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A brilliant clubland and stage comedian Chubby Oates was one of the most familiar faces in London’s theatreland. No show business function seemed to be complete without grand entrance from the larger than life, immaculately dressed, pipe-smoking cockney entertainer.
Once described as an East End Mr Pickwick he was known for his onstage timing and quick-witted ad-libbing but he was just as entertaining holding court in a bar with friends. His language could be choice, his opinions on showbusiness acerbic but he was much respected by his peers and was regarded as the comedian’s comedian.
Born Arthur Oates in Bermondsey, London on December 23, 1942 he cut his teeth as a comic whilst appearing in the Bermondsey scout gang shows. After leaving school he went to work as a reporter on the South London Observer where he shared an office with a young Kelvin MacKenzie, future editor of The Sun. He became friends with MacKenzie and taught the budding journalist to type. “What a bleedin’ thing to be remembered for!” he said.
He began performing as a comic in East End clubs during the evenings and by the early sixties turned professional, entertaining at Forces bases in Britain and Germany. Summer seasons in Blackpool, Great Yarmouth and other resorts followed and he was also in demand as a pantomime dame. For several years he appeared as an ugly sister with the entertainer Tommy Osborne.
In 1969 he co-starred with Fiona Richmond in one of London’s longest running comedies, Pajama Tops, a Paul Raymond production that ran for five and a half years at the Whitehall Theatre. He appeared between club engagements for several months at a time in the show and later headlined the UK tour.
By the seventies he was already regarded as one of Britain’s top clubland comedians and attracted something of a cult following among fellow performers, many of whom aped his earthy and often off-beat humour. With comedians Lee Tracy and Mrs Shufflewick (Rex Jameson) he devised and starred in the hugely successful Pure Corn adult revues at the Theatre Royal, Stratford. In 1990 he appeared in variety at the London Palladium with Roy Hudd and Margery Manners.
He was also a character actor of note and had appeared in cameo roles in several television series such as Doctor Who, Dixon of Dock Green and Cribb. In 1968 he appeared with Charlie Drake and Phil Rose in Charles Marowitz’s production of Jarry’s Ubu Roi (Jeanetta Cochrane Theatre) and in 1994 he returned to the Whitehall Theatre to play the butler Merriman in Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, opposite the female impersonators Hinge and Bracket. When Princess Diana visited the Whitehall production Oates was presented to her backstage. “How are you enjoying the run?” she inquired. “All right, girl,” he quipped in broad cockney.Â
He wrote about light entertainment for several publications including, for many years, The Stage and The Call Boy, the journal of the British Music Hall Society. In 1968 he compiled a book, The Pictorial History of Female Impersonation.
In 1997 he suffered a stroke while appearing on stage in Margate but bravely recovered and returned to performing. In 2005 he endeared himself to critics and the public alike when he took part in the C4 reality show Wakey Wakey Campers! In June this year he gave a master class in comedy for young drama students at the Theatre Museum in London.
A revered member of both the CAA and the Savage Clubs in London, he was also active with the Actors’ Church Union and the Save London Theatres Campaign.
He had been performing at a show business lunch at the CAA on November 9 with June Whitfield and Roy Hudd but suffered a stroke later that evening. He died the following morning in Deal, Kent, aged 63. He is survived by his wife, Viv and their daughter Sue. Another daughter predeceased him.
Patrick Newley- The Stage Newspaper Nov 13th 2006
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28 авг 2024
