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  Born
William White in Banbury, England on the 31st. August
1923, he was fostered ten days later by a mining family in
a very poor area of Nuneaton. Here the homes had outside
toilets and wash houses where the laundry was boiled in
large "coppers". At six years old his foster mother
died and it was left to his two foster sisters, May and
Fan, to raise him.
Always one to
"show off" (he often used to 'perform' to neighbours'
children in the wash house) he was heard singing by the
Club Artists living next door and given informal tuition.
Leaving school
at fourteen, his career as a sales assistant in a shoe
shop lasted just two days. However, before long he
was singing professionally at the Fife Street Working
Men's Club. Later he toured small towns and villages
in Devon and Cornwall with a show called "Four Blue Pages"
where he dragged up 'La Cage au Folles' style. He
appeared in Ralph Reader's "Gang Show" in the thirties,
and later in "Journey's End" (London), with the stage name
of Billy Breen. For more than thirty
 years
he toured Clubs and Music Halls, mostly in the North,
doing his drag act.
In January 1971,
Larry Grayson (his agent had advised the change of name)
got his "break". Contracted for just three (four
minute) appearances on ATV's "Saturday Variety"
(compulsive viewing in that era) his contract was extended
to six appearances. Then twelve. Then sixteen.
Also appearing on the popular "Leslie Crowther Show" at
that time, he was spotted by Lew Grade who was so
impressed he gave him his own show, "Shut That Door".
Voted TV Times' Funniest Man of the Year, he later topped
the bill at the London Palladium.
In 1973 the
press reported the engagement between Larry and his close
friend Noele Gordon, star of the original "Crossroads".
Of course, it was a hoax; but one that the two of them
continued playing successfully for many years.
Moving over to
BBC in 1978, Larry took on "The Generation Game" pushing
the ratings to over eighteen million. His earnings
rocketed to £100,000 a year and the show was re-named
"Larry Grayson's Generation Game". He left the show when
it was at its peak in 1981.
 Many
considered his hosting Anglia TV's "Sweethearts" in 1987 a
failed attempt to make a come-back. It wasn't.
Larry didn't need to make a come-back. He was still
up there, still very much a star, but taking it easier
with fewer TV and Radio exposures. His stage
appearances still packed them in, and he was now a very
wealthy man whose health was unfortunately failing him
fast. Larry's final public appearance was on the
Royal Variety Performance in November 1994.
With all his
success, Larry never forgot his humble beginnings.
Making his home a modest bungalow close to his friends in
Nuneaton, he loved fish and chips, and would even keep
salt and vinegar in the glove compartment of his white
Rolls Royce so he could enjoy his meal (out of the paper,
apparently) on the way home after a performance.
FOUND IT!!!
Searched for
months! No apologies for making it downloadable - it
should be immortal! For personal use only:
Download: Larry Grayson (full version), 'Shut That Door'
Zipfile. (600Kb.) {wma}
Larry's
Characters:
Everard, Slack Alice, Pop it in Pete the postman, Self
Raising Fred the baker, Apricot Lil, Non-Stick Nell, Once
a week Nora.
Catch-Phrases:
"Shut that door", "What a gay day.", "Seems like a nice
boy.", "I'm sure he's got my brooch.", "Look at the muck
on 'ere.", "What's the scores on the doors, Isla?", "She's
as common as muck!", "Ooh, I've come over all limp."
 Who
but Larry could remove his glasses, allowing them to
dangle around his neck, whilst sniffing, incessantly
playing with his nose, inspect his fingers, then
look sideways at the audience proclaiming, "Worms!"
Larry Grayson
never came out publicly as gay. He always managed to
avoid the issue and few but his closest friends ever knew.
His audiences took his camp innuendos to be purely an act.
His millions of admirers, when he was at the top of his
career, were mostly oblivious to his earlier hard working
drag years. To them he was an over-night success.
On one occasion
gay activists demonstrated outside the Shepherd's Bush
Studios where Larry was recording the "Generation Game".
They were unhappy with his stereotypical portrayal of gay
people.
Times and
attitudes change. In 1993, to celebrate Larry's 70th
Birthday, a tribute to him was mounted at the Museum of
the Moving Image in London as part of the gay and lesbian
television season.
Larry's long
career was based on "camp". He could take the most
innocent of phrases and inject his own personal sexual
innuendo into it, hammering it firmly home with an arched
eyebrow, a pursed lip, or a kick of the heels. He
was a master of his craft.
Performance:
Saturday Variety, 1971 TV Appearances.
Leslie Crowther Show, 1971 TV Appearances.
Shut That Door!, 1972/3 TV Show Host.
Crossroads, 1973 TV Soap Guest Appearance.
Larry Grayson Hour Of Stars, 1974 TV Show Host.
Look Who's Talking, 1974/5 TV Show Host.
Crossroads, 1975 TV Soap Guest Appearance.
Generation Game, 1978/81 TV Game Show Host.
At Home With Larry Grayson, 1983 TV Show Host.
Late Night Larry, 1983 Radio Music Show Host.
Sweethearts, 1987 TV Panel Game Host.
 In
1999 the museum in Larry Grayson's home town of Nuneaton
honoured his memory with an Exhibition entitled, "Shut
That Door" which was possibly the star's best loved
catch-phrase.
A TV stage set
dominated by a life size cut-out of Larry greeted
visitors. Various doors on the set could be opened
to reveal items from his long career including some rare
photographs from his early "drag" years. Also on
show were: The "This Is Your Life" Red Book; the TV Times
Award for being TV Personality Of The Year; and The Grand
Order Of Water Rats Award. |
