Stainless Stephen

Infobox performer
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name = Stainless Stephen


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birthname = Arthur Clifford Baynes
birthdate = birth date|1892|11|30|mf=y
location = Sheffield, Yorkshire
deathdate = 1971
deathplace = Leeds, Yorkshire
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homepage =
genre = Music hall entertainer
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Arthur Clifford Baynes (November 30, 1892–1971) was an English teacher and comedian from the steel-making city of Sheffield, Yorkshire, who performed under the stage name Stainless Stephen.

Never quite in the front rank of British music hall comedians, he would appear dressed in a smart tuxedo, a bowler hat with a steel band around it, a rotating bow tie, and a stainless steel vest. Perhaps third on the bill, this may explain why he did not give up his day job at Crookes Endowed School, which he joined in 1922 after his demobilisation. That is until 1935, when he moved to London to be nearer the BBC. His first stage appearance was at the Palace, Luton, in 1921.

His speciality was that during his intoned monologue, he would interrupt the flow by supplying the punctuation, thus:

"This is Stainless aimless brainless Stephen, semi-colon, broadcasting semi-conscious at the microphone semi-frantic."

Closing a broadcast on March 22, 1941, he said:

"And so, countrymen, semi-colon, all shoulders to the wheel, semi-quaver, we'll carry on till we get the Axis semi-circle, and Hitler asks us for a full stop!"

He is said to have based the idea on a radio course he did while doing military service. [ [http://imomus.livejournal.com/220014.html user posting - Stainless Stephen for Reference] ] Stainless Stephen appeared in Radio Parade (1933), a film of (then) current music hall acts. He supported Will Hay at the Victoria Palace in 1944, and appeared on the bill at the London Palladium's Royal Command Performance in 1945.

In his younger days, Baynes was a racing cyclist and continued to have an interest in cycling throughout his life.

He died in Leeds, Yorkshire in 1971. [ [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/605772 BFI database] accessed on 12 Dec 2006]

References

External links

* [http://thirdbanana.blogspot.com/2006_04_01_thirdbanana_archive.html Third Banana reviews ]

Persondata
NAME= Stephen, Stainless
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Baines, Arthur Clifford
SHORT DESCRIPTION=
DATE OF BIRTH= November 30, 1892
PLACE OF BIRTH= Sheffield, Yorkshire
DATE OF DEATH= 1971
PLACE OF DEATH= Leeds, Yorkshire