Cyril Fletcher
Cyril Fletcher | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 25 June 1913 Watford, Hertfordshire, England |
| Died | 2 January 2005 (aged 91) |
| Alma mater | Guildhall School of Music and Drama |
| Occupations | Actor, comedian, businessman |
| Spouse(s) | Betty Astell (18 May 1941–2 January 2005; his death); 1 child |
| Children | Jill Fletcher[1] |
Cyril Fletcher (25 June 1913 – 2 January 2005) was an English comedian, broadcaster, pantomime impresario, actor, gardener and businessman. His catchphrase was "Pin back your lugholes".[2] He was best known for his "Odd Odes", which later formed a section of the television show That's Life! from 1973 to 1981.[3]
Early life
[edit]Fletcher was born in Watford, the son of a solicitor, who was the Friern Barnet town clerk.[4] Following schooling at Woodhouse School, North Finchley,[5] where he first began to entertain by composing witty poems about his schoolmasters,[6] he graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Career
[edit]Fletcher first began performing the Odd Odes in 1937, long before they first appeared on television (though he did appear on pre World War II television).[7] He developed the idea when he was short of material for a radio show. The first, Odd Ode, was a comic, yet sentimental, reading of Edgar Wallace's war poem Dreamin' of Thee. Following this broadcast, he was given a regular programme on Radio Luxembourg; it was this show that brought him to national attention. He was sometimes billed as "Cyril Fletcher, the Odd Oder".[8]
He appeared as a panellist on the BBC programme What's My Line?, and was the presenter of Central TV's Gardening Today for fourteen years, and Channel Television's Cyril Fletcher's TV Garden, which ran for 2 years from 1990 to 1992.
A Freemason and a businessman, Fletcher believed it important to diversify in such a fickle business as show business.[9] With his wife Betty Astell, he owned a company producing pantomimes in theatres around the country. He founded Associated Speakers, an agency for after-dinner speakers, who represented The Duke of Bedford and Lord Longford, as well as himself.[1]
Personal life
[edit]Fletcher and his wife Betty Astell were married on 18 May 1941. He died on 2 January 2005, his wife dying later that year.[citation needed]
Selected filmography
[edit]- Yellow Canary (1943)
- Nicholas Nickleby (1947)
- A Piece of Cake (1948)
References
[edit]- ^ a b Dennis Barker (3 January 2005). "Obituary: Cyril Fletcher".
- ^ Fergusson, Rosalind (2 September 2003). Shorter Dictionary of Catch Phrases. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-85606-0. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
- ^ "Ronald Fletcher". 10 February 1996.
- ^ Fletcher, Cyril (1973). The Countryman: A Quarterly Review and Miscellany of Rural Life and Progress 73. Oxford: J.W. Robertson Scott. ISSN 0011-0272. page 47.
- ^ Fletcher, Cyril (1978). Nice One Cyril: Being the Odd Odessey and the Anecdotage of a Comedian. London: Random House. ISBN 0-214-20581-9. page 19.
- ^ Hayward, Anthony (3 January 2005). "Cyril Fletcher: Performer of 'Odd Odes' and 'That's Life'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 April 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
- ^ Profile, Alexandra Palace Television Society website; accessed 18 March 2015.
- ^ "Radio Times". G. Newnes. 1954.
- ^ "Famous Freemasons". Grand Lodge Scotland. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
External links
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