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Jimmy Hanley

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Jimmy Hanley
Hanley as Leonard Parry in Little Friend (1934)
Born(1918-10-22)22 October 1918
Norwich, England
Died13 January 1970(1970-01-13) (aged 51)
Fetcham, England
Years active1933–1968
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1942; div. 1952)​

Margaret Avery
​
​
(m. 1955)​
Children6, including Jeremy Hanley and Jenny Hanley

Jimmy Hanley (22 October 1918 – 13 January 1970) was an English actor who appeared in the popular Huggetts film series, and in ITV's most popular advertising magazine programme, Jim's Inn, from 1957 to 1963.[1]

Early life

Born in Norwich, Norfolk, Hanley began his career as a child actor before becoming popular in juvenile roles.[2] He was groomed by the Rank Studio system during his teenage years and earned film stardom as a "boy-next-door" type.[2] The young actor attended the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts and whilst he was studying there, made his stage debut at age 12 at the London Palladium, as John Darling in Peter Pan.[3] He began to make films in his teens.[4]

Career

During the Second World War he served as an officer with the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, and in a commando raid in Norway he was wounded in the leg and was invalided out of the service.[1] He returned to films, including Salute John Citizen (1942), Henry V with Laurence Olivier (1944), For You Alone (1945) and the Huggetts films.[5] He later worked on radio and TV, appearing in several television series and hosting the ITV series Jim's Inn from 1957 to 1963, which combined advertising messages with the plot of a soap opera, where he and his wife Maggie played the hosts of a pub where customers discussed bargains and new products whilst drinking.[3][6] The series finished when advertising magazine programmes were banned.[6]

Personal life

Hanley was married twice:[7][8][9]

Hanley died from pancreatic cancer in Fetcham, Surrey, on 13 January 1970, at the age of 51.[5][4]

Selected filmography

Television series

  • Jim's Inn (1957–1963, ITV advertising programme) - host
  • Five O'Clock Club (1963–1966, ITV children's programme) - host
  • Futurama (1964, ITV children's science programme) - host
  • Crossroads (1966, ITV soap) - Jimmy Gudgeon, old friend of central character Meg Richardson (played by Noele Gordon)

References

  1. ^ a b "Mr Jimmy Hanley - Film and TV actor". Obituaries. The Times. London. 14 January 1970. p. 12.
  2. ^ a b "Jimmy Hanley | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos". AllMovie.
  3. ^ a b "BFI Screenonline: Hanley, Jimmy (1918-1970) Biography". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  4. ^ a b "Jimmy Hanley". www.britishpictures.com.
  5. ^ a b "Jimmy Hanley". BFI.
  6. ^ a b "Jimmy Hanley". TV Times (Unforgettables! ed.). 1988. p. 26.
  7. ^ "Jimmy Hanley". www.nndb.com.
  8. ^ Barker, Dennis (25 November 2012). "Dinah Sheridan obituary" – via www.theguardian.com.
  9. ^ Maxford, Howard (17 December 2018). Hammer Complete: The Films, the Personnel, the Company. McFarland. ISBN 9781476670072.
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