Max Linder
Gabriel-Maximilien Leuvielle, better known by the stage name Max Linder, was a French actor, screenwriter and comedian of the silent film era. His onscreen persona Max was one of the first recognizable recurring characters in film and he has been cited as the first international movie star. Born in Cavernes, France to Catholic parents, Linder grew up with a passion for the theatre and he soon received awards for his performances and continued to pursue a career in the legitimate theatre. He became a player with the Bordeaux Théâtre des Arts from 1901 to 1904, performing in plays by Molière, Pierre Corneille. From the summer of 1905, Linder appeared in comedy films for Pathé. His first major role was in the Georges Méliès-like fantasy film The Legend of Punching. Starting with The Skaters Debut in 1907, the character one of the first identifiable motion-picture characters who appeared in successive situation comedies. By 1911, Linder was co-directing his own films as well as writing the scripts, Linder enlisted at the outbreak of the First World War, and worked at first as a dispatch driver and entertainer.
During his service, he was injured several times, and the experiences reportedly had an effect on him both physically and mentally. It was during this time he suffered his first outbreak of chronic depression, Linder was born Gabriel-Maximilien Leuvielle near Saint-Loubès, Gironde. His parents were wealthy vineyard owners and expected Linder to take over the family business, but Linder grew up with a passion for the theatre and was enthralled by the traveling theater and circus performances that occasionally visited his town. He wrote that nothing was more distasteful to me than the thought of a life among the grapes, in 1899, Linder enrolled in the Bordeaux Conservatorie and quickly won awards for first prize in comedy and second prize in tragedy. At the same time that he was performing in serious dramatic theater, le Bargy encouraged Linder to audition for the Paris Conservatorie in 1904. Linder was rejected and began appearing in less prestigious theaters such as the Olympia Theater, by 1905, he had adopted his stage name of Max Linder and used it in several theatrical performances.
Also during this period, Linder applied for work at Pathé Frères in Vincennes at the suggestion of film director Louis Gasnier and began appearing in bit parts. Linder continued to appear on the stage for the two years and was not a significant film star at first. Come and act in front of my cameras, and I will help make it, from 1905 to 1907, Linder appeared in dozens of short comedy films for Pathé, usually in a supporting role. His first noticeably larger film role was in The Young Mans first outing in 1905 and he appeared in Georges Méliès-like fantasy films such as Serpentine Dances and The Legend of Punching, his first leading role
Clapper (musical instrument)
A clapper is a basic form of percussion instrument. It consists of two solid pieces that are clapped together producing sound. A straightforward instrument to produce and play, they exist in forms in many different cultures around the world. Clappers can take a number of forms and be made of a variety of material. Wood is most common, but metal and ivory have been used, the plastic thundersticks that have recently come to be popular at sporting events can be considered a form of inflated plastic clapper. Several specific forms of clapper have their own names, such as the Chinese guban or the Korean bak, in the classical music of Thailand, a similar instrument is called krap. In Vietnam, the coin clapper called sinh tiền is widely used, in medieval French music, clappers called tablettes or cliquettes were used. In the Western symphony orchestra, a called the whip is occasionally used in the percussion section. The term is not to be confused with bell clapper, in music, a whip or slapstick is a clapper consisting of two wooden boards joined by a hinge at one end.
When the boards are brought together rapidly, the sound is reminiscent of the crack of a whip and it is often used in modern orchestras and percussion ensembles. There are two types of whips, the first has two planks of wood connected by a hinge, with a handle on each. The percussionist holds the instrument by the handles and hits the two pieces of wood together, creating a loud whip noise and this second type of whip is technically a separate instrument called a slapstick. The whip is sometimes indicated in scores by the words for whip or a term indicating the clapper construction. This list is alphabetical, but is by no means exhaustive
Stan Laurel
Stan Laurel was an English comic actor and film director, most famous for his role in the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Hardy in 107 short films, feature films, Laurel began his career in music hall, where he appropriated a number of his standard comic devices, the bowler hat, the deep comic gravity, and the nonsensical understatement. His performances polished his skills at pantomime and music hall sketches, Laurel was a member of Fred Karnos Army, where he was Charlie Chaplins understudy. With Chaplin, the two arrived in the US on the ship from Britain with the Karno troupe. Laurel began his career in films in 1917 and made his last appearance in 1951, from 1928 onwards, he appeared exclusively with Oliver Hardy. Laurel officially retired from the following his comedy partners death in 1957. In 1961, Laurel was given a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award for his work in comedy. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Blvd and Hardy ranked top among best double acts and seventh overall in a 2005 UK poll to find the Comedians Comedian.
In 2009, a statue of the duo was unveiled in Laurels home town of Ulverston. Arthur Stanley Jefferson was born in his grandparents house on 16 June 1890 at 3 Argyle Street, Lancashire and he had two brothers and a sister. His parents Margaret and Arthur Jefferson were both active in the theatre and always very busy, in his early years, the boy spent much time living with his grandmother Sarah Metcalfe. He attended school at King James I Grammar School, Bishop Auckland, County Durham and he moved with his parents to Glasgow, where he completed his education at Rutherglen Academy. His father managed Glasgows Metropole Theatre, where Laurel began work and his boyhood hero was Dan Leno, one of the greatest English music hall comedians. It was the hall from where he drew his standard comic devices, including his bowler hat. He joined Fred Karnos troupe of actors in 1910 with the name of Stan Jefferson. The music hall nurtured him, and he acted as Chaplins understudy for some time and Laurel arrived in the United States on the same ship from Britain with the Karno troupe and toured the country.
From 1916 to 1918, he teamed up with Alice Cooke and Baldwin Cooke, amongst other performers, Laurel worked briefly alongside Oliver Hardy in a silent film short The Lucky Dog. This was before the two were a team and it was around this time that Laurel met Mae Dahlberg
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Charlie Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor and composer who rose to fame during the era of silent film. Chaplin became an icon through his screen persona the Tramp and is considered one of the most important figures in the history of the film industry. His career spanned more than 75 years, from childhood in the Victorian era until a year before his death in 1977, Chaplins childhood in London was one of poverty and hardship. As his father was absent and his mother struggled financially, he was sent to a workhouse twice before the age of nine, when he was 14, his mother was committed to a mental asylum. Chaplin began performing at an age, touring music halls and working as a stage actor. At 19 he was signed to the prestigious Fred Karno company, Chaplin was scouted for the film industry, and began appearing in 1914 for Keystone Studios. He soon developed the Tramp persona and formed a fan base. Chaplin directed his own films from a stage, and continued to hone his craft as he moved to the Essanay, Mutual.
By 1918, he was one of the best known figures in the world, in 1919, Chaplin co-founded the distribution company United Artists, which gave him complete control over his films. His first feature-length was The Kid, followed by A Woman of Paris, The Gold Rush and he refused to move to sound films in the 1930s, instead producing City Lights and Modern Times without dialogue. Chaplin became increasingly political, and his film, The Great Dictator. The 1940s were a decade marked with controversy for Chaplin, and he was accused of communist sympathies, while his involvement in a paternity suit and marriages to much younger women caused scandal. An FBI investigation was opened, and Chaplin was forced to leave the United States and he abandoned the Tramp in his films, which include Monsieur Verdoux, Limelight, A King in New York, and A Countess from Hong Kong. Chaplin wrote, produced, starred in and he was a perfectionist, and his financial independence enabled him to spend years on the development and production of a picture.
His films are characterised by slapstick combined with pathos, typified in the Tramps struggles against adversity, many contain social and political themes, as well as autobiographical elements. In 1972, as part of an appreciation for his work. He continues to be held in regard, with The Gold Rush, City Lights, Modern Times. Charles Spencer Chaplin was born on 16 April 1889 to Hannah Chaplin, there is no official record of his birth, although Chaplin believed he was born at East Street, Walworth, in South London
Pantomime
Pantomime, is a type of musical comedy stage production, designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, generally during the Christmas and New Year season and, to a lesser extent. It is a form of theatre, in which the audience is expected to sing along with certain parts of the music. Pantomime has a theatrical history in Western culture dating back to classical theatre. It developed partly from the 16th century commedia dellarte tradition of Italy, as well as other European and British stage traditions, such as 17th-century masques, an important part of the pantomime, until the late 19th century, was the harlequinade. Outside Britain the word pantomime is used to mean miming. The Roman pantomime drew upon the Greek tragedy and other Greek genres from its inception, although the art was instituted in Rome, the English word came to be applied to the performance itself. Music was supplied by flute and the pulse of an iron-shod shoe, performances might be in a private household, with minimal personnel, or else lavish theatrical productions involving a large orchestra and chorus and sometimes an ancillary actor.
The dancer danced all the roles, relying on masks, stock poses and gestures, Pantomime differed from mime by its more artistic nature and relative lack of farce and coarse humour, though these were not absent from some productions. Precursors of pantomime included the masque, which grew in pomp, the development of English pantomime was strongly influenced by the continental commedia dellarte, a form of popular theatre that arose in Italy in the Early Modern Period. Each scenario used some of the stock characters. These included the innamorati, the vecchi such as Pantalone, and zanni such as Arlecchino, Scaramouche, Italian masque performances in the 17th century sometimes included the Harlequin character. In the 17th century, adaptations of the characters became familiar in English entertainments. From these, the standard English harlequinade developed, depicting the eloping lovers Harlequin and Columbine, pursued by the girls father Pantaloon and his comic servants Clown, in English versions, by the 18th century, Harlequin became the central figure and romantic lead.
The basic plot of the harlequinade remained essentially the same for more than 150 years, tavern Bilkers, by John Weaver, the dancing master at Drury Lane, is cited as the first pantomime produced on the English stage. The same year he produced a pantomime on the subject of Perseus, after this, pantomime was regular feature at Drury Lane. In 1717 at Lincolns Inn and manager John Rich introduced Harlequin into the theatres pantomimes under the name of Lun and he gained great popularity for his pantomimes, especially beginning with his 1724 production of The Necromancer, or, History of Dr. Faustus. These early pantomimes were silent, or dumb show, performances consisting of only dancing, spoken drama was only allowed in London only in the two patent theatres until Parliament changed this restriction in 1843
The Three Stooges
Their hallmark was physical farce and slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names of Moe and Curly or Moe, there were a total of six stooges over the acts run, with only three active at any given time. Moe and Larry were always present during the era throughout the ensembles run of more than forty years. The act began as part of a vaudeville comedy act, billed as Ted Healy and his Stooges, consisting of Healy, Moe Howard, his brother Shemp Howard. The four made one film, Soup to Nuts, before Shemp left to pursue a solo career. He was replaced by his brother, Jerome Curly Howard. Two years later, the trio left Healy, and signed on to appear in their own short subject comedies for Columbia Pictures, from 1934 to 1946, Moe and Curly produced over ninety short films for Columbia. It was during this period that they were at their peak popularity, Curly suffered a debilitating stroke in May 1946, and Shemp returned, reinstating the original lineup, until his death of a heart attack on November 22,1955.
Film actor Joe Palma was used as a temporary stand-in to complete four Shemp-era shorts under contract, Columbia contract player Joe Besser joined as the third Stooge for two years, departing in 1958 to nurse his ailing wife. Columbia terminated its shorts division and released its Stooges contractual rights to the Screen Gems production studio, Screen Gems syndicated the shorts to television, whereupon the Stooges became one of the most popular comedy acts of the early 1960s. Comic actor Joe DeRita became Curly Joe in 1958, replacing Besser for a new series of theatrical films. With intense television exposure, the act regained momentum throughout the 1960s as popular kiddie fare, Fine died in 1975, after a further series of strokes. Attempts were made to revive the Stooges with longtime supporting actor Emil Sitka in Larrys role in 1970, and again in 1975, but this attempt was cut short by Moes death on May 4,1975. The Three Stooges began in 1928 as part of a vaudeville act called Ted Healy and His Stooges Moe Howard joined Healys act in 1921.
In 1928, violinist-comedian Larry Fine and xylophonist-comedian Fred Sanborn joined the group, in the act, lead comedian Healy would attempt to sing or tell jokes while his noisy assistants would keep interrupting him, causing Healy to retaliate with verbal and physical abuse. Ted Healy and His Stooges appeared in their first Hollywood feature film, Soup to Nuts, the film was not a critical success, but the Stooges performances were singled out as memorable, leading Fox to offer the trio a contract minus Healy. This enraged Healy, who told studio executives that the Stooges were his employees, Howard and Howard learned of the offer and subsequent withdrawal and left Healy to form their own act, which quickly took off with a tour of the theater circuit. Healy attempted to stop the new act with legal action, claiming that they were using his copyrighted material, Healy tried to save his act by hiring replacement stooges, but they were inexperienced and not as well-received as their predecessors
Fred Karno
Frederick John Westcott, best known by his stage name Fred Karno, was an English theatre impresario of the British music hall. As a comedian of slapstick he is credited with popularizing the custard-pie-in-the-face gag, during the 1890s, in order to circumvent stage censorship, Karno developed a form of sketch comedy without dialogue. Film producer Hal Roach stated, Fred Karno is not only a genius and we in Hollywood owe much to him. Among the music hall comedians who worked for him were Charlie Chaplin and his understudy, Arthur Jefferson and these were part of what was known as Fred Karnos Army, a phrase still occasionally used in the UK to refer to a chaotic group or organisation. The phrase was adapted by British soldiers into a song in the First World War, as a parody of, or rather to the tune of. In the Second World War it was adapted as the Anthem of the Guinea Pig Club, Karno was born in Exeter, England, in 1866. He worked as a maker with a workshop in Waterbeer Street. He married Edith and in 1896 his son, Fred Karno, in 1904 he visited Taggs Island on Londons River Thames and in 1912 he bought the island and the existing hotel.
He demolished the hotel and hired architect Frank Matcham to build The Karsino. With the advent of cinema, the music halls popularity declined, as a result of this decline, Karno went bankrupt in 1925. On 24 May 1927 his wife Edith, from whom he had separated since 1904. Three weeks later, Karno married his wife, his long-time partner. Karno went to the US in 1929, and was hired by the Hal Roach Studios as a writer-director, his stay at the studio was brief and unsuccessful as Hal Roach found out Karnos main abilities were as a producer, and he departed in February 1930. On his return to Britain, Karno helped to write and produce short films. His houseboat, the Astoria, on the River Thames at Hampton, on 30 September 2012, the Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America unveiled a commemorative blue plaque to Karno at his former studios at 38 Southwell Road, Camberwell in south London. Fred Karno, Taggs Island and the Astoria The Charlie Hall Picture Archive Fred Karno biography Fred Karno at the Internet Movie Database Fred Karno at the Music Hall Guild of Great Britain
Farrelly brothers
Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly, collectively referred to as the Farrelly brothers, are American screenwriters and directors. The brothers were raised in Cumberland, Rhode Island and are of Irish descent, following college they pursued careers as television writers, notably for Seinfeld. Each of the brothers first four films has a plot centering around a road trip and these trips all originate in Rhode Island, except for Kingpin which begins in Pennsylvania. Their films make frequent use of slapstick and toilet humor, and are populated with blunt. Many of their films contain flashback scenes show how a character was affected by a traumatic event. The brothers are noted for their soundtracks, which typically feature diverse selections of classic and contemporary power pop. Sports are a feature of their films and they have often cast sports stars for bit parts and cameo appearances including Cam Neely, Roger Clemens, Brett Favre, Anna Kournikova. The brothers have been praised and critiqued for the way they use the subject of disability in their films.
Peter Farrelly has commented, The problem is not that we look down on these people and they frequently depict able-bodied people as stupid, while disabled people are either more aspirational or gifted. Peter Farrelly has published books including Outside Providence and The Comedy Writer, the Farrelly brothers have collaborated on the following films, Peter Farrelly at the Internet Movie Database Bobby Farrelly at the Internet Movie Database
Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers is a BBC television sitcom first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975 and 1979. The show was created and written by John Cleese and Connie Booth and they were married at the time of series 1, but divorced before recording series 2. One of the best loved shows in British popular culture, it was ranked No.1 on a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000. The series is set in Fawlty Towers, a hotel in the seaside town of Torquay — pronounced taw-key in the English vernacular — on the English Riviera. In May 1970 the Monty Python team stayed at the Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay while filming on location, John Cleese became fascinated with the behavior of the owner, Donald Sinclair, whom Cleese described as the rudest man Ive ever come across in my life. Sinclair justified his actions by claiming the hotel had staff problems and he criticised the American-born Terry Gilliams table manners for not being British. Cleese and Booth stayed on at the hotel after filming, furthering their research of the hotel owner, Cleese played a hotel owner called Donald Sinclair in the 2001 movie Rat Race.
At the time, Cleese was a writer on the 1970s British TV sitcom Doctor in the House for London Weekend Television, an early prototype of the character that became known as Basil Fawlty was developed in an episode of the third Doctor series. In this edition, the character checks into a small town hotel, his very presence seemingly winding up the aggressive. The show was broadcast on May 30,1971, Cleese parodied the contrast between organizational dogma and sensitive customer service in many personnel training videotapes issued with a serious purpose by his company, Video Arts. Cleese said in 2008 that the first Fawlty Towers script he, and Jimmy himself said, Youre going to have to get them out of the hotel, John. You cant do the thing in the hotel. Whereas, of course, its in the hotel that the pressure cooker builds up. Cleese was paid £6,000 for 43 weeks work and supplemented his income by appearing in television advertisements. He said that when he read the first scripts he could see nothing funny in them and he said the commercial channels, with their emphasis on audience ratings, never would have let the program get to the production stage on the basis of the scripts.
Although the series is set in Torquay in Devon, no part of it was shot in Southwest England, for the exterior filming, the Wooburn Grange Country Club in Buckinghamshire was used instead of a hotel. In several episodes of the series the entrance gate at the bottom of the states the real name of the location. This listed building served for a time as a nightclub named Basils after the series ended
Goofy
Goofy is a funny-animal cartoon character created in 1932 at Walt Disney Productions. Goofy is a tall, anthropomorphic dog with a Southern drawl, and typically wears a neck and vest, with pants, white gloves. Goofy is a friend of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck and is one of Disneys most recognizable characters. Goofy debuted in animated cartoons, starting in 1932 with Mickeys Revue as Dippy Dawg, the same year, he was re-imagined as a younger dog, now called Goofy, in the short The Whoopee Party. During the 1930s he was used extensively as part of a trio with Mickey. Starting in 1939, Goofy was given his own series of shorts that were popular in the 1940s, Two Goofy shorts were nominated for an Oscar, How to Play Football and Aquamania. He co-starred in a series with Donald, including Polar Trappers. Three more Goofy shorts were produced in the 1960s after which Goofy was only seen in television and he returned to theatrical animation in 1983 with Mickeys Christmas Carol. His last theatrical appearance was How to Hook Up Your Home Theater in 2007, Goofy has been featured in television, most extensively in Goof Troop, as well as House of Mouse and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
Originally known as Dippy Dawg, the character is commonly known simply as Goofy. In his 50s persona, Goofy was called George Geef, or G. G. Geef, in Goofy Gymnastics he fills out a coupon with the name James Boyd. Sources from the Goof Troop continuity give the full name as Goofy Goof, or G. G. Goof. In many other sources, both animated and comics, the surname Goof continues to be used, in other 2000s-era comics, the characters full name has occasionally been given as Goofus D. Dawg. Of Disney studio animators, Art Babbitt is most regarded for the creation of the Goofy character, Goofys wife has appeared—but always with her face unseen—in 1950s-produced cartoon shorts depicting the character as a family man. Goofys wife dies on and Goofy states to his son Max in Goof Troop, in the European comic books, Goofy has an adventurer cousin called Arizona Goof, who is a spoof of the fictional archaeologist Indiana Jones. Along with ah-hyuck. that is followed by a hoo hoo hoo hoo. Pinto Colvig, who was a man of one voice, would incorporate the unique laugh.
As such, he threatened constantly to terminate the series, Animation historian Michael Barrier is skeptical of Gablers claim, saying that his source did not correspond with what was written
Monty Python
Monty Python were a British surreal comedy group who created their sketch comedy show Monty Pythons Flying Circus, which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series, the Python phenomenon developed from the television series into something larger in scope and impact, including touring stage shows, numerous albums, several books, and a stage musical. The Pythons influence on comedy has been compared to the Beatles influence on music, the Orlando Sentinel referred to their sketch show as not only one of the more enduring icons of 1970s British popular culture, but an important moment in the evolution of television comedy. Broadcast by the BBC between 1969 and 1974, Flying Circus was conceived and performed by its members Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. Loosely structured as a show, but with an innovative stream-of-consciousness approach, it pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable in style. Following their television work, they began making films, which include Holy Grail, Life of Brian, pythonesque has entered the English lexicon as a result.
Jones and Palin met at Oxford University, where they performed together with the Oxford Revue and Cleese met at Cambridge University. Idle was at Cambridge, but started a year after Chapman, Cleese met Gilliam in New York City while on tour with the Cambridge University Footlights revue Cambridge Circus. Chapman and Idle were members of the Footlights, which at that included the future Goodies. During Idles presidency of the club, feminist writer Germaine Greer and broadcaster Clive James were members, following the success of Do Not Adjust Your Set, a tea-time childrens programme, ITV offered Gilliam, Idle and Palin their own late-night adult comedy series together. At the same time and Cleese were offered a show by the BBC, Cleese was reluctant to do a two-man show for various reasons, including Chapmans supposedly difficult and erratic personality. Cleese had fond memories of working with Palin on How To Irritate People, much has been made of the fact that the Monty Python troupe is the result of Cleeses desire to work with Palin and the chance circumstances that brought the other four members into the fold.
The Pythons had a idea about what they wanted to do with the series. They were admirers of the work of Peter Cook, Alan Bennett, Jonathan Miller, and Dudley Moore on Beyond the Fringe, and had worked on Frost and they enjoyed Cook and Moores sketch show Not Only. They decided that they would not bother to cap their sketches in the traditional manner. However, as they began assembling material for the show, the Pythons watched one of their heroes, Spike Milligan. Not only was the programme more irreverent and anarchic than any previous television comedy and it was clear that their new series would now seem less original, and Jones in particular became determined the Pythons should innovate. After much debate, Jones remembered an animation Gilliam had created for Do Not Adjust Your Set called Beware of the Elephants, Jones felt it would be a good concept to apply to the series, allowing sketches to blend into one another
George Formby
George Formby, OBE, was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage and record he sang light, comical songs, usually playing the ukulele or banjolele, born in Wigan, Lancashire, he was the son of George Formby Sr, from whom he took his stage name. After an early career as a boy and jockey, Formby took to the music hall stage after the early death of his father in 1921. His early performances were exclusively from his fathers act, including the same songs, jokes. In 1923 he made two career-changing decisions – he purchased a ukulele, and married Beryl Ingham, a performer who became his manager. She insisted that he appear on stage formally dressed, and introduced the ukulele to his performance, after the war his career declined, although he toured the Commonwealth, and continued to appear in variety and pantomime. His last television appearance was in December 1960, two weeks before the death of Beryl, Formbys biographer, Jeffrey Richards, considers that the actor had been able to embody simultaneously Lancashire, the working classes, the people, and the nation.
Formby was considered Britains first properly home-grown screen comedian and he was an influence on future comedians—particularly Charlie Drake and Norman Wisdom—and, culturally, on entertainers such as the Beatles, who referred to him in their music. Since his death Formby has been the subject of five biographies, George Formby was born George Hoy Booth at 3 Westminster Street, Lancashire, on 26 May 1904. Booth was a music hall comedian and singer who performed under the name George Formby. One of his characters was that of John Willie, an archetypal Lancashire lad. In 1906 Formby Sr was earning £35 a week at the halls, which rose to £325 a week by 1920. Formby Sr was so popular that Marie Lloyd, the music hall singer and actress. Formby was born blind owing to an obstructive caul, although his sight was restored during a violent coughing fit or sneeze when he was a few months old. Formby Sr sent his son away to work as he was worried Formby would watch him on stage, he was against Formby following in his footsteps, saying one fool in the family is enough.
After a year working at Middleham, he was apprenticed to Thomas Scourfield at Epsom, where he ran his first professional races at the age of 10, the film is now considered lost, with the last-known copy having been destroyed in 1940. Later in 1915, and with the closure of the English racing season because of the First World War, that month he returned to England and raced for Lord Derby at his Newmarket stables. Formby continued as a jockey until 1921, although he never won a race, on 8 February 1921 Formby Sr succumbed to his bronchial condition and died, at the age of 45, he was buried in the Catholic section of Warrington Cemetery
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