Wallace Greenslade
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| Wallace Greenslade | |
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| Born | Wallace P. Greenslade 1913 Formby, Merseyside |
| Died | 21 April 1961 (aged 47) Old Avenue Lodge, Weybridge, Surrey |
| Resting place | Brooklands Lane Cemetery, Weybridge |
| Occupation | Announcer, newsreader |
Wallace Greenslade (1912 in Formby, Merseyside[1] – 21 April 1961 in Weybridge, Surrey) was a BBC announcer and newsreader. He is mainly remembered for being the announcer - and frequently the straight man - for the BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show during the height of its popularity.
Greenslade was born at Formby in Lancashire. During the Second World War, he served for two and a half years as a Lieutenant-Commander in the Royal Naval Reserve. He then became a purser for the P&O Line before joining the staff of the BBC in 1945.
His BBC career began in the European Service, where he was a presentation assistant and newsreader. In 1949, Greenslade was appointed a Home Service announcer before becoming a newsreader in both radio and television from November 1955. In addition to The Goon Show, he was announcer for The Great Gilhooly, Star Show and Variety Playhouse. In May and June 1960, he compèred the Today programme.
Greenslade died suddenly at his home at Weybridge, Surrey in April 1961 [2]. After a funeral service at St Mary’s Oatlands, near Weybridge, he was buried at Brooklands Lane Cemetery, Weybridge. At the subsequent memorial service, his BBC colleague John Snagge gave an address. Greenslade left a wife, Carol.[3]
A radio play entitled Ying Tong - A walk with the Goons was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday 4 April 2007. As well as stating that he died in 1960 instead of 1961, the broadcast also stated that he died on a pub toilet with a pint in his hand – "the way he'd want to go".
Greenslade himself became the subject of an episode of The Goon Show, "The Greenslade Story", broadcast in December 1955.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Wallace Greenslade at the Internet Movie Database
- The alt.fan.wal-greenslade newsgroup was set up with the express purpose of announcing the formation of the alt.fan.goons newsgroup and has seldom had any real traffic since.
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