Merseyside Mirth Makers - Ted Ray

Ted Ray

Ted Ray was born Charles Olden in Wigan, Lancashire on the 21st of November 1905 but his parents moved to Liverpool within days following his birth. Here he was educated at Anfield Council School and the Liverpool Collegiate School and initially had nursed notions of being a professional footballer. The son of a small-time Lancashire comedian, pub landlord and ship’s steward, who clearly had a great influence on young Charlie, he was inspired to follow in his old man’s footsteps and take up the violin. His stage name, Ted Ray, was inspired by the winner of the 1912 British Open golf championship, whose name he had selected from a sporting diary. Ted's route into the theatre was punctuated by work as a ship's steward, an office clerk and as a dance band violinist before he made his debut at the Palace Theatre, Preston, Lancashire in 1927 and, only three years later, appeared in London Music Hall. In the years that followed, Ted’s act (a mixture of violin playing and joke telling, which he dubbed “Fiddling and Fooling”) improved and he slowly worked his way up the billing and into larger theatres. At a time when music-hall comedians opted for grotesque garb and make-up, or at the other extreme, chose the West End uniform of the dinner jacket, Ted Ray decided to rely on the more casual lounge suit, going on stage as if he had, in his own words, 'walked in from the street'. In 1932 he made his debut at the London Palladium, where much later he was to help his friend Danny Kaye take Britain by storm.

'Rays A Laugh'

The height of Ted Ray's fame was undoubtedly through his work in radio comedy, where his own series, 'Ray's A Laugh', which commenced transmission in 1949, rapidly became a firm household favourite running eventually for twelve years. This popularity lead to four appearances, three of them consecutive, in the prestigious Royal Variety Performance. A year later, he became Master of Ceremonies on 'Calling All Forces', a BBC variety show.

In the television work that followed Ray was found to be a natural, able to work to the camera in empty studios as though he was in a packed theatre. His affinity and direct interaction with the audience made him a popular performer on both sides of the camera lens. In 1955 he fronted his own monthly BBC comedy series, insipidly titled 'The Ted Ray Show', which ran in various forms until 1958, at which point he temporarily jumped ship and made six programmes for Independent Television entitled 'Hip Hip Who Ray', which were more stand-up focused than his BBC shows. Among his other television work were readings of children's stories on the long-running BBC's  Jackanory together with regular appearances on MacDonald Hobley's panel game, Does The Team Think?.

With Kenneth Connor in 'Carry On Teacher'.

Ted Ray also made appearances in feature films, his earliest being Elstree Calling in 1930, followed by Radio Parade in1935. He featured in a run of films in the 1950s, including the starring role in Carry On Teacher in1959, an early entry in Peter Rogers and Gerald Thomas' long running and hugely successful film series. Ted would have become a regular in subsequent Carry On productions but unfortunately was under contract to another studio. A replacement was sought and so it was that Tony Hancock’s sidekick, Sid James, joined the series.
After receiving serious injuries in a 1975 car crash, Ted cut down his public appearances to a minimum, meaning he was unable to appear in the tenth anniversary edition of 'It's A Knockout', where he would have joined original co-hosts MacDonald Hobley and Charlie Chester.

Ted Ray died in hospital following a heart attack on Tuesday 8th November 1977 aged 71. He left a wife, Dorothy, and their two sons, Andrew Ray, the actor, and BBC producer and Face the Music panellist Robin Ray.

Asked to supply his own obituary in a 1971 edition of Does The Team Think?, Ted had suggested the following: "Ted Ray died peacefully in his sleep at 95 years of age in a Brighton hotel. A blonde is helping the police with their inquiries."

In reality, it was left to other great British comic talents to pay homage. Raconteur Kenneth Williams acknowledged an admiration for his geniality and wit, stating "He was a true craftsman and it’s a shame he only appeared in one of the Carry On's."
Interviewed for a radio tribute programme, Peter Sellers maintained "Whatever I know about timing I learned from Ted."

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