Harry Corbett

Harry Corbett OBE (28 January 1918 Bradford, West Yorkshire — 17 August 1989) was a British puppeteer, known as the creator in 1948 of the long running 'Sooty' glove puppet character.

He was born in Bradford to coal miner James W. and Florence, née Ramsden, Corbett.

Deafness in one ear precluded Corbett from pursuing his musical ambitions although he did have a spell playing piano in the world famous Guiseley fish and chip restaurant owned by his mother's brother Harry Ramsden. His parents also had a fish and chip business in Guiseley called Springfields, which is still open today opposite Morrisons in the town.

In order to entertain his children whilst on holiday in Blackpool in 1948, he bought the original glove puppet, then called Teddy, in a novelty shop on the end of the resort's North Pier for seven shillings and six pence (equiv 37.5np).

His first appearance with the silent Sooty was in a 1952 BBC TV show called Talent Night. He was then given a part in Peter Butterworth's TV show Saturday Special. He soon gained his own show and was a regular favourite throughout the 1950s and 1960s. His show would combine simple magic tricks with slapstick comedy in which Sooty usually poured liquid over or attacked Corbett.

'Harry Corbett' is featured as a movie character in the following productions:

So This Is Love (1953)

Actors: Walter Abel (actor), Jack Gargan (actor), Fortunio Bonanova (actor), William Bakewell (actor), Oliver Blake (actor), Joseph Forte (actor), Jack Chefe (actor), Tristram Coffin (actor), Sayre Dearing (actor), William Boyett (actor), Ralph Brooks (actor), Franklyn Farnum (actor), Frank Ferguson (actor), Robert Carson (actor), Roy Glenn (actor),

Genres: Biography, Musical,
Taglines: When she shimmied, the show world shook! When she sang, the whole world thrilled!

Gentleman Jim (1942)

Actors: Monte Blue (actor), Joe Devlin (actor), Wade Boteler (actor), Walter Byron (actor), Hooper Atchley (actor), Jean Del Val (actor), Davison Clark (actor), Wallis Clark (actor), Hal Craig (actor), Joseph Crehan (actor), Ward Bond (actor), Wade Crosby (actor), William B. Davidson (actor), Jack Carson (actor), Dudley Dickerson (actor),

Plot: Because boxing is a considered an illegal and disreputable enterprise in 1880's San Francisco, wealthy and influential members of the prestigious Olympic Club vow to make the sport a "gentlemanly" one. They sponsor a brash, extroverted young bank clerk named Jim Corbett, who quickly becomes an accomplished fighter under the new Marquis of Queensbury Rules. Despite his success, the young Irish-American's social pretensions and boastful manner soon estrange him from his benefactors, who plot to give their conceited former protege a well-deserved comeuppance. Despite this, his dazzlingly innovative footwork helps him to beat a succession of bigger and stronger men, and he finally finds himself fighting for the world's championship against his childhood idol, John L. Sullivan.

Keywords: 1890s, 19th-century, bank, bank-teller, barbary-coast, bare-knuckle-boxing, benefactor, blackface, boxing, breaking-the-fourth-wall
Genres: Biography, Drama, Romance, Sport,
Taglines: The grandest story of the Naughty "Nineties" becomes the gayest picture of the Fighting "Forties!"

Quotes:

Victoria Ware: [after being kissed by Corbett] Fine way for a gentleman to behave.::James J. Corbett aka Gentleman Jim: Oh, darling, that gentleman stuff never fooled you, did it? I'm no gentleman.::Victoria Ware: In that case, I'm no lady. [they kiss again]

[repeated line]::Walter Lowrie: The Corbetts are at it again! The Corbetts are at it again!

Judge Geary: We'll take in a few clean-cut boys from good families, and if we can't make you fighters into gentlemen, we'll try to make some gentlemen into fighters.

Victoria Ware: ...you know there really aren't two sides of the tracks to San Francisco. There's only the lucky and the unlucky, those that happened to grab the right moment and those that didn't, and don't you let this Nob Hill crowd deceive you either. After all, we all started out with the same wooden washtubs.

James J. Corbett aka Gentleman Jim: [to Victoria Ware] That's the girl! You just keep pulling for me to lose, will you? That's the way I like it! Bring me good luck!

James J. Corbett aka Gentleman Jim: Well, Miss Ware, if I get knocked out, I hope you'll throw a little water on me.::Victoria Ware: When you get knocked out, Mr. Corbett, I'll throw some champagne on you.::James J. Corbett aka Gentleman Jim: Yeah, uh, well, make sure it's good champagne.

Pat Corbett: Do you see that hand?::Harry Corbett: [In unison] Yes.::Mary Corbett: [In unison] Yes.::George Corbett: [In unison] Yes.::Pat Corbett: Well, you're gazin' on the hand that shook the hand of John L. Sullivan!::George Corbett: John L. Sullivan?::Harry Corbett: John L. Sullivan?::Mary Corbett: John Sullivan?::Ma Corbett: [Emphasizing the middle initial] John L. Sullivan!::James J. Corbett aka Gentleman Jim: Well, what are you planning to do with it?::Pat Corbett: Well, I'm not even gonna wash it!

James J. Corbett aka Gentleman Jim: [Watching his inebriated father's weaving walk home] Here comes Pop! Uh, he's walkin' the tightrope again.

James J. Corbett aka Gentleman Jim: I've seen you around San Francisco a few times but from a long distance, of course.::John L. Sullivan: Well, seein' me from a long distance is a smart idea, young fella.

James J. Corbett aka Gentleman Jim: The first time I saw you fight I was just a bit of a kid. There wasn't a man alive who could have stood up to you then. And tonight, well, I was just mighty glad that you weren't the John L. Sullivan of ten years ago.::John L. Sullivan: Is that what you're thinkin' now?::James J. Corbett aka Gentleman Jim: That's what I was thinking before I got into the ring with you.::John L. Sullivan: That's a fine decent thing for you to say, Jim. I don't knopw how we might have come out, oh, say, eight or ten tears ago. I... maybe I was faster then, but if I was, tonight you're the fastest thing on two feet

photo: Creative Commons / Malene Thyssen

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Shocking moment bear kills elk baby as mum watches

Edit The Local 10 Jun 2016

A heartbreaking clip of a brown bear mauling a baby elk to death right in front of its mother has gone viral in Sweden. The Local spoke to the Swede about his feelings on shooting the brutal video ... ....

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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a campaign rally, at the Rimrock Auto Arena, in Billings, Mont., Thursday, May 26, 2016.

Does Racism And Racial-Identity Need Readdressing In America?

Edit WorldNews.com 10 Jun 2016

Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas DarlingIt’s too bad Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is the only high-profile politician addressing “racial-identity” and “racism,” two of the most emotionally charged terms in America’s vocabulary. To be sure, dictionary.com just claimed that in the last year “identity” was the most important and often used term ... Recent comments by First Lady Michelle Obama were also interesting....

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[VIDEO]: Koch Industries Launches 'End The Divide' Campaign

Edit WorldNews.com 10 Jun 2016

Conservative billionaire Charles Koch and his company have taken a new tact in their bid to influence the next presidential election this fall, launching a television and digital advertising campaign calling on Americans to “end the divide” in politics and to find common ground, CBS News said quoting a USA Today reports. "Let's stop attacking people we disagree with and trying to silence them....

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The Unknown Lab of Millennials Fast-Tracking NASA’s Missions

Edit Wired News 10 Jun 2016

If you know anything about NASA, you know that missions just don't get launched that fast. The post The Unknown Lab of Millennials Fast-Tracking NASA’s Missions appeared first on WIRED ... ....

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The Arab Revolt: A war of unintended consequences

Edit Al Jazeera 10 Jun 2016

One hundred years ago this week, in the middle of World War I, an uprising erupted at the axis of the Islamic world, in Mecca. Encouraged by the British the ruler of the holy city, Sharif Hussein, launched a revolt against the Ottoman Turks ... To persuade him to help them the British promised him and his Arab nationalist supporters independence in the post-war world if they rebelled against the Turks ... Double-dealing ... ALSO READ ... ALSO READ ... ....

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Steptoe and Son explored through fine art: new exhibition at UAL CSM (University of the Arts London)

Edit Public Technologies 23 May 2016

(Source. University of the Arts London). May 23, 2016. University of Arts London PhD Fine Art graduate, Dean Kelland, explores masculinity in post-war British sitcom in a new free public exhibition at UAL Central Saint Martins this week. Flawed Masculinities ... Dean Kelland commented ... I was lucky enough to spend time talking to Susannah Corbett (Harry H. Corbett's daughter) about Steptoe and Son and her father's working methods ... (noodl....

Steptoe and Son creators honoured with Bafta fellowship

Edit The Guardian 05 May 2016

Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, often credited as creators of situation comedy, also devised Hancock’s Half Hour. @johnplunkett149 ... They went on to create a second landmark sitcom with Steptoe and Son, about a father-and-son rag-and-bone business, starring Harry H Corbett and Wilfrid Brambell, which ran for eight series until 1972. Related. Brian Logan meets the men who invented situation comedy ... The fellowship is Bafta’s highest accolade ... ....

Bafta Fellowship for creators of comedy classics Hancock and Steptoe

Edit Belfast Telegraph 05 May 2016

The comedy writing duo behind Steptoe And Son and Hancock's Half Hour will be honoured with a Bafta Fellowship at the awards on Sunday ... Share Go To ... Galton said ... Thank you all.". Simpson added ... The enormously popular sitcom, starring Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H Corbett as "dirty old man" Albert and his socially aspirational son Harold respectively, ran for 12 years on BBC from 1962-1974 ... ....

Jokers in the pack: why we still see funny side of Harold, Alf and Fletch

Edit The Guardian 13 Mar 2016

The BBC is launching a retrospective of 60 years of classic comedy including Steptoe and Son, Till Death Us Do Part and Porridge. What do the hits of the past tell us about the changing face of Britain today?. Look closely at popular television comedy to see if it might tell you something about wider society and you are asking for trouble ... And in Steptoe and Son, Harry H Corbett’s character dreams of escape into a groovy, modern world ... ....

The Chuckle Brothers: 'We were going to remake The Mummy in 3D'

Edit The Guardian 16 Dec 2015

Paul and Barry Elliott, AKA the Chuckle Brothers, are in Peter Pan at Wolverhampton this year – their 48th consecutive pantomime. They talk daytime TV, their movie dreams – and making a record with Tinchy Stryder. Hello Chuckle Brothers! What panto are you doing this Christmas?. Barry. It’s Peter Pan this year – we’re playing Paul and Barry Smee. They’re Captain Hook’s mates. Who else is in it?. Paul ... Barry ... The other one was Harry H Corbett....

Charlie Higson's horror pub quiz

Edit The Guardian 10 Nov 2015

Do you know your Jekyll from your Dracula? Test your knowledge with Charlie Higson’s little quiz of horrors. 1 So who actually wrote The Strange Case Of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde?. Robert Louis Stevenson. Edgar Allen Poe. HP Lovecraft. H Rider Haggard. 2Abbott and Costello made a string of films in which they encountered classic movie monsters, such as Abbott And Costello Meet The Invisible Man ... Frankenstein. Dracula. Dr ... Harry H Corbett ... ....

The nation’s all-time favourite puppets (Travelodge Hotels Ltd)

Edit Public Technologies 15 Oct 2015

(Source. Travelodge Hotels Ltd). Sooty, Kermit the Frog, Gordon the Gopher, Sweep and Miss Piggy are the nation's all-time favourite puppets. Sooty, the loveable British puppet bear who was created by Harry Corbett in 1948 and is now aged 67, has been voted by Britons as their all-time favourite puppet in a new poll out today ... The youngest puppet to make the top 20 list at aged 30, Gordon the Gopher, has won third place in the list ... 1 ... 2....

Danny Baker defends Peter Kay's cockney accent in Cradle to Grave

Edit Digital Spy 03 Sep 2015

Surprised by Peter Kay's 'Gor blimey!' Cockney accent in BBC Two's Cradle to Grave? Series creator Danny Baker says you'll get used to it ... © BBC/ ITV Cradle Ltd/Matt Squire ... © BBC. "I grew up with Harry Corbett in Steptoe and Son, what part of London was that?" Baker asked ... It was really hard for him ... ....

Postcards from Orton, pointers from Pinter: Kenneth Cranham looks back

Edit The Guardian 12 May 2015

In Loot he made castanets from Orton’s dead mum’s teeth. For The Homecoming Pinter cast him as a liar and a butcher. As he dons pyjamas for The Father, the veteran actor considers half a century in theatre ... He was just beginning’ … Kenneth Cranham ... posh ... One shows images from a mid-1970s revival of Entertaining Mr Sloane, in which Beryl Reid and Harry H Corbett competed for the sexual favours of Cranham (as the amoral young stud Sloane) ... ....

Jim Dale interview: 'I wasn't good friends with the Carry On clique'

Edit The Daily Telegraph 12 May 2015

The TV veteran reveals he was snubbed by Sid James and Kenneth Williams when he appeared on This Is Your Life ... By Jasper Rees. 5.11PM BST 12 May 2015. Comments ... But that was in the Sixties ... It’ll all be in the show, which is a sort of stage memoir starting with Dale’s youth in Northants and going all the way through to recording the Harry Potter audiobooks in the US ... Jim Dale and Harry H. Corbett in Carry On Screaming!, 1966 ... ....

Martin Pulver obituary

Edit The Guardian 05 Apr 2015

Martin Pulver had to go out to work rather than take up a university place, but returned to education later in life and found a niche in the world of 18th- and 19th-century ceramics. Photograph. Andrew Pulver. Andrew Pulver. @Andrew_Pulver. Sunday 5 April 2015 12.53 BST Last modified on Sunday 5 April 2015 12.54 BST ... Tony Hancock, Harry H Corbett, Dave Allen and PG Wodehouse all received due acclaim. But it wasn’t just jokes ... popular ... ....

The Sooty Show review – enduring puppet still in key with Year One humour

Edit The Guardian 20 Feb 2015

New Theatre, Oxford ... Continuous hysterics... Sooty, Sweep and Soo. Photograph. PR. Andrew Pulver. @Andrew_Pulver. Friday 20 February 2015 17.07 GMT. Being a connoisseur of the iPlayer, my 4-year-old didn’t even know Sooty and Sweep, let alone that The Sooty Show has (like all fondly-remembered 70s kids TV) been rebooted and refreshed since Matthew “Son of Harry” Corbett packed it in 1998 ... Facebook Twitter. Sooty and Richard Cadell. Photograph ... ....

From the archive, 13 January 1968: BBC may lose Sooty to commercial TV

Edit The Guardian 13 Jan 2015

After 15 years, and about 200 programmes, dear old Auntie is showing signs of disenchantment with the puppet’s creator Harry Corbett. Harry Corbett puppets Sooty (left) and Jezebel ... Sooty the puppet, his friend Sweep the mongrel, Ramsbotham the snake, and their amiable creator, Harry Corbett, may have lost a friend in the BBC but they seem to have found one in commercial television....