THIS IS EDs BLOGG
MR L. S. LOWRY
When I was about twenty years old, I worked for the local Gas Company. One winter, I think around 1958, I was called out to the home of the very famous painter Mr L.S Lowry. He lived in a large detached house in a place called Mottram - in - Longdendale which stood between the towns of HYDE in Cheshire and the town of GLOSSOP in Derbyshire. When we arrived at his home, there to greet us was Mr Lowry himself, he was a tall, grey haired old gentleman dressed in a dark blue suit which was splattered in different colours of paint. Later on Mr Lowry asked us if we would like a mug of tea, of course, we never refused a cupper, as it made the job stretch out longer. I can still picture him now, stood in the kitchen; making us mugs of tea and everything looked all over the place. The cupboard holding the Gas Meter was in one corner of the front room. I was asked to start moving some of the paintings from around the cupboard, and to be VERY careful, because some were worth thousands of pounds. Well, I was picking up the paintings, looking at them, laughing and said "What a load of rubbish", or words to that effect, I continued to say "Who had painted these, a child". Then the lads said to me, "Shut the fuck up, you will insult Mr Lowry. But of course, I was an expert, because I had seen paintings in my local Art gallery. WHAT A BLOODY MORON!!!.
MR L. S. LOWRY
FRANKIE VAUGHAN
All those people I either saw at our home or on stage Frank was one of the best, I called him Uncle Frank. Frank, my dad and Manchester City Goalkeeper Frank Swift were friends from years ago. When Frank was touring and was on at the Theatre Royal in HYDE, Cheshire, he always stayed at our family home and we always had a really great time. I liked Uncle Frank, who spoke softly, was always polite and made time for me. I could not help but notice that Frank had a very big and muscular body; his chest was so big, he looked like a body builder. Frankie was born on the 3rd of February 1928 in Liverpool, and was the son of a Russian - Jewish upholsterer and lived in a poor area of Liverpool. Frank initially trained for a career in Commercial Art After winning a scholarship to the Lancaster Collage of Art. He then studied at Leeds Collage of Art, where he gained his Art Teachers Diploma in 1950. He then switched to show business after he had a successful audition that led to a week`s work in Music Hall. The story goes that his change of name from Frank Abelson to Frankie Vaughan when he announced to his Grandmother that he intended to become a singer. "Vell, she said" "then yoy vill be the best von that ever was". As we know, Frankie Vaughan became a huge star with pop songs of the day such as Give Me The Moonlight, Kisses Sweeter Than Wine, and of course, The Green Door. He was nicknamed "Mr Moonlight" in the English variety world, based on his big hit song "give Me The Moonlight", an old song he discovered in a Glasgow music shop in 1954. That song became his signature tune. Frankie first sang that song on stage wearing a top hat and tails outfit. Frank also stared in cabaret shows in New York and Las Vegas. And appeared in The British staged production of the musical 42nd Street. Frank`s most famous film moment was performing a musical number with the beautiful Marilyn Monroe in the film called "Lets make Love". But devoted to his wife and children, he decided not to pursue a Hollywood career after his experiences on "Lets Make Love" in 1960. Frank said subsequently, that he never regretted his decision for one second. Frankie Vaughan was awarded the O.B.E. (Officer of the Order of The British Empire) in the 1965 Queen`s Honours List. Also the C.B.E (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1997 for his Services to Drama. Frankie Vaughan died on the 17th of September 1999 in his home Buckinghamshire.
FRANKIE VAUGHAN
DANNY - LA - RUE
In the summertime there was always something going on at some charity gala or other and some of the stars who were appearing in or around Blackpool area`s at various venues for the summer season. There was a large Georgian Mansion House in a place called Thornton, a few miles from Blackpool. Where some charity events were held and was owned by two men Jimmy and Len from London. They knew celebrities and so opened there doors for events. On one such occasion, I attended one of these events and saw my old mate Danny-La-Rue. I talked to him for a while about how he was and what shows he had planed for the near future, we also talked about his life and how things were health wise. Then Dan spotted "Gordon Kaye from the TV Show "ALLO, ALLO", This was around eight months after that terrible car accident Gordon had when a tree went though the windscreen of his car and into his head. Dan beckoned him over and introduced me to him. Gordon immediately shouted at me, "Are you from the bloody press? I don`t want to talk to you" Dan told that I was a friend of his and had nothing to do with the press and could be trusted. After that Gordon started to relax and we all had a conversation for a while, mostly regarding show business and of course, not to mention anything about cars. It was sad to hear of Gordon`s death from Dementia on 23rd of January 2017 aged 75. Danny -La- Rue, was in my opinion, one of the most professional celebrities you could ever wish to meet.
While we were talking, people were coming up to him for his autograph. Dan always had a broad smile for them and then he talked to them. You could see that Dan seemed into them, and they responded. Dan was a true Professional, a great guy and someone you could really call "A STAR". Unfortunately, Dan had several strokes and developed throat cancer and died on the 31st of May 2009 aged 81.
DANNY -LA -RUE
AS I HAVE SOLD A SIGNIFICENT AMMOUNT OF MY BOOK OVER THE YEARS, ALSO THIS IS MY PERSONAL BLOGG, SO IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE A FREE PRINTED COPY OF MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY, THEN PLEASE CONTACT ME with your NAME and ADDRESS BY Email: hampson@myyahoo.com