Charlie Chester

Charlie Chester (April 26, 1914 – June 26, 1997) was a British comedian and TV and radio presenter, broadcasting almost continuously from the 1940s to the 1990s. His style was similar to that of Max Miller.

Life and career

Chester was born Cecil Victor Manser in Eastbourne, East Sussex. His first job after leaving education was as a grocer's errand boy, but he won talent competitions for his musical instrument playing and singing. Working as a travelling salesman for an embroidery company, Chester realised he had the gift of the gab and decided to become a professional comedian. Known as "Cheerful"^[1] Charlie Chester, he was well-known to British audiences in the 1940s from his BBC radio show Stand Easy. This show was adapted for television as The Charlie Chester Show in 1949 and became a standup and sketch show for the next 11 years. Frequent cast members included Edwina Carroll, Eric 'Jeeves' Grier, Len Lowe, Deryck Guyler, Len Marten, Arthur Haynes and Fred Ferrari. Chester's radio shows included A Proper Charlie and That Man Chester. Another series – which started out as a section of The Charlie Chester Show in 1950 – was the quiz Pot Luck, which was the first British TV programme to offer prizes for correctly answering questions.^[2]

In 1961, Chester starred in a BBC series called Charlie Chester On Laughter Service, a music and comedy show which visited military bases throughout Britain. Most were co-written by Bernard Botting and Charlie Hart. Late in his career, Chester appeared in the Channel 4 television sitcom Never Say Die.

In the 1960s he began presenting a record show on the BBC Light Programme, later BBC Radio 2. 1969 saw the start of his weekday show and then it became his long-running radio show Sunday Soapbox which came from the BBC's Birmingham studios. He opened the programme each week with the introduction "With a box full of records and a bag full of post, it's radio Soapbox and Charlie your host!" The programme was transmitted on Sunday afternoons until 1996. Its opening and signature tune was called Music To Drive By.

Chester also presented brass band music in a programme which started in 1984.

He suffered a stroke and died on June 26, 1997.

TV credits

• The Charlie Chester Show (1949) (performer and writer)
• Christmas Box (1955) (performer)
• Educated Evans (1957) (performer)
• These Are The Shows (1957) (performer)
• The Two Charleys (1959) (performer)
• Charlie Chester On Laughter Service (1961) (performer and writer)
• Jokers Wild (1969) (performer)
• Never Say Die (1987) (performer)

Bibliography

• The World Is Full of Charlies (Autobiography) published NEL (1974)

References

1. ^ per Russell Davies, (Show) BBC Radio 2, Sunday 15 April 2007: common form of nickname "Cheeky" is incorrect
2. ^ UKGameshows.com. URL retrieved 14 April 2009.

External links

• Radio Rewind biography
• Charlie Chester at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Chester, Charlie
Alternative names	Manser, Cecil Victot
Short description	English comedian and radio presenter
Date of birth	April 26, 1914
Place of birth	Eastbourne
Date of death	June 26, 1997
Place of death