''For the American businessman and academic, see Henry W. McGee.'' Brompton Cemetery, London 60

Henry James Marris-McGee (14 May 1929 – 28 January 2006) was a British actor, best known as

straight man The straight man is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically, the straight man is expected to maintain composure. The direct contribution to the c ...

to Benny Hill for many years. McGee was also often the announcer on Hill's TV programme, delivering the upbeat intro "Yes! It's ''The Benny Hill Show!''". He was familiar to British children throughout the 1970s as "Mummy" in the

Sugar Puffs Honey Monster Puffs are a honey-flavoured breakfast cereal made from sugar-coated wheat sold in the United Kingdom. The cereal was originally sold as Sugar Puffs, but was re-branded in 2014. It was labeled as Honey Monster Sugar Puffs for a t ...

commercials, the catchphrase of which was "Tell them about the honey, Mummy".

Biography

Born in

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...

, London, and educated at

Stonyhurst College Stonyhurst College is a co-educational Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Jesuit tradition, on the Stonyhurst Estate, Lancashire, England. It occupies a Grade I listed building. The school has been fully co-educational sinc ...

, McGee hoped to become a doctor, but the death of his father when he was 17 put financial strains on the family that ended his plans. Having enjoyed acting as a boy, McGee decided to follow his mother's side of the family, which could trace its involvement in acting back to

Kitty Clive Catherine Clive (née Raftor; 5 November 1711 – 6 December 1785) Catherine ‘Kitty’ Clive (1711-1785, active 1728-1769) was a first songster and star comedienne of British playhouse entertainment. Clive led and created new forms of English ...

. He went on to play supporting roles in films and television series and dramas, including ''

The Italian Job ''The Italian Job'' is a 1969 British comedy caper film, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley, directed by Peter Collinson, and starring Michael Caine. The film's plot centres around Cockney criminal Charlie Croker, r ...

'' (1969), '' The Saint'' and '' The Avengers'', but it is for comedy roles that he is best remembered, primarily and most famously for his straight man interviewer in ''

The Benny Hill Show ''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV (from 1969) between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketches that were full of slapstick, mime, parody ...

''. He was also remembered by some as the 'mummy' of Honey Monster, a large, yellow, furry creature in advertisements for the breakfast cereal

. McGee played Two-Bun Ted in the video of " Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West)". Other comedy roles included the holiday centre manager in the 1973 film ''

Holiday on the Buses ''Holiday on the Buses'' is a 1973 British comedy film directed by Bryan Izzard and starring Reg Varney and Doris Hare. The film is the third and final spin-off film from the ITV sitcom ''On the Buses'' and succeeded the films ''On the Buses'' ...

'', officious policemen in ''

Adventures of a Taxi Driver ''Adventures of a Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 British sex comedy film directed by Stanley Long and starring Barry Evans, Judy Geeson and Adrienne Posta. There were two sequels, '' Adventures of a Private Eye'' and '' Adventures of a Plumber's Mate ...

'' (1976) and ''

Revenge of the Pink Panther ''Revenge of the Pink Panther'' is a 1978 comedy film. It is the sixth film in '' The Pink Panther'' comedy film series. Released in 1978, it is the final on-set performance of Peter Sellers in the role of Inspector Jacques Clouseau. It was al ...

'' (1978), the TV presenter Harold Hump in ''

Carry On Emmannuelle ''Carry On Emmannuelle'' is a 1978 British comedy film, the 30th release in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). The film was to be the final ''Carry On'' for many regulars, including Kenneth Williams (in his 26th ''Carry On''), ...

'' (1978), opposite

Charlie Drake Charles Edward Springall (19 June 1925 – 23 December 2006), known professionally as Charlie Drake, was an English comedian, actor, writer and singer. With his small stature (5' 1"/155 cm tall), curly red hair and liking for slapstick, h ...

in the ATV/ ITV

situation comedy A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new ...

'' The Worker'' (1965–1978), and ''There Was An Englishman, An Irishman and a Scotsman'', a BBC Scotland comedy series written by Lew Schwarz. McGee was the Englishman, with Harry Towb as the Irishman and

Roy Kinnear Roy Mitchell Kinnear (8 January 1934 – 20 September 1988) was a British character actor. He was known for his roles in films such as The Beatles' ''Help!'' (1965), Clapper in '' How I Won the War'' (1967) and Planchet in ''The Three Musketeer ...

as the Scot. The show ran for one series in 1972. He also appeared in an episode of ''

Rising Damp Structural dampness is the presence of unwanted moisture in the structure of a building, either the result of intrusion from outside or condensation from within the structure. A high proportion of damp problems in buildings are caused by ambient ...

'' as a conman, Seymour. In 2003, he appeared in the episode "The Miraculous Curing of Old Goff Helliwell" in ''

Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of '' Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes f ...

''. He had a long and successful theatre career, during which he tackled a wide range of roles, receiving plaudits for deadpan delivery in

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

s such as ''

Plunder Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...

''.

Personal life

McGee had one daughter, Stephanie (born November 1963). He spent his last six months in a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to i ...

, suffering from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As ...

. He is buried at

Brompton Cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is a London cemetery, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Establ ...

, London.

Filmography

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGee, Henry 1929 births 2006 deaths English male stage actors English male television actors People from South Kensington Burials at Brompton Cemetery People educated at Stonyhurst College Deaths from dementia in England Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Male actors from London 20th-century English male actors