Reginald Alfred Varney (11 July 1916 – 16 November 2008) was an English actor, entertainer and comedian. He is best remembered for having played the lead role of bus driver Stan Butler in the LWT sitcom '' On the Buses'' (1969–1973) and its three spin-off feature films. Having performed as a

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

entertainer, Varney first came to national recognition as factory foreman Reg Turner in the BBC sitcom ''

The Rag Trade ''The Rag Trade'' is a British television sitcom broadcast by the BBC between 1961 and 1963 and by ITV (TV network), ITV between 1977 and 1978. Although a comedy, it shed light on gender, politics and the "class war" on the factory floor. Th ...

'' (1961–1963). He appeared in further sitcoms including '' Beggar My Neighbour'' (1966–1968) and ''On the Buses'' stardom facilitated overseas cabaret tours.

Early life

Varney was born in Canning Town,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

(but now part of the

London Borough of Newham The London Borough of Newham () is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by ...

), to Sidney Thomas Varney and his wife Annie (née Needham). His father worked in a rubber factory in

Silvertown Silvertown is a district of West Ham in the London Borough of Newham, in east London, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, Thames and was historically part of the parishes of West Ham and East Ham, Becontree Hundred, hund ...

and he was one of five children who grew up in 27 Addington Road, Canning Town. He was educated at the nearby Star Lane Primary School in

West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...

and after leaving school at 14, he worked as a messenger boy and a page boy at the Regent Palace Hotel. Varney took piano lessons as a child and was good enough to find employment as a part-time piano player. His first paid engagement was at

Plumstead Plumstead is an area in southeast London, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, England. It is located east of Woolwich. History Plumstead has been settled since ancient times, and London's earliest timber structure has been found here. ...

Radical Club in

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

, for which he was paid eight

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currency, currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 1 ...

s and sixpence (42½p). He also played in

working men's club Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland, Northern Ireland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education ...

s, pubs and ABC cinemas with his friend George Shears and later sang with big bands of the time. He and his mother decided that show business was the career for him, and he gave up his day jobs. Varney became a solo pianist at the Windmill Theatre in May 1938. In late 1939, he married Lilian Emma Flavell (1915–2002) at

East Ham East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) east of Charing Cross. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Essex, East Ham is identified in the London Plan as a ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Varney joined the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

, but continued his performing career as an army entertainer, touring in the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

for a time. After being

demobilised Demobilization or demobilisation (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or becaus ...

in the late 1940s, he starred on stage in a comic revue entitled ''Gaytime'', with

Benny Hill Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill (21 January 1924 – 18 April 1992) was an English comedian, actor and scriptwriter. He is best remembered for his television programme, ''The Benny Hill Show'', a comedy-variety show whose amalgam of slapstick, bu ...

as his partner in a double act. He then became an all-round entertainer, working his way around the

Career

Varney had made only a small number of film and TV appearances prior to being cast in the role of long-suffering factory foreman Reg Turner in the BBC television sitcom ''

'' (1961–1963), which made him a household name. He was aware that he was the only performer without West End acting experience and worked hard to make up for it. Slightly later, he starred in a children's show for BBC TV called '' The Valiant Varneys'' (1964–65), performing multiple characters in front of a live audience. After that followed another comedy role in '' Beggar My Neighbour'' (1966–1968); this also starred

Pat Coombs Patricia Doreen Coombs (27 August 1926 – 25 May 2002) was an English actress. She specialised in the portrayal of the eternal downtrodden female, comically under the thumb of stronger personalities. She was known for many roles on radio, ...

June Whitfield Dame June Rosemary Whitfield (11 November 1925 – 29 December 2018) was an English radio, television and film actress. Whitfield's big break was a lead in the radio comedy '' Take It from Here'', which aired on the BBC Light Programme ...

and Peter Jones. Pat Coombs played the wife of Varney's character. Varney featured in ''

The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery ''The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery'' is a British comedy film, directed by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, written by Sidney and Leslie Gilliat, and released on 4 April 1966. It is the last of the original series of films based on the ' ...

'' (1966) with

Frankie Howerd Francis Alick Howard (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992), better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian. Early life Howerd was born the son of a soldier Francis Alfred William (1887–1934)England & Wales, Deat ...

Dora Bryan Dora May Broadbent (7 February 1923 – 23 July 2014), known as Dora Bryan, was an English actress of stage, film and television.George Cole. The world's first voucher-based cash dispensing machine (ATM) was installed at the

Enfield Town Enfield is a large town in north London, England, north of Charing Cross. It had a population of 333,587 in 2021. It includes the areas of Botany Bay, Brimsdown, Bulls Cross, Bullsmoor, Bush Hill Park, Clay Hill, Crews Hill, Enfield Hig ...

branch of Barclays Bank. Varney was living in Enfield at the time and for publicity purposes he was photographed making the first withdrawal from the machine on Tuesday 27 June 1967. Varney's most successful lead role was in the LWT sitcom '' On the Buses'' (1969–1973) as bus driver Stan Butler. Varney took considerable lengths to prepare for the role, even attempting to gain a public service vehicle licence so that he could be filmed driving on the open road. However, Varney was not insured so LWT had to employ professional drivers for these scenes. Three spin-off films were made — '' On the Buses'' (1971), '' Mutiny on the Buses'' (1972) and '' Holiday on the Buses'' (1973). Varney was 52 when the first series was recorded, although his character Stan, who lived with his mother and often tried to attract young women, was implied to be aged around 35. Varney was only 11 years younger than

Doris Hare Doris Breamer Hare (1 March 1905 – 30 May 2000) was a Welsh actress, comedian, singer, and dancer best known for portraying Ethel Butler in the British sitcom ''On the Buses'' and its film spin-offs, after replacing the original actress Cicel ...

, the main actress who played Stan's mother, and 20 years older than Anna Karen who played his sister. Varney left the series midway through its last season, hoping to move on to films and other projects. Ultimately, he only appeared in one further non-''Buses'' film, '' The Best Pair of Legs in the Business'' (1973), and two television series, both made by ATV for the ITV network: an eponymously titled

sketch show Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

(1973–74) and another sitcom, '' Down the 'Gate'' (1975–76), which was set in Billingsgate Fish Market. However neither series replicated his success with ''On the Buses'', and after ''Down the Gate'' was dropped after 12 episodes, Varney did not star in another television series. LWT revived ''The Rag Trade'' in 1977 but Varney did not reprise his role. He later worked as an entertainer on cruise ships and toured Australia with his one-man show. He told an interviewer, "Whatever I did after ''On the Buses'', nobody wanted to know about it. But I can't knock the programme because it brought me offers to do concert tours in Australia, New Zealand and Canada." At the height of his fame he was a subject of the television programme '' This Is Your Life'' on 20 May 1970 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews, making further appearances in programmes featuring

, Douglas Bader,

and

Anthony Newley Anthony Newley (24 September 1931 – 14 April 1999) was an English actor, director, comedian, singer, and composer. A "latter-day British Al Jolson", he achieved widespread success in song, and on stage and screen. "One of Broadway's greatest ...

. Varney released several LP albums during his career – see Discography, below.

Retirement

Varney had a heart attack in 1965, and in 1981 he suffered a more serious one. He then contracted a severe viral infection, which for three years made working difficult for him. In 1989, he suffered a stroke, which left him with an uneven heartbeat. Subsequently, he divided his time between his home in a small village ( Stoke Fleming) near Dartmouth and a villa in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. Varney moved to

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

in the late 1980s and lived alone after his wife died in

East Devon East Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Honiton, although Exmouth is the largest town. The district also contains the towns of Axminster, Budleigh Salterton, Cranbrook, Ottery St M ...

in 2002. In his retirement years, Varney painted local landscapes in oil, with many to professional standard; some of his works were exhibited in London.

Death

Varney died aged 92 in a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of older people, senior citizens, or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as care homes, skilled nursing facilities (SNF), or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms ...

in Budleigh Salterton, Devon, on 16 November 2008, following a chest infection. In 2016, 100 years after Varney was born, an exhibition called "Before the Buses" was commissioned by his only child, his daughter Jeanne.

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

This list is partially sourced from.

References

External links

*
Reg Varney's 1972 album 'On the 88’s at Abbey Road'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varney, Reg 1916 births 2008 deaths Military personnel from the London Borough of Newham English male stage actors English male television actors English male film actors Actors from the London Borough of Newham Infectious disease deaths in England British Army personnel of World War II Royal Engineers soldiers English male pianists 20th-century English painters English male painters 21st-century English painters 20th-century English pianists 20th-century English male musicians Columbia Records artists EMI Records artists 20th-century English male artists 21st-century English male artists Male actors from Essex English male comedians Comedians from the London Borough of Newham