An
introduction to the Elsecar Heritage Blogspot & its author, distinguished
actor/director/producer Montague Hyde Whyte, by Eric Warner - president of the
UK branch of the Montague Hyde Whyte appreciation society.
I first
became aware of the acting powerhouse that is Montague Hyde Whyte (or Monty as
he is affectionately known to his friends, family & fans) during a one of
my regular childhood visits to the Saturday morning matinee at the then
Futurist cinema in Elsecar. It was 1952, I was a mere boy of fourteen at the
time & went to see the recently released science fiction movie “BLIGHTERS
FROM OUTER SPACE”.
original cinema poster for the 1952 film
'Blighters From Outer Space'
Even at that tender age I considered myself as a bit of a
film aficionado & knew that this was the first film of its type to be
produced by the British Tooting Brothers studios which aimed to latch onto the
success that the genre was enjoying both here & in the United States. To
this end the Tooting Brothers had managed to secure the services of a notable
cast of established character actors which in turn was headed up by a true film
star of the era. Despite the movie enjoying a standout cast, a first rate
script & a Hollywood style budget “BLIGHTERS FROM OUTER SPACE” failed to
achieve what its makers set out for it to insofar as breaking Tooting Brothers
into the American market was concerned. In spite of the lukewarm reviews the
movie received I considered it to be the greatest film of the type I had seen
since the release of “DOGNAPPERS FROM
ORBIT 19 - IN 3D” the year before & was absolutely blown away by the
performance of the leading man. Little did I know then but the chap who had
played the part of Captain Dirk Lightspeed -
the intergalactic star ranger who single-handedly managed to defeat the
might of the Martian invaders as they attempted to colonise Sheffield - was
none other than a certain Montague Hyde Whyte. I had heard of Monty, of course
I had & had seen several of his films as & when they had played at The
Futurist such as the 1949 adaptation of Rosamund Rodgers classic novel “REAP
THE SAVAGE WIND” in which he gave a strikingly sensitive portrayal as Frederick
Faversham, the tortured son of Lord Faversham of Filey - who begins a
tempestuous & ultimately doomed affair with the local milkmaid Flossie O’Flynn
(played to perfection by Lana Lamoure), but it was his role as the
aforementioned Dirk Lightspeed which really flagged up Monty to me & thus
began an association with the great man which has lasted from that day to this
& eventually led to the founding of the MHWAS. It was to my eternal surprise
to learn that not only was Monty at the cutting edge of film & theatre both
here in the UK but in Hollywood too, but the fact that he was born & bred
right here in Elsecar. A fact which he divulged for the first time during his
now legendary interview on the ‘Harty’ show in
1974. Russell Harty himself (along with his other guests that night, namely
Bing Crosby, John Wayne & Benny from Crossroads) was astounded by this
revelation as it was generally accepted by the media that Monty was born into a
middle class family - indeed The unofficial 1968 biography ‘Montague. The Man - the Legend’ by the acclaimed writer Walter C
Nesbit, cited him as having been born in Chipping Sodbury. In the exchange
which followed the ever mischievous Monty reverted to a broad Barnsley accent
to conduct the remainder of the interview - much to bemusement of Russell,
Bing, John & Benny!
I first met
Monty in the flesh in 1979 at the Palladium theatre, Penge, during the UK
premier of his hit stage farce ‘OOPS WHERE’S MY
KECKS?’ which Monty had
brought home after it’s
highly successful 18 month run on Broadway. This play, which was written,
produced & Directed by Monty & starred the man himself - playing the
lead role of Stanley Small, the hapless door to door ladies underwear salesman,
alongside his third wife Mitzi Medford - proved an instant smash hit with both
audiences & critics alike with such esteemed notaries as Sir Cecil Burton,
theatre critic with the Exchange & Mart, describing it as “A triumph! Oops
where’s my kecks heralds
the long anticipated return to the British stage of one of our finest &
most enduring character actors”. Upon meeting the great man himself I should
like to think that we have since forged a lasting & close friendship &
indeed it is with his support that I managed to leave my job as a rat catchers
assistant & take up a full time position as first Treasurer then latterly
president of the MHWAS.
Monty’s 1991 film “Try Hard” - in which he
played an embittered police inspector
from Llandudno who, upon visiting his estranged grandma at her new years eve
office party at the post office tower, found himself caught up in a terrorist
siege - proved to be his last major foray onto the big screen. Commenting
himself on the film Monty said “The sight of me in my string vest, dodging
bullets, & wielding my truncheon whilst shouting ‘stop these shenanigans right away or I will be
forced to take down your particulars!’ proved one step beyond the pail. Though it pains me to admit it, I fear
my matinee idol days are now behind me.” Sadly Try Hard proved a miss with the
audiences too & Monty decided that he should finally take a step back from
the limelight to enjoy his twilight years in semi retirement. Making the bold
decision to relocate from America back to the UK Monty sold his Beverley Hills
mansion & astounded his friends by announcing his intention to return to
Elsecar. Instructing his staff to find him a suitable property, Monty was
introduced to ‘The
Willows’, a charming 17th
century coach house which lies on the periphery of the Village. Monty spent the
next couple of years (& a not inconsiderable amount of money!) restoring
The Willows to its former glory before settling into a life of leisure. Though
the smell of greasepaint has on occasion proved too much for Monty & over
the years he has made guest appearances on several high profile British &
US television programmes.
Nowadays
Monty likes to relax but, always a man of great ardour, Monty has taken to
frequenting the Elsecar Heritage Centre &, unmistakable in his fedora &
cape with the tap tap tap of his silver topped cane beating an accompaniment to
his stride, he cuts a dash as he peruses the shops therein. Speaking about his
life & career in the US magazine ‘Hollywood Greats’
in 2011 Monty described the Heritage Centre as “My new passion. I simply adore
the range of exiting places to visit. The eclectic mixture of shops &
businesses is simply outstanding & appeals to my avant-garde nature. One of
my favourite haunts is the antiques centre for it is a veritable treasure trove
of collectables & is a must for anyone searching for anything from a an old
work of art to a vintage action man! I regularly browse the countless items for
sale therein & I often manage to bag a bargain. Combine this with all the
other shops & services on offer at the Elsecar Heritage Centre means that
there is simply no need for me, or anyone else for that matter, to travel far
& wide in search of good service, good prices & good quality when
everything they need is right here in the heart of this wonderful community.”
Despite
being approached to write his memoirs over the years by several major
publishing houses both here & in the states, Monty instructed me to set
down his life story here, where it will be available for everyone to see for
free. As a result we spent many hours together enjoying a drink & a bite to
eat at Brambles tea rooms or, weather permitting, at the seating area outside
as we talked through Monty’s life story - the same story which is presented for
your enjoyment herein.
Brambles Tea Room at the Elsecar Heritage Centre
By way of a bribe in the form of a bag of
Monty’s favourite confectionary which I purchased for him from Emily’s
Traditional Sweet Shop - who stock an outstanding range of temptations for
those with a sweet tooth all presented in wonderfully traditional surroundings
- just like a proper sweet shop ought to be, I also persuaded the great man
himself write a few words by way of introduction.
“Hello
everyone, my name is Montague Hyde Whyte, some of you may have heard of me
whilst others may not. I have made my living by various means, details of which
begin below. One fine day whilst sitting on a bench in the Elsecar Heritage
Centre, enjoying the sunshine & the ambience of this wonderful place I
decided that perhaps I should set the record straight once & for all
regarding my life & times. There has been much both written & spoken
about me over the years relating to both my personal & professional life,
most of which has ranged from the inaccurate to the downright libellous. It is
to my good friend Eric Warner whom I turned to discuss my thoughts for setting
out my memoirs through the medium of the world wide web. His knowledge of this
internet malarkey has proved invaluable & said knowledge has allowed him to
place this serialisation of my story for you all to read & hopefully enjoy.
But before you begin reading the first instalment of this tome if should like,
if I may, to expand a little on why the Elsecar Heritage Centre has become such
an important part of my life. As already recorded I returned to live in my home
village of Elsecar after enjoying a
modestly successful career in film, stage & television which encompassed
the past seventy odd years. The decision was not made lightly, indeed my close
friends begged me to stay in Beverley Hills & could not understand why on
earth I should wish to relocate to the UK. As my good friend the veteran Film
producer Albert C Wiesenberger commented at the time ‘London I could understand
but Elsecar? Are you crazy Monty?’ Though here I admit for the first time that
I had long since tired of the showbiz circuit & the burden which the label ‘Hollywood
legend’ had brought me. The endless parties, personal appearances &
requests to attend this awards ceremony, or that film premier & the
incessant ringing of the telephone asking me to show my face on one of a
constant stream of chat shows had all lost their lustre. I found that a
yearning had taken over me, a yearning for things such as Yorkshire pudding, a
cheeky afternoon pint of beer & a
game of pool in a proper pub, long walks in the beautiful countryside, a spot
of fishing, piping hot fish & chips saturated in salt & malt vinegar
eaten with the fingers straight from the paper. Try getting any of those on
Sunset Boulevard & see how far you get - especially cod & chips with
sloppy peas or curry with plenty of scraps on (Believe me I’ve tried! They don’t
even sell Sheffield fish cakes!) The only place I knew I could be assured of
such simple pleasures was my home village of Elsecar &, in anticipation of
rediscovering them all, it was without even the slightest hint of regret that I
said goodbye to my friends & colleagues & headed back across the
Atlantic. Easing myself into my new life, imagine my delight to discover that
the old NCB workshops on Wath Road had been transformed into a little gem of a
place called the Elsecar Heritage Centre. My first visit there opened my eyes
to what a wonderful place it was to spend some quality time. It is obvious to
me that a lot of effort has gone into the place by those who work therein. The
shopkeepers have made tremendous efforts to ensure the site is a welcoming
environment for those who set foot through its gates. It has something to offer
everyone of every age, from terrific play facilities & toy shops for the youngsters
to an antiques centre for those - like myself - of slightly more ‘mature’
years. I have found myself spending more & more of my free time at the
Heritage Centre & enjoy nothing more than sitting on a bench in the
sunshine & watching the world pass me by. I am especially proud of the
efforts of those splendid fellows of the Elsecar Heritage Centre Railway who,
& despite lack of funds, have transformed the once derelict line into a
wonderful little tourist attraction all of its own which surely must rank as a
must see for diesel & steam enthusiasts alike. Whilst not an authority of
things railway, all I can say is I am transported back to my youth when I
witness the steam engines running up & down the line. Indeed I am oft
reminded of ‘A TICKET FOR TWO’ the 1955
film in which I starred alongside Celia Cedrickson as we played a couple of
star crossed lovers whose chance meeting over a custard cream in the waiting
room of a provincial railway station leads to a brief but passionate affair.
The final tear jerking scene - where I wave her off after she boards the 1755
to Brightside, knowing that we will never meet again, is always evoked every
time I see one of the trains pull away from the station. The Elsecar Heritage
Centre is not known by that title for any old reason, it is home to one of the
worlds most important industrial artefacts, the Newcomen Beam Engine - the only
piece of equipment of its type in the world to remain in its original location
in which it has been situated since it’s installation in 1795. I was suitably
delighted to recently learn that funding has been secured which means that the
Beam Engine will undergo a thorough restoration which will soon see it
transformed into a fantastic visitor attraction. If you ever visit the Elsecar
Heritage Centre - & I thoroughly recommend you do - who knows, perhaps we
may meet, until then may I most humbly offer my regards in the hope that you
enjoy reading about my life”
Montague
Hyde Whyte.
The
Willows,
Elsecar.
2012.
CHAPTER
ONE
Born on the
1st of April 1920, Montgomery Hyde Whyte was the youngest of six
children. His father was a man & his mother a woman. Early life proved a
tortuous affair for the young Monty. Having two convictions for whippet
dangling to his name meant that, for Monty’s father, finding work was always an
uphill struggle (though Monty has insisted that it be recorded here that Pater
didn’t do himself any favours on the job front after registering himself with
the labour exchange as a pearl diver). Indeed hadn’t it been for the
incomparable efforts of his mother & the fact that she worked permanent
fourteen hour nights as a wick trimmer, the whole family would have starved on
more than one occasion. Consequently money was always tight & the young
Monty had to learn to do without. For example the nearest he got to eating meat
consisted of licking the window of the local butchers shop & as far as such
luxuries such as sweets were concerned he had to make do with sniffing old
toffee wrappers he found lying in the street. As for toys Monty recalls being
allowed to have the occasional feel of his sisters rag doll but little else.
Wintertime was always the worst in the Hyde Whyte household, with Monty’s
memories of long bleak evenings spent huddled for warmth alongside his siblings
around the fireplace, hands out in anticipation of catching a scrap of heat
from the single cobble of coal which burned forlornly in the otherwise empty
grate. Christmases were best forgotten, for example so as to raise some extra
cash Monty, his brothers & sisters would be expected to go out carol
singing from august onwards. Also unless his father could snare a bird from the
next door neighbours pigeon loft, the festive lunch would consist of an eighth
share of a jammy dodger. Presents were always what other boys & girls got
& the closest thing to them Monty, his brothers & sisters could expect
on Christmas morning was a photograph of a toy which his father had cut out of the local free weekly newspaper. Monty still
has vivid recollections of one particular Christmas when he was presented with
a old horse shoe, being told by his dad that he was now part owner of a
racehorse. Principally because of his fathers failure to secure employment at any
of the pearl diving hotspots of the West Riding of Yorkshire (as South
Yorkshire was known in those days) times remained hard for the Hyde Whytes
& when Monty started school it was an inevitability that he was obliged to
wear hand-me-downs & other cast offs. Turning up for lessons clad in his
fathers old WW1 tin helmet, a uniform made from a worn out fur coat, his
eighteen year old brothers donkey jacket & his sisters stilettos meant that
this was no joke for the six year old Monty. His time away from the playground
proved little better as he found himself forced to work two jobs in order to
supplement the families meagre income. His typical daily routing was an early
morning paper round (though he covered most of Elsecar & into the
neighbouring villages he was denied use of a bicycle having to make do instead
with a more expedient form of transport, namely an old car tyre which he used
to roll down the road whilst running alongside. Not ideal by any means but
still - as his father told him - it was better than walking). Following a full
school day Monty evenings were taken up with his second job, spending at least
four hours a night as a lamp lighters assistant - a Particularly hard task as,
apart from the fact that he was paid on a commission only basis, Elsecars
street lights had all been converted to electric the year before. In spite of
or possibly because of the privations he was forced to endure Monty developed a
steely determination to break free from his surroundings at the earliest
opportunity. Given the fact that his family occupied a one up one down mid
terraced house the only time Monty could spend by himself was during his visits
to the outside toilet, it was here that the boy Monty first developed a thirst
for reading. The squares of newspaper hanging on the nail behind the door
seemed at first so much gibberish to Monty but, slowly & surely he
persisted in making sense of them & in so doing he began to realise that
there was much more to the world than was to be found in Elsecar. One day his
father announced that it was about time Monty had his own room & without
further ado he was moved into the space under the sink, this proved another
seminal moment in Monty’s young life as, because the sink had a curtain which
separated the area below it from the rest of the room, Monty found he could
shut himself away & indulge in his new passion for the written word. Nestled amongst the bottles of bleach, floor
cloths, black lead & dolly blue Monty read as many books & magazines as
he could lay his hands on all by the light of a single candle which he had
stuck into the bottom of a jam jar to form an improvised lantern, often staying
up til the wee hours so as to finish the next chapter. As he read whatever it
was he was reading he found he would begin to act out the scenes first to
himself & then to an imaginary audience. It was at this time - according to
Monty - that he realised, perhaps, his life lay in show business. It was an
ordinary school day which provided Monty with the key to the lock which he had
so long been searching for while he was doing his five times table on a slate
(yes they used to write on slates in those days!) Monty slipped & fell off
the roof. When he came to he had a revelation which he himself described as his
very own ‘road to Damascus’ moment & it was this very same
revelation which was to alter the course of Monty’s life & indeed latterly touch the lives of
millions of people around the globe, forever…………
When Monty
awoke from unconsciousness & saw the crowd which had gathered round him he
momentarily thought himself to be acting out one of his stories not under the
sink as usual but in the full glare of the limelight & centre stage of some
grand London theatre. The applause which accompanied his return to the land of
the living only served to cement the illusion, so much so that a still dazed
Monty got to his feet &, tottering on his six inch stilettos, took a bow.
For the remainder of that day the memory of that hallucination stayed with him
&, by home time, Monty had made up his mind - he wanted to be an actor.
Arriving home late in the evening after another fruitless lamp lighting shift,
Monty announced his ambition to the household. To say that his parents were not
impressed by this proclamation would be an understatement indeed, with his
mother cuffing him round the ear & sending him off to bed without any
supper only after his father insisted that Monty put such nonsense out of his
mind altogether as he would most certainly follow in his own footsteps &
begin work as a self employed benefit claimant.
With these
words ringing in his ears, that very same night the ten year old Monty eased
out from beneath the sink, put on the best of his ragged clothes & after
packing a few meagre belongings into a handkerchief which he knotted & tied onto the end of a
stick, Monty slipped out of the back door & headed off into the unknown…………..
Monty spent
five days on the road during which time he ate only what he could scrounge from
waste bins. He had realised within the first few miles that stilettos were of
little use when hiking & in frustration (& without thinking it through)
had snapped off the heels, the resulting adapted footwear only compounded
little Monty’s misery as they made him walk like Charlie Chaplins stunt double.
It was of little wonder that he was almost ready to give up on his dream &
go back to the life which had already been mapped out for him. Dejected, cold,
hungry & alone Monty sat down on a roadside verge to rest his weary feet
before starting off on the return journey when he spotted a most unusual sight.
The enormous tent which had been erected in the middle of the field stood out
against the evening skyline like a fairytale castle. Curiosity overwhelming
him, Monty approached to get a better look & as he did began to hear the
unmistakable sound of laughter & applause emanating from within. Poking his
head though one of the flaps Monty was confronted with a sight which was to
remain with him for the rest of his life. The circus was in full swing with
acrobats, jugglers, clowns & painted ladies entertaining an enthusiastic
crowd. The roar of laughter followed by gasps of awe & a timpani of
clapping which accompanied was almost too much for the awestruck young man to
digest. After the show ended & the audience had gone home Monty made his
way to the rear of the big top where in the distance he spied a gaggle of
caravans in the centre of which the circus performers had gathered around a
camp fire to drink & make merry. They were still dressed in their costumes &,
as the firelight played across the scene, it made a magnificent sight for the
young Monty. Gingerly he approached the gathering until he was eventually
spotted by one of the throng. Without hesitation & without question Monty
was invited into the circle & was given a bowl of piping hot stew which he
washed down by a glass of the most delicious homemade lemonade he had ever
tasted (upon reading the draft of this work back to him during afternoon tea at
Brambles, Monty reminds me that it was the only homemade lemonade he had ever
tasted!). The ravenous young waif soon polished off his meal & caused a
roar of laughter when he asked if he could have another portion. A second bowl
of stew was duly presented which he consumed with the same enthusiasm as the
first. Soon Monty was given a bed in Hairy Mary - the bearded lady’s - caravan.
Young Monty slept the sleep of the dead that night & when he eventually
woke up the following morning, the whole encampment had been uprooted in
readiness for a move to pastures new. Spotting an opportunity, the ever
resourceful Monty went off to see the Circus owner, Hugo Higgins to ask that he
be kept on as unpaid apprentice. To his delight Mr Higgins agreed & so
began the next chapter in Monty’s young life. Monty found himself unofficially
adopted by Hairy Mary & her Husband, circus clown Dotty Dan - whom both he was soon to grow to love &
from who he would learn many important lessons over the years to come…….
Monty
stayed with Higgins Circus for the next seven years, travelling the length
& breadth of the country & more than once across the channel into
France, blossoming from a callow boy into a strikingly handsome young man whose
looks would turn the heads of ladies wherever he roamed. During his time with
the circus he watched & he learned & he mastered many of the skills
which were to stand him in such good stead in his later acting career. Indeed
it was as a direct result of his circus training that, after winning the lead
role of Robin Good in the 1947 Hollywood film ‘THE VAGABOND OF SHERWOOD FOREST’
(where he starred alongside Gloria Greg, Herbert Beauchamp & Dick Duvall)
Monty insisted that he perform all his own stunts. This led to the films
climactic & highly acclaimed sword fighting scene where Robin Good
single-handedly dispatches the dastardly Earl of Exbridge - played to
perfection by Dick Duvall - & a party of no less than fifty nine of his
soldiers before finally sweeping Maiden Margaret (Gloria Greg) up into his
arms, kissing her then riding off into the sunset. Monty has always said that
it was the countless long hours he spent learning the ropes as a ferret tamer,
elephant chiropodist, snake waxer, trick unicyclist, stunt clown, trapeze
stringer, sawdust technician & knife thrower whilst with Higgins Circus
which gave him the edge over his contemporaries & led to a rightfully
deserved reputation as one of Hollywood’s most energetic leading men.
In 1937,
feeling that he had somehow outgrown his surroundings, the then seventeen year
old Monty decided to try & seek fame & fortune elsewhere thus, leaving
his life & his friends at Higgins circus behind, he hitch hiked to London.
His dream of a life treading the boards of the theatres of London’s west end
proved just that as, despite knocking on every single door of every single
theatre, rejection was the only response. Seeing his dreams slip through his
fingers & his meagre saving rapidly depleted Monty was forced to sleep
rough on the Thames embankment, though despite this he eventually secured
employment as a coffin nobblers mate. The work was hard & the hours long
though the paltry wage meant that Monty was forced to eke out his existence by
performing part time as a mime artist. It was by sheer chance that during one
of his busking sessions - where he was re-enacting the battle of Waterloo on
the pavement outside the Imperial War Museum - that he was spotted by one of
the capitals leading theatrical agents, the legendary Donald Downs. Seeing
Monty’s still boyish yet devilishly handsome looks shining out from beneath the
white face paint, Donald knew he could be onto something special. He waited
until Monty had finished miming the part of his act where, after assuring his
men that Bonaparte’s troops could never do them harm at such long range, the
Duke of Doncaster gets shot in the testicles by a French sniper. Donald Downs
introduced himself & asked the young performer along to his office to
undertake a formal audition. The very next day, wearing a suit which Hairy Mary
had hand knitted for him from her beard clippings, Monty turned up at The plush
Baker Street suite which was the home to Donald Downs Entertainments ltd. The
interview with Donald Downs & his assistant Mervin Megg lasted over an hour
during which time Monty showed off his full repertoire of circus & mime
talents, upon the conclusion of which he was asked to retire to a waiting room
whilst Mr’s Downs & Megg discussed his prospects. It was here that Monty
bumped into Donald Downs personal assistant. Elsie Potter was her name &
from first laying eyes on her Monty knew he was in love. Fortunately for the
smitten young man the feeling was mutual &, forgetting all about his
audition, Monty set about the task of wooing this most special of ladies. Soon
he had her laughing at his jokes & marvelling at his circus skills & the
way - with his hands in his pockets - he could juggle balls. Monty’s bubble was
soon burst though as Donald Downs called him back into his office to deliver
the verdict. Unfortunately, though both he & Mervin Megg considered Monty
to be both a handsome & talented young chap, they had both agreed that his
talents were not specific to their needs. Dejected, Monty left the office &
such was his disappointment that he completely forgot to say goodbye to Elsie.
It was only when he got outside that he realised his mistake. Monty tried to
get back into the building but found the door locked though desperate to see
Elsie once again he stepped back to the edge of the pavement &, after
counting the windows to determine which one Elsie would be behind, Monty lifted
his head to the heavens & began to sing that popular love song of the time “OH
MY DEAREST PLEASE BE MINE & MINE ALONE, FOR YOU ARE THE ONE WHO HAS STOLEN
MY HEART & FOR THAT I SHALL EVER BE THANKFUL” (or
OMDPBM&MAFYATOWHSMH&FTISEBT for short). It was a smitten Elsie who
leant from the window to listen to the serenade. The window adjoining where
Elsie now opened & a voice bellowed “Turn that wireless down, we’re trying
to work in here!” Any further complaints by Donald Downs were soon silenced as
he craned from his own office window & realised that it was not the
wireless at all but the voice of the good looking young man who had auditioned
for him only moments earlier. By the time Monty was into the last verse a crowd
had gathered to listen to the performance &, as Monty hit the final big
note, they spontaneously broke into frenzied applause. Even while Monty was
having his hand shook, back slapped (& collecting more than a few pecks to
the cheek by some of the more adventurous among the ladies gathered thereabout)
Donald Downs had rushed down, taken Monty by the arm & led him back into
his office. Within moments Monty had signed on the dotted line to become what
Donald Downs predicted - the next big thing…….
A copy of the label for Montys first hit 78 'Let's Make Love'.
A printing error led to his name being spelt wrong, 500 copies
made it off the presses before the mistake was realised. As a result
those examples which survive command high prices. The last copy made
$10,000 when it came up for auction in the United States
An example of Montys second big hit. 'Is This The Way To Your Heart?'
outsold 'Let's Make Love' by over 120,000 copies, making it
the biggest selling record of 1938.
Things were
definitely looking up for Monty, he had swapped his life of coffin nobbling,
vagrancy & mime for a career on the stage, a move to which he applied
himself with his usual gusto. Touring music halls across the country, Monty
soon built up a solid reputation as a first rate crooner playing to houses
which were always packed to the rafters with adoring female fans. In 1938 he
recorded the hit 78s ‘LET’S MAKE LOVE’ & ‘IS THIS THE WAY TO YOUR HEART?’.
As well as a rapidly ascending career, he was now engaged to be married to
Elsie. Despite his burgeoning success Monty never forgot his friends &, at
every opportunity when the circus was in town, would take Elsie to see Hairy
Mary, Dotty Dan & all the rest of his old pals down at the big top. Indeed
later that same year he returned to Elsecar to introduce his fiancée to his
family. He discovered that little had changed since his departure, save for the
fact that his father had given up his idea of gaining riches through pearl
diving & - at the insistence of the dole office - had settled down to
become a wheel tapper at the local colliery workshops (which, ironically, many
years later was to be transformed into the Elsecar Heritage Centre) though it
must be said that he continued to make he occasional fruitless free diving
forays into the local reservoir. The only thing which now blighted Monty’s
otherwise idyllic life was his continuing desire to become a fully fledged
thespian. Donald Downs was well aware of Monty’s acting ambitions & on many
occasions had tried to dissuade him from following that path, yet Monty
persisted so in the end Donald secured a small walk on part for him in the low
budget film ‘CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW GRANDDAD?’ a comedy in which he played PC
Percy Pointer alongside the star of the movie, popular music hall comedian Eric
“the cheeky chump” Eccles. The plot of which surrounded the antics of Eric
Eccles as a bumbling & accident prone bus conductor who stumbles across a
foreign spy ring operating in Mablethorpe. As far as Monty was concerned, &
despite of can you hear me granddads’ lukewarm reception by its intended
audience, the die was cast. It was to be an actors life for him or nothing.
Monty’s decision also spelled the beginning of the end of his relationship with
Donald Downs & soon Monty was to engage a new agent, namely the eminent
Noel Newbridge. After a somewhat faltering start, during which time Monty
attempted to leave the shadow of Can you hear me now granddad behind, he
managed to secure work as juvenile lead with a small theatrical company which
was touring the provinces with a production of the whodunit ‘MURDER MOST MOIST’.
Despite pressure from some quarters for Monty to record further songs, he
refused, preferring instead to concentrate on acting. In the spring of 1939
Monty & Elsie were married &, following a successful stint in London’s
west end playing Crusher Collins, a numerically dyslexic fighter in the
critically acclaimed wrestling musical ‘COUNT TEN & YOU’RE OUT’ Monty was
poised on the brink of a glittering theatre career. However, as the year
progressed the storm clouds of war were gathering across Europe &, little
was Monty to know, his life was to change in more ways than one forever…………….
The front cover of HOWDO magazine featuring Monty.
TO BE
CONTINUED……………………….
