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Al Read

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Occupation
  
Comedian

Name
  
Al Read

Role
  
Comedian


Al Read wwwpeoplesstoriescomfilesstoriesimagesimage

Born
  
3 March 1909

Died
  
September 9, 1987, Northallerton, United Kingdom

Books
  
Granary Club: The Rock Years 1969-1988, It's All in the Book

Albums
  
Right Monkey! The Best of Al Read, Heavy Haul Country, The Best of AL Read, Vol. 1

TV shows
  
Life And Al Read, Al Read Says What A Life!, It's All In Life

Similar People
  
Stanley Holloway, Marriott Edgar, Arthur Askey, Max Miller, Tony Hancock

Al read variety bandbox excerpt the garden gate 17 12 1951


Al Read (3 March 1909 – 9 September 1987) was a British radio comedian active throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

Contents

Al Read Al Read Such is Life EP 1959 YouTube

Read was born in Broughton, Salford, Lancashire and was a sausage maker in his father's business. He became known as a popular after-dinner speaker with wry and well-observed humour in clubs. In 1950 Read made his radio début on the BBC. His comedy was based around the monologue form, but he also became known for dialogues in which he played both voices. His humour was observational and was about Northern English working class people, often in a domestic situation.

The Al Read Show was one of the most popular radio comedy shows in the UK in the 1950s and 1960s. Up to 35 million people listened to it each week. His catchphrases "Right, Monkey!" and "You'll be lucky - I say, you'll be lucky!" were well known. In 1963 he headed a variety format for ITV called Life and Al Read which was apparently unscripted and was broadcast live. In 1966 another ITV series called Al Read Says What a Life! was broadcast. He also worked extensively on the variety stage.

In 1954 he appeared high on the bill at the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium. In 1959 he appeared with comedian Jimmy Clitheroe in the Royal Northern Variety Performance, in the presence of the Queen Mother, at the Palace Theatre, Manchester.

The introduction to his radio show was usually "Al Read: introducing us to ourselves"; and he himself described his work as "pictures of life".

Al read the wife


The Al Read Show

Surviving editions held by the BBC Sound Archive:

References

Al Read Wikipedia


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