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Mr Muffin, Will Hay died on this day 18 April 1949

17/4/2020

3 Comments

 
Picture
​On This Day 18 April 1949 Will Hay died
William Thomson Hay FRAS (6 December 1888 – 18 April 1949) was a comedian, actor, author, film director and amateur astronomer who came to notice for his theatrical sketch as a jocular schoolmaster, known as Dr. Muffin.
While working as a commercial correspondent in Manchester he married, on 7 October 1907, Gladys, the eighteen-year-old daughter of Thomas Perkins, postmaster of Broughton, Salford. They had three children. Hay subsequently formed a relationship with Randi Kopstadt, a Norwegian showgirl.
The acts in which Hay performed the schoolmaster sketch became known as "The Fourth Form at St. Michael's". Hay toured with the act and appeared in the United States, Canada, Australia and South Africa.
He famously performed the schoolmaster routine at the 1925 Royal Command Performance before King George V and Queen Mary. From 1934 to 1943, he was a prolific film star in Britain, and was ranked the third highest grossing star at the British Box Office in 1938, behind George Formby and Gracie Fields.

Resident of 45 The Chase,Norbury and Pollards Hill SW16 and buried at Streatham Park Cemetery

© Estate of John Gilroy; collection National Portrait Gallery,

3 Comments
Alfred Game
10/7/2021 11:44:13 am

I have just found this piece about Will Hay on your site and hope that you or someone can provide me with a source for, or some further information about, the very last line - Will Hay living in Pollards Hill.

My interest is very personal: my dad, Syd, was a great Will Hay enthusiast. He had been a paper boy in Norbury and he had met Mr Hay a number of times when delivering his morning papers. Mr Hay would sometimes give dad the money to buy cigarettes at the newsagent when he finished his round and dad would then drop them in on his way home.

I accepted this piece of family folk lore until sometime after dad died in 2005, when I read Graham Rinaldi's biography of Will Hay and found that Hay moved out of 45 The Chase in 1934.

My dad was born in 1926, and I know that rules were less strict in those days but its difficult to imagine a seven year old cycling at the crack of dawn from Boston Road in West Thornton to Norbury, doing a paper round and cycling back. I did manage to speak to his younger sister and she was very clear that he had the paper round for a couple of years but he was at least 10-12 years old......she also said that she thought the newsagents was in a parade of shops on the London Road somewhere near Galpins Road. The Chase is certainly not on the way between there and Boston Road!

So, you can see why the reference to Will Hay in Pollards Hill interests me - it may provide the explanation to this little mystery. Any help you can give will be greatly appreciated.

Reply
Mark Bery
11/7/2021 04:03:34 am

Alfred how fascinating. I have just checked some records and I can see Will Hay at 45 the Chase from a shipping record in February 1927 returning from the US and in the 1939 register he is living in Hendon so it seems the book is correct he moved out some time before 1939. Unfortunately I can't see him on any electoral rolls - hope this helps?

Reply
Alfred Game
12/7/2021 04:00:51 am

Thank you for your reply, Mark . I dont think I am ever going to get clarification of this curious tale at this distance in time but I am grateful to you for taking such trouble to check your records for me.

Reply



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    Author

    Mark Bery, Secretary Streatham Society

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