Will Hay
William Thompson Hay was probably one of the most versatile of entertainers. He was not only a character comedian of the first rank, but was also an astronomer of high repute - he discovered the spot on the planet Saturn in 1933 - and a fully qualified air pilot; he was once an engineer.
Born at Stockton on Tees in 1888, he became interested in astronomy at school and carried on his research work in this direction after he had finished his nightly stage entertainments. He was first "on the air" in 1922 and his then comedy sketches of "St. Michaels School" (of which he was the headmaster) proved to be one of the most popular comedy characters on radio at that time.
This character was transfered to film and became equally successful. He worked at Elstree Studios, then Gainsborough, then Ealing; the Gainsborough period was the most consistently successfully, particularly when he worked with the team of
Marcel Varnel (director),
Val Guest and
Marriott Edgar (writers), and
Moore Marriott and
Graham Moffatt (supporting cast).
By the time he made his first film, he was in his mid forties and his last role came less than a decade later. Between 1934 and 1943, he was a prolific and popular film comedian. He was credited on several films as a writer or co-ordinator, and was arguably the dominant 'author' of all the films in which he appeared, in that they were built around his persona and depended on the character and routines he had developed over years on the stage.
In 1918 he joined the Fred Karno comedy troupe. Will Hay played Nosey Parker in the Karno revue Nosey Knows which toured Britain until the end of 1918. Will Hay then starred in the Karno revue Moonstruck which toured Britian from December 1918 to March 1920.Other former members of the Karno troupe include Stan Laurel and Charles Chaplin, both of whom left the company in 1913.
Will and his wife separated in 1935 after 27 years of marriage, but never divorced because she was a Roman Catholic.
In 1942 he became a sub-lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR), Special Branch, as an instructor on navigation and astronomy to the Sea Cadets Corps. He was awarded a star for his work. He also made the short Go to Blazes (1942) in which he showed how to deal with incendiary bombs.
Buried in Artists Corner of Streatham Cemetery, South London, amongst hundreds of music hall stars.
Off stage he had a great interest in flying and was one of the first private aircraft owners in the United Kingdom.
He kept a launch on Oslo Fjord in Norway.
His love of astronomy since boyhood led to his discovery on August 3rd 1933 of a spot on Saturn which attracted widespread attention at the time. He was a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) and a member of the British Astronomy Association. An old friend, Dr. W.H. Steavenson represented the RAS at his funeral.
Father of Will Hay Jr..
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