie Green
Hughie Green was the host of numerous British television shows.-Early life:Hugh H. Green was born in London; his Scottish father was a former British Army Major who made his fortune supplying tinned fish to the Allied forces in World War I, while his mother Violet was the Surrey-born daughter of...
, Winifred Atwell
Winifred Atwell
Una Winifred Atwell Una Winifred Atwell Una Winifred Atwell (27 February or April 1910 or 1914There is some uncertainty over her date and year of birth. Many sources suggest 27 February 1914, but there is a strong suggestion that her birthday was 27 April. Most sources give her year of birth as...
and Harry Shields
Harry Shields
Harry Shields was an early jazz clarinetist.Harry Shields was born in uptown New Orleans, Louisiana, the younger brother of noted clarinetist Larry Shields. Harry spent almost his whole career in New Orleans. He played with the bands of Norman Brownlee, Sharkey Bonano, Tom Brown, Johnny Wiggs,...
.
Ronalde also became acquainted with Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
, Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell was an American film actress and was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s....
, Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, Laurence Harvey
Laurence Harvey
Laurence Harvey was a Lithuanian-born actor who achieved fame in British and American films.- Early life :Harvey maintained throughout his life that his birth name was Laruschka Mischa Skikne. However, his legal name was Zvi Mosheh Skikne. He was the youngest of three boys born to Ber "Boris" and...
, Abe Saperstein
Abe Saperstein
Abraham M. Saperstein was an owner and coach of the Savoy Big Five, which later became the Harlem Globetrotters...
, Jack Fox
Jack Fox
John "Tiger" Linwood Fox , or Tiger Jack Fox as he was better known, was a colorful, hard punching, American light heavyweight boxer. Fox fought from 1928 to 1950....
, Beryl Reid
Beryl Reid
Beryl Elizabeth Reid, OBE was a British actress of stage and screen.-Early life:Born in Hereford, England in 1919, Reid was the daughter of Scottish parents and grew up in Manchester where she attended Withington and Levenshulme High Schools.-Career:Reid applied for and was accepted in a revue in...
, Richard Murdoch
Richard Murdoch
Richard Bernard Murdoch was a British comedic radio, film and television performer.Richard Bernard Murdoch attended Charterhouse School. He then appeared in Footlights whilst a student at Pembroke College, Cambridge...
, Joan Collins
Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
, Roy Castle
Roy Castle
Roy Castle OBE was an English dancer, singer, comedian, actor, television presenter and musician. He attended Honley High School, where there is now a building in his name...
and Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
, some of whom stayed at Ronalde’s Hotel.
Discography
- EP Columbia SEGS-24 (Sweden 1956)
- In a Monastery Garden
- Bells Across the Meadow
- The Skater's Waltz
- Dream of Olwen
- Beautiful Dreamer SEG 7678 EP (Holland)