Today in Comics History, September 8: Happy birthday, Harry Secombe!

Born on this day 101 years ago (1921) in Swansea, Wales: comedian, actor, singer, and writer Sir Harry Secombe, one of the greatest Welshmen in modern history but mostly unknown to American audiences.



from Film Fun #2904 (Amalgamated UK, 5 March 1960), by Bertie Brown



You may have seen him in the 1968 musical Oliver! as Mr. Bumble, the miserly warden of the orphanage, but Harry has also had a long career in the UK as a music hall, stage, and radio comedian…


So popular, indeed, that he had his own strip in the weekly British comic FIlm Fun, which allows me to feature him here as a comic book character!



from Film Fun #2095-2096 (Amalgamated UK, 12-19 March, 1960), by Bertie Brown
He also was a music and religious show television presenter for many years, but his biggest fame came from his work on the BBC's groundbreaking comedy radio programme The Goon Show, where he starred alongside Spike Milligan (L) and Peter Sellers (R; his birthday is today too!)


I'm a lifelong fan of The Goon Show, which was a weekly fantasia of comedy, surrealism, and funny voices for ten series. LP covers of collected episodes often attempted to put verbal comedy into visual (Secombe spotlighted here):









But it wasn't until many years after it left the air in 1960 that The Goon Show and its characters began to appear in comic form...


cover of The Goon Cartoons (Michael Joseph, 1982), by Pete Smith
...adapting episodes and radio scripts into comics that often had to work hard to surmount the impossibility of events in a very far-out British comedy radio show. At the middle of all the chaos was Secombe as perpetual short Welshman and frequent patsy Neddie Seagoon.


Secombe portrayed the proud short Welshman, gullible and guileless, around whom were spun fantastic con games, bizarre histories, and psychedelic wordplay.



More recently, Roger Langridge (Fred the Clown, The Muppet Show, Popeye, and many more), an unabashed Goon Show fan, has drawn the characters in his familiar comic style.

"Famouspeoplegoonholiday" from Amazing Heroes Swimsuit Special 1990 (Fantagraphics, 1990), by Roger Langridge
(Click picture to Seagoon-size)
Here's links to a pair of great Langridge Goon artworks: check 'em out at his site, hotelfred.com (and click on the images at his site to see 'em bigger):

• Nottingham Comic Con Sketches III
• Happy 100th Anniversary Spike Milligan

Here's a Twitter thread I wrote earlier on Secombe's bombastic (and excellent) singing and his often-funny album covers:

So, a very happy one hundred and first birthday to you, Sir Harry! You've been a comedy influence and inspiration to me, and I always hope I can go through life remembering your hilarious laughter and mellifluous voice. Both are pure joy.