Elton Hayes (16 February 1915 – 23 September 2001) was a British actor and

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

ist.

Life and career

Elton Hayes was born in

Bletchley Bletchley is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England, in the south-west of the city, split between the civil parishes in England, civil parishes of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford and West Bletchley, which In 2011 had a com ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Both his parents were actors, and he made his first stage appearance aged nine. He also wanted to be an actor and he learned the

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

and the

ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...

. As a teenager he won a scholarship to the Fay Compton School of Dramatic Arts where he received an extensive theatrical education. His first job was as assistant stage manager with the Old Stagers' Company at the Canterbury Theatre. He sang in his spare time at local social clubs. Hayes took up the guitar shortly before

World War II 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 ...

when he accepted one as security from a friend who had borrowed 30 shillings. Guitars brought him fame later, accompanying his old English folk songs and ballads. In 1939 he volunteered for military service and was commissioned in the

Royal West Kent Regiment The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Queen' ...

and posted to India. After the Japanese surrender he hitch-hiked to

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

where he was appointed Officer Commanding

ENSA The Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) was an organisation established in 1939 by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during World War II. ENSA operated as part of the Navy, ...

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

. Despite contracting rheumatic fever, which caused his fingers to stiffen, he continued playing. A few days after returning to Britain he visited the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, still in uniform, to watch a broadcast of ''

Children's Hour ''Children's Hour'', initially ''The Children's Hour'', was the BBC's principal recreational service for children (as distinct from "Broadcasts to Schools") which began during the period when radio was the only medium of broadcasting. ''Childre ...

'' and was immediately taken on to write and perform musical versions of

Edward Lear Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limerick (poetry), limericks, a form he popularised. ...

's ''Nonsense Rhymes''. This was followed in 1946 by a regular slot on the

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

show ''

In Town Tonight ''In Town Tonight'' is a BBC radio programme that was broadcast on Saturday evening from 1933 to 1960 (except for a period of 26 weeks in 1937 when ''The BBC presents the ABC'' was broadcast instead). It was an early example of a chat show, o ...

''. From then on he performed on radio and television frequently in Britain. On an eight-week tour of North America he made 113 appearances. As an actor, he appeared in ''

The Beaux' Stratagem ''The Beaux' Stratagem'' is a comedy by George Farquhar, first produced at the Theatre Royal, now the site of Her Majesty's Theatre, in the Haymarket, London, on 8 March 1707. In the play, Archer and Aimwell, two young gentlemen who have falle ...

'' at the Lyric Theatre for 18 months from 1949. His fame was extended by his appearance as the minstrel

Alan-a-Dale Alan-a-Dale (first recorded as Allen a Dale; variously spelled ''Allen-a-Dale'', ''Allan-a-Dale'', ''Allin-a-Dale'', ''Allan A'Dayle'' etc.) is a figure in the Robin Hood legend. According to the stories, he was a wandering minstrel who became ...

in the 1952 Walt Disney film ''

The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men ''The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men'' is a 1952 action-adventure film produced by RKO- Walt Disney British Productions, based on the Robin Hood legend, made in Technicolor and filmed in Buckinghamshire, England. It was written by Lawr ...

'', in which he was afforded a musical number, "Whistle, my Love". Long afterwards his own "Robin Hood Ballads" were used in another Disney feature; '' Enchanted''. His recording of the

Victor Hely-Hutchinson Christian Victor Noel Hope Hely-Hutchinson (26 December 1901 – 11 March 1947) was a British composer, conductor, pianist and music administrator. He is best known for the ''Carol Symphony'' and for humorous song-settings.Hurd, Michael'Hely ...

setting of

's "

The Owl and the Pussycat "The Owl and the Pussy-Cat" is a nonsense verse, nonsense poem by Edward Lear, first published in 1870 in the American magazine ''Our Young Folks'' and again the following year in Lear's own book ''Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany, and Alphabets ...

" also achieved enduring popularity. It was first issued as a 10-inch single by

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

in June 1953, and was regularly requested on the BBC radio programme ''

Children's Favourites ''Junior Choice'' is a BBC Radio programme originally broadcast from 1954 until 1982 with Christmas specials from 2007 to present, with the exception of 2016. Originally broadcast on the BBC Light Programme on Saturday mornings from 9.10 to 9.55 ...

'', as was "

The Whistling Gypsy "The Whistling Gypsy", sometimes known simply as "The Gypsy Rover", is a well-known ballad composed and copyrighted by Dublin songwriter Leo Maguire in the 1950s. There are a number of similar traditional songs about a well-off woman's encounter ...

". "The Owl and the Pussycat" was one of six song recordings he made of

's nonsense verse following his BBC performances, along with the

Dudley Glass Dudley Jack Glass (24 September 1899 – 29 November 1981) was an Australian-born composer, pianist and writer. He is best known for composing musicals and light operas, including ''The Beloved Vagabond'' and ''The Toymaker of Nuremberg''. Glass w ...

settings of "The Duck and the Kangaroo", "The Table and the Chair", "The Broom, the Shovel, the Poker and the Tongs", "The Jumblies" and "The Quangle-Wangle's Hat". These were issued on a Parlophone extended play 45 single in November 1955 Later he had his own television shows, called "Elton Hayes - He Sings to a Small Guitar", "Close Your Eyes" and "Tinker's Tales". He obtained a follow-up film role in '' The Black Knight'', 1954, a variation on the King Arthur story produced by Irving Allen and Albert 'Cubby' Broccoli and starring Alan Ladd. He can be seen very briefly at the start of the film as a minstrel singing a few bars of "The Whistling Gypsy/The Gypsy Rover". Hayes was nervous before live performances and retired from show business in the 1960s. He bought a small, thatched cottage on the

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 ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

border and, after studying at a local agricultural college, became a farmer, breeding pedigree livestock. He took up carriage driving and became a member of the British Driving Society.

Personal life

Betty Inman, whom he married in 1942, died in 1982. After a stroke in 1995, Hayes gave up his farm and moved to Bury St Edmunds to live with friends who cared for him until his death in 2001.

Filmography

* 1948 '' A Date with a Dream'' as Singer * 1952 ''

'' as

Allan-a-Dale Alan-a-Dale (first recorded as Allen a Dale; variously spelled ''Allen-a-Dale'', ''Allan-a-Dale'', ''Allin-a-Dale'', ''Allan A'Dayle'' etc.) is a figure in the Robin Hood legend. According to the stories, he was a wandering minstrel who became ...

* 1954 '' The Black Knight'' as The Minstrel * 1968 ''

Isabel Isabel is a female name of Iberian origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of ''Elizabeth (given name), Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheba''). Arising in the 12th c ...

'' as Eb * 1972 '' Journey'' as Piers, The Farmer * 1992 ''The Dance Goes On'' as Mayor Elton

References

External links

*
Whirlygig TV nostalgia
*
''The Owl and the Pussycat''
originally recorded in June 1953 on Parlophone R3692 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Elton 1915 births 2001 deaths Military personnel from Buckinghamshire English male stage actors English folk guitarists English male guitarists People from Bletchley Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment officers 20th-century British guitarists 20th-century British male musicians British Army personnel of World War II