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John Inman - Legend of Laughter
I'M FREE! It was an odd catchphrase for one of the busiest performers around.
Sift through the picture archives of The Gazette – John Inman's local paper in the town where he grew up and became a performer – and you'll find that cheeky grin popping up everywhere.
Charity events, church functions, official photo calls for shows, personal appearances, he "played" them all, with the charm of a naughty little boy, risque rather than smutty.
But what made Inman, the inner man, tick? You have to read between the lines of surprisingly few interviews with the star to glimpse the private person.
The fact that he gave so few interviews is, in itself, revealing.
"He guarded his privacy," admits friend and fellow entertainer, Blackpool's veteran impresario Duggie Chapman. "He wasn't obsessively private but he had a life. He wasn't showbizzy. John ran deep."
"John had a stage image, and a private life, and managed to keep both separate," adds touring co-star Mo Moreland, of Roly Poly fame. "I liked that he could be funny one minute, quiet and serious the next. You could talk to him."
Fame wasn't the spur and the vagaries of showbiz made him careful with cash. "John was driven by a desire to do, be, his best," says Duggie.
"To see his Frank Randall, the last role he did for me, was to appreciate just how superb an actor he was.
"I feature John in my one-man show, Turns, which looks at the comedy greats since the 1940s. He's up there with the best."
Years in repertory honed his acting ability back in the days when companies toured all the country's theatres with a variety of plays.
"He could play an old man one day, a lover the next," adds Duggie. "He was a brilliant dancer, too. But I'll remember him most for two stage roles: Frank Randall – and his Dame in Mother Goose."
John never worried about being typecast - but the self-effacing Lancastrian became an international icon with THAT catchphrase.
The role of Mr Humphries in Are You Being Served brought him fame, a degree of fortune, and made him big Down Under, as Mrs Slocombe would put it, and with the Yanks.
The Aussies and Americans would hold lookalike contests in his honour.
Tongue-in-chic, as well as tongue-in-cheek, dapper John worked as a window dresser for a gents' outfitters (Fox's) in Church Street – thanks to mum Mary's insistence on him getting a "proper job". The family lived in North Shore.
"He was a great observer," says Duggie. "It gave him a real edge in acting."
The success of the sitcom brought him lasting recognition – and repeat fees. He never resented his alter ego. "It's been a Godsend."
Yet his "Humphries" annoyed harder line gay campaigners for its allegedly stereotypical portrayal of a homosexual.
John left them to think what they liked. "He never paraded being gay," adds Mo. "Yet he did much to make it acceptable. People loved him."
Duggie adds: "John took over from where Larry Grayson, who was a little older, left off. He was risque and rather brave."
John lived life on his own terms, and, in a civil ceremony, married long term partner, Ron, another Fylde Coast lad. Both have family living locally.
Home was Little Venice, London, though John was courted by showbiz friends to return to resort roots.
"I'd have loved to have seen more of him," adds Mo, "but we were friends in that kind of quick showbiz way, where you pick up from where you leave off."
Duggie adds: "We were friends. I'm very saddened. Another great gone. The legacy endures through the gift of laughter. All the good stuff on telly is the old comedy show repeats."
John's stage debut came at 12, just after the family moved from Preston, at South Pier Theatre. His first appearance at the Grand, a theatre he adored, came in 1962.
His last appearance there was in the 2000 Comedy Bonanza summer show with Billy Pearce, Jimmy Cricket, Kev Orkian and The Nolans.
John, who regularly visited his family in the resort, always popped into the theatre to say hello.
Phil Harrison, programme manager at the Grand, recalls their first meeting: "I was working for show producers Qdos and they wanted someone to drive John to venues round the country. I was anxious at being thrust into the confinement of a car for hours on end with a relative stranger.
" I needn't have worried. Both John and his personal assistant and partner Ron were wonderful company, and we had many laughs.
"John turned what could have been hours of monotonous motorway driving into an adventure and I got to know both him and Ron well. So much so that to save me the expense of overnight accommodation in London, John was gracious enough to offer me a room in his beautiful home whenever it was too late to travel back to Blackpool.
"In 2000 when he starred at the Grand, I was company manager, and his infectious humour and charm made this a very happy and successful show for cast, crew and audiences. He was a delightful man, a real gentleman and I will miss him."
Frank Carson added: "It's such sad news. He was a lifelong friend, not just of me, but my wife Ruth, my whole family. And we had great fun together, he was such a lovely man.
"You know, he'd come and see me in my show every Sunday, 14 weeks of it, and he'd sit there, crying with laughter, although he'd heard it all before, the same old jokes, and I'd look across and say it really IS the way I tell them, isn't it? Fact, not a catchphrase.
"I let him have my house - well, my daughter Magella's house – for the summer a few years back because I knew he and Ron would be spotless . And I rang to see if the house was all right and he said 'oh, I can't talk at the moment, I'm showing some customers around, I might sell.'
"He was a funny but also lovely man, and I've lost so many friends, it's all bad news, and I went to three funerals in Ireland the other day, and now John, which is such a great loss."
The last word goes to John who confided to Gazette entertainments editor Robin Duke: "You either cut corners or you put on a good show. It's impossible to cut down and maintain the sort of standard I want. I was brought up in Blackpool on shows which were truly spectacular before that word became over-used. Today it just means another show."
To view our online feature including exclusive picture gallery, video clips and have the chance to leave your message in our condolence book click herejacqui.morley@blackpoolgazette.co.uk
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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