Wilfred Pickles

2022-08-13T13:34:50Z

2.98.42.94: active years updated

{{short description|British actor}}
{{EngvarB|date=February 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2014}}
{{Infobox person
|name= Wilfred Pickles
|image=Actor_Wilfred_Pickles.jpg
|caption=Wilfred Pickles in 1950
|occupation= Actor
|birth_date={{birth date|df=yes|1904|10|13}}
|birth_place=[[Halifax, West Yorkshire|Halifax]], [[Yorkshire]], England
|death_date= {{death date and age|df=yes|1978|03|27|1904|10|13}}
|death_place= [[Brighton]], [[Sussex]], England
|years active= 1931–1975
|spouse= Mabel Pickles (1930 – 26 March 1978) (his death) (1 child)
}}

'''Wilfred Pickles''', [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] (13 October 1904 – 27 March 1978) was an English actor and radio presenter.

==Early life and personal life==
Pickles was born in [[Halifax, West Yorkshire|Halifax]] in the [[West Riding of Yorkshire]]. He moved to [[Southport]], [[Lancashire]], with his family in 1929, and worked with his father as a builder. He joined an amateur dramatic society, and in a local production there met Mabel Cecilia Myerscough (1906–1989), all of whose family had been connected with the stage.<ref>Wilfred Pickles Invites You To Have Another Go, Wilfred Pickles, David and Charles, 1978, p. 30</ref>

He remained a proud [[Yorkshire]]man, and having been selected by the [[BBC]] as an announcer for its [[BBC Regional Programme|North Regional radio service]], he went on to be an occasional newsreader on the [[BBC Home Service]] during the [[World War II|Second World War]]. He was the first newsreader to speak in an accent other than [[Received Pronunciation]], "a deliberate attempt to make it more difficult for [[Nazis]] to impersonate BBC broadcasters",<ref>{{cite web|publisher=BBC|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/yourvoice/accent2.shtml|date=March 2007|title=Your Voice, Accentuate the positive|access-date=28 December 2010}}</ref> and caused some comment by wishing his fellow northerners "Good neet".<ref>{{cite web|publisher=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/newswatch/history/noflash/html/1940s.stm|title=War prompts naming and campaigning|access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref>

==Early career==
His first professional appearance was as an extra in [[Henry Baynton]]'s production of ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]'' at the Theatre Royal in [[Halifax, West Yorkshire|Halifax]] in the 1920s.<ref>[http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~calderdalecompanion/mmp54.html Pickles on 'The Calderdale Companion' website]</ref> Pickles soon became a radio celebrity, and pursued an acting career in London's [[West End theatre]], on television and on film.

==''Have A Go'' and ''Ask Pickles''==
His most significant work was as host of the [[BBC Radio]] show ''[[Have A Go]]'', which ran from 1946 to 1967 and launched such catchphrases as "How do, how are yer?", "Are yer courting?", "What's on the table, Mabel?" and "Give him the money, Barney". He appeared in the show with his wife Mabel, whom he had married at Sacred Heart [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] Church, [[Ainsdale]], [[Southport]] on 20 September 1930.

The series attracted a weekly audience of over 20 million and a mailbag of around 5,000 letters. Contestants could earn £1/19s/11d by sharing "their intimate secrets". In May 1954, he took the show to television with the programme ''Ask Pickles'' which ran until 1956.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/askpickles.htm |title=ASK PICKLES |author=Laurence Marcus |date=21 August 2005 |publisher=.televisionheaven.co.uk |access-date=3 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310165603/http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/askpickles.htm |archive-date=10 March 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The show was publicized enthusiastically by the BBC:
{{quote|It doesn't matter how old you are, you can still make your own special dream come true if you get in touch with Wilfred Pickles. Maybe you want to feed a lion or pat a giraffe on the tiny top of his head; or perhaps you'd rather see the lovely lights of London reflected on the [[River Thames|Thames]], or ride pillion on a motorbike. Maybe you want to meet a film star or you might even want to have a fight—all right! Just ask Wilfred Pickles. He'll try to fix it for you.|BBC publicity for ''Ask Pickles''}}

In 1948, a children's [[board game]] entitled ''Ask Pickles'' was published by [[jigsaw puzzle]] manufacturer [[Tower Press]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/96769/ask-pickles |title=Ask Pickles (1948) |publisher=boardgamegeek.com |access-date=3 April 2013}}</ref>

==Other television and radio==
He was the guest castaway on BBC Radio's ''[[Desert Island Discs]]'' on 2 January 1953; his chosen book was ''[[The Oxford Book of English Verse]]'' edited by [[Arthur Quiller-Couch]], and his luxury a yellow waistcoat.

On television, among many performances, he appeared in ''[[Dr. Finlay's Casebook (TV & radio)|Dr. Finlay's Casebook]]'' and ''[[For the Love of Ada]]'', co-starring with [[Irene Handl]].

He was in the play ''Come Laughing Home'' by [[Keith Waterhouse]] and [[Willis Hall]] on [[BBC Radio 4]] in 1970. In 1971, he was the subject of ''[[This Is Your Life (British TV series)|This Is Your Life]]''.

==Publications==
In 1955, Wilfred Pickles published an anthology of poetry and prose of the "north counties" of England. The book, ''My North Countrie'', featured verses from a range of poets and writers including two [[Lancashire dialect]] verses, "A Bird Song Away" and "Th' Art Lookin' Sackless", from the award-winning weaver-poet [[Nicholas Freeston]].<ref>Pickles, Wilfred. ''My North Countrie''. [[Allen & Unwin|George Allen & Unwin Ltd]]. 1955</ref>

==Later life==
In 1950, Pickles was awarded the [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] for services to broadcasting.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=38929 |date=8 June 1950 |page=2788 |supp=y }}</ref>

In 1955, he opened the Wilfred Pickles' School for Spastics at [[Tixover|Tixover Grange]], [[Rutland]].<ref>[http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=39924 Opening of Wilfred Pickles' School for Spastics] British Pathe newsreel 1955</ref> Also in 1955, he and wife Mabel celebrated their silver wedding anniversary by returning to the Sacred Heart Church in Southport, when they gave money for a statue of Saint [[Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart]], which still stands in the church. They recorded an edition of ''Have a Go'' from the church hall (now demolished), and later performed a version of the show in the adjacent school for the children.

He appeared, to great credit and dramatic effect, in the film ''[[Billy Liar (film)|Billy Liar]]'', where he played the titular protagonist's father.

Pickles died in [[Brighton]] on 27 March 1978, aged 73, and is buried with his wife Mabel in [[Southern Cemetery, Manchester]].

==Legacy==
[[File:Wilfred and Mabel Pickles grave.JPG|180px|thumb|Wilfred and Mabel Pickles' grave, Southern Cemetery, Manchester]]
Wilfred Pickles was the uncle of judge [[James Pickles]] and actor [[Christina Pickles]], and great-uncle of actress [[Carolyn Pickles]].

The now-defunct "Portman & Pickles" [[public house]] in Market Street, Halifax, was named after him and film actor [[Eric Portman]].

==Selected filmography==
* ''[[Serious Charge]]'' (1959)
* ''[[Billy Liar (film)|Billy Liar]]'' (1963)
* ''[[The Family Way]]'' (1966)
* ''[[For the Love of Ada (film)|For the Love of Ada]]'' (1972)

==Notes==

{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0681955|name=Wilfred Pickles}}
* [http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=13740 Newsreel of Wilfred Pickles at home in 1947 ]
* [https://vimeo.com/album/3066249/video/107803540 Silent footage of Pickles at a book signing, Colne 1950], produced by Sam Hanna, [[Burnley]] ([[Vimeo]] – [[North West Film Archive]])
* [[Thomas Thompson (writer)|Wilfred Pickles and Thomas Thompson]]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pickles, Wilfred}}
[[Category:1904 births]]
[[Category:1978 deaths]]
[[Category:English radio personalities]]
[[Category:English male stage actors]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:People from Halifax, West Yorkshire]]
[[Category:English male film actors]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:Children's Hour presenters]]
[[Category:Burials at Southern Cemetery, Manchester]]

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Wilfred Pickles