Charles Walter (Dick) Bentley (14 May 1907 – 27 August 1995) born in Melbourne, Australia was a comedian and actor. Events 1264 - Battle of Lewes: Henry III of England is captured in France making Simon de Montfort the Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 479 BC - Greco-Persian Wars: Persian forces led by Mardonius are routed by Pausanias, the Spartan Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience primarily by making them laugh An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works He starred with Jimmy Edwards in Take It From Here for BBC Radio. Jimmy Edwards DFC ( 23 March 1920 &ndash 7 July 1988) was an English comedic script writer and comedy actor on both Take It From Here (often referred to as TIFH, pronounced &mdash and sometimes humorously spelt &mdash "TIFE" was a British BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927
As a boy, Bentley learned several musical instruments, and while still in his teens was a staple on the Melbourne cabaret circuit as a comedian and singer, his act consisting of playing a few bars of music deliberately badly, interspersed with jokes and legitimate musical numbers. He made his first appearance on ABC Radio in the early 1930s and by 1938 had become a fairly prominent personality. The Australian Broadcasting Company was a consortium of entertainment interests which was formed in 1929 to supply Radio programs to the Australian radio market Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In that year he moved to London and worked for the BBC. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Newly married to Peta, he returned to Australia on the outbreak of war, and spent several years entertaining the troops in the Pacific theatre. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including
By 1946, he was one of Australia's highest-paid entertainers, and returned to Britain to try and reestablish himself in a much larger market. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located He joined up with writer Denis Norden and guested on many of the leading radio shows of the day. Denis Mostyn Norden (born 6th February 1922 in Hackney, London) is an English Comedy writer and Television presenter. An appearance on Navy Mixture teamed him successfully with Jimmy Edwards, and indirectly led to the pairing of Denis Norden with Frank Muir, who was Edwards' writer. Jimmy Edwards DFC ( 23 March 1920 &ndash 7 July 1988) was an English comedic script writer and comedy actor on both Frank Herbert Muir (5 February 1920 - 2 January 1998 was an English Comedy writer radio and television personality and raconteur Muir and Norden together wrote Take It From Here (1948-1960), with Edwards and Bentley as two of the three stars. Take It From Here (often referred to as TIFH, pronounced &mdash and sometimes humorously spelt &mdash "TIFE" was a British The most memorable feature of Take It From Here was The Glums, with Edwards playing the slightly seedy Pa Glum and Bentley his terminally dim son, Ron. Take It From Here (often referred to as TIFH, pronounced &mdash and sometimes humorously spelt &mdash "TIFE" was a British Interestingly, Bentley was thirteen years older than Edwards.
In 1951, during the run of Take It From Here, Bentley briefly returned to Australia to star in a ten-episode radio comedy series, Gently Bentley, commissioned to celebrate the silver jubilee of the ABC. Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January In 1956, he starred in And So To Bentley, a sketch-format comedy show for the BBC, co-starring Peter Sellers. Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Richard Henry Sellers, CBE, commonly known as Peter Sellers ( 8 September 1925 &ndash 24 July 1980) was a British The show only lasted for one series, and the gently self-deprecating humor of Bentley was overshadowed by the charismatic Sellers. Both these shows were also written by Muir and Norden.
In 1960 he returned to Australia to play a sheep drover in The Sundowners, starring Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr. Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Sundowners is a 1960 film that tells the story of an Australian Outback family torn between the father's desires to continue his nomadic Robert Charles Durman Mitchum ( August 6, 1917 &ndash July 1, 1997) was an Academy Award nominated American film Deborah Jane Kerr-Trimmer, CBE (30 September 1921 &ndash 16 October 2007 was a Scottish stage television and film actress In 1972 and 1974 Bentley was featured in the movies The Adventures of Barry McKenzie and Barry McKenzie Holds His Own, derived from the Barry McKenzie comic strip in Private Eye. The Adventures of Barry McKenzie is a 1972 Australian film starring Barry Crocker, telling the story of an Australian ' Yobbo ' on his travels Barry McKenzie Holds His Own is the 1974 sequel to the 1972 Australian Comedy Film The Adventures of Barry McKenzie. Barry "Bazza" McKenzie (full name Barrington Bradman Bing McKenzie) is a Fictional character originally created by the Australian comedian Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical Magazine, edited by Ian Hislop. By 1974 he had largely retired, but briefly returned to the screen to appear in the 1978 season of Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em as Frank Spencer's granddad, fittingly since the hapless Spencer was in many ways a descendant of his Ron Glum character in TIFH. Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1973&ndash1978 was a BBC Situation comedy, written by Raymond Allen and starring Michael Crawford
His wife passed away in 1988, and Bentley died from complications from Alzheimer's Disease in 1995. Alzheimer's disease ( AD) also called Alzheimer disease or simply Alzheimer's, is the most common form of Dementia.
References
- Frank Muir (1997). A Kentish Lad. Bantam Press, London. ISBN 0-593-03452-X. Frank Muir's autobiography.