Edmund Comber (8 January 1886 – 1 March 1942),5 March 1942, "Chit Chat", ''The Stage'', p.4, accessed vi
The Stage Archive
2 February 2014 known professionally as Bobbie Comber, was a British comedian, singer and actor. He was born in Bury St Edmunds,

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include L ...

. He first appeared on stage in 1904 in

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...

, and worked as a civil servant in the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence (MoD ...

before forming his own concert party in 1912.

Denis Gifford Denis Gifford (26 December 1927 – 18 May 2000)Holland, Steve, Obituaries: Denis Gifford', ''The Guardian'', 26 May 2000. was a British writer, broadcaster, journalist, comic artist and historian of film, comics, television and radio. In h ...

, ''The Golden Age of Radio'', B.T. Batsford Ltd, London, 1985, , p.55 He served in the military in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, and then toured the country in musical

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own du ...

s and the comedy ''

Chu Chin Chow ''Chu Chin Chow'' is a musical comedy written, produced and directed by Oscar Asche, with music by Frederic Norton, based (with minor embellishments) on the story of '' Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves''. Gänzl, Kurt"''Chu Chin Chow'' Musical Tal ...

''. He first appeared on stage in London at the

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...

in a production of '' The Naughty Princess'' in 1920. "Bobbie Comber in ''Between Ourselves''", ''V&A Museum''
Retrieved 16 March 2021 Comber's first broadcasts were in excerpts from the show ''Clowns in Clover'', and he made more regular appearances as a comedian on

BBC radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

from 1929, sometimes with

Paul England Paul England (28 March 1929 – 17 June 2014) was an Australian racing driver. He worked for the Repco company and raced his own 138 Holden-powered grey motor Ausca sports racing car that used a fiberglass body based on the A6GCS Maserati. E ...

Claude Hulbert Claude Noel Hulbert (25 December 1900 – 23 January 1964) was a mid-20th century English stage, radio and cinema comic actor. Early life Claude Hulbert was born in Fulham in West London on Christmas Day 1900. He was the younger brother of Ja ...

and Eddie Childs (later replaced by Arthur Clay, and subsequently by H. B. Longhurst) as "Those Four Chaps". He also performed in a

double act A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases fo ...

with Hulbert, and recorded light comedy songs, such as a cleaned-up version of " Barnacle Bill". He appeared in films, including '' Elstree Calling'' (1930), '' Lazybones'' (1935), and ''

Be Careful, Mr. Smith ''Be Careful, Mr. Smith'' is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Max Mack and starring Bobbie Comber, Bertha Belmore and Cecil Ramage.Wood p.88 The film's sets were designed by the art director John Mead. Cast * Bobbie Comber as Geoffr ...

'' (1935). The BBC's entertainment programmes were broadcast from

north Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and Comber died there, in Bangor, in 1942 aged 56.

Selected filmography

* '' Brother Alfred'' (1932) * '' The Fortunate Fool'' (1933) as Marlowe * ''

There Goes Susie ''There Goes Susie'' is a 1934 British comedy film directed by Victor Hanbury and John Stafford and starring Gene Gerrard, Wendy Barrie, and Zelma O'Neal. Based on a story by Charlie Roellinghoff and Hans Jacoby, it was made by British Interna ...

'' (1934) * '' Lilies of the Field'' (1934) * ''

'' (1935) * '' The Ace of Spades'' (1935) * ''

Sporting Love ''Sporting Love'' is a musical written by Stanley Lupino with music by Billy Mayerl, lyrics by Desmond Carter and Frank Eyton. Produced by Lupino, it opened at the Gaiety Theatre, London on 31 March 1934 and ran for 302 performances, closing o ...

'' (1936) * '' Mother, Don't Rush Me'' (1936) * '' A Romance in Flanders'' (1937) * '' The Singing Cop'' (1938)

References

External links

* 1886 births 1942 deaths English male film actors Actors from Bury St Edmunds English comedy musicians 20th-century English male actors 20th-century British comedians Musicians from Bury St Edmunds {{england-film-actor-stub