Will Hay

2022-08-29T09:51:13Z

88.107.97.95: /* See also */ Too much.

{{Short description|English comedian, actor, and film director}}
{{EngvarB|date=March 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Will Hay
| image = Will-Hay.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Hay in ''[[The Ghost of St. Michael's]]'' (1941)
| birth_name = William Thomson Hay
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1888|12|06}}
| birth_place = [[Stockton-on-Tees]], [[County Durham]], England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1949|04|18|1888|12|06}}
| death_place = [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]], [[London]], England
| nationality =
| other_names =
| occupation = Comedian, actor, film director, amateur astronomer
| years_active = 1909–1945
| spouse = {{marriage|Gladys Perkins|1907|1935|end={{abbr|sep.|separated}}}}
| partner = Randi Kopstadt
| children = 3
| known_for =
| notable_works =
}}

'''William Thomson Hay''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|FRAS}} (6 December 1888 – 18 April 1949) was an English comedian who wrote and acted in a [[schoolmaster]] sketch that later transferred to the screen, where he also played other authority figures with comic failings. His film ''[[Oh, Mr. Porter!]]'' (1937), made by [[Gainsborough Pictures]], is often cited as the supreme British-produced film-comedy, and in 1938 he was the third highest-grossing star in the UK. Many comedians have acknowledged him as a major influence. Hay was also a keen amateur astronomer.

==Early life==
Hay was born at 23 Durham Street in [[Stockton-on-Tees]], [[County Durham]]. He was one of two sons and three daughters of William Robert Hay (1851–1920) and his wife, Elizabeth (1859–1910) (née Ebden).<ref name="ODNB">{{Cite ODNB|id=37522|title=Hay, William Thomson [Will] (1888–1949)}}</ref> When Will Hay Jr. was less than a year old the family moved to [[Lowestoft]] in [[Suffolk]].<ref>1891 UK census: RG12/1494 f.56 p.47 & p.48 – 192 Clapham Road, [[Lowestoft]], Suffolk</ref><ref>GRO Register of Births: MAR 1889 10a 49 STOCKTON – William Thomson Hay</ref> By his late teens, Hay had become fluent in Italian, French and German and secured employment as an interpreter.<ref name="reglegend1">{{cite web |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/05/25/feature_will_hay_british_comedy_legend/ |title=Will Hay: Britain's bumbling star of the screen and skies. Page 1. |publisher=[[The Register]] |date=25 May 2015 |access-date=6 May 2017}}</ref>

==Career==
===Early career===
Hay decided to become an actor when he was 21 after watching [[W. C. Fields]] perform a juggling act in [[Manchester]]. In the early years of the twentieth century Hay experienced some moderate success as a stand-up comedian and an after dinner speaker.<ref name="stocktoncouncil">{{cite web |url=http://heritage.stockton.gov.uk/people/will-hay-3/ |title=Will Hay |publisher=Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council |access-date=12 September 2017}}</ref> Hay's first professional job came when he was offered a contract to perform at a theatre in [[Belper]].<ref name="stocktoncouncil"/> In 1914 Hay began working with the impresario [[Fred Karno]] who had previously helped [[Stan Laurel]] and [[Charlie Chaplin]] achieve success. He worked with Karno for four years.<ref name="stocktoncouncil"/> He first performed his schoolmaster character in 1910 which he based upon a colleague of his sister, who was a teaching mistress.<ref name="reglegend1"/> The characterisation was initially performed in drag as a schoolmistress, but he transferred the character to a headmaster.<ref name="bbc1976">{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a67M2nouJfA |title=Will Hay – Master of Comedy |website=YouTube |publisher=BBC Radio 4 |date=2 June 1976 |access-date=10 May 2017}}</ref>

The acts in which Hay performed the schoolmaster sketch became known as "The Fourth Form at St. Michael's". Hay toured with the act and appeared in the United States, Canada, Australia and South Africa. His wife, Gladys, often played a schoolboy or the character Harbottle in his sketches. The Harbottle character was one of the most appreciated in Hay's act, a dim-witted, nearly deaf old man who is still in school because he's so backward.<ref name="bbc1976"/> The character later featured in Hay's films portrayed by [[Moore Marriott]]. In a 1976 interview, [[Val Guest]] who served as a screenwriter for many of Hay's films, recalled transposing Harbottle from school into other everyday situations.<ref name="bbc1976"/> He famously performed the schoolmaster routine at the 1925 Royal Command Performance before [[George V|King George V]] and [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]].<ref name="ajhw.co.uk">{{cite web |url=http://www.ajhw.co.uk/books/book136/book136.html |title=The Fourth Form At St. Michaels Will Hay & His Scholars |website=A.J.H. Computer Services |access-date=10 May 2017}}</ref>

Hay published a magazine piece entitled ''Philosophy of Laughter'', in which he discussed the psychology of comedy. In the essay he rhetorically asks, "Why does every one of us laugh at seeing somebody else slapped in the face with a large piece of cold custard pie? Is it because we're all naturally cruel? Or is it because there's something inherently funny in custard pies? Or in faces? Or in throwing things? No, no, and no! The real reason why we laugh is because we are relieved. Because we are released from a sense of fear. Wherever we may happen to be – in the cinema, theatre, or music-hall – we tend to identify with the actors we are watching. So that when a custard pie is thrown we fear for a moment that it has been thrown at us. And then, immediately we realise that it hasn't hit us, we experience a feeling of relief, and we laugh".<ref name="reglegend2">{{cite web |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/05/25/feature_will_hay_british_comedy_legend/?page=2 |title=Will Hay: Britain's bumbling star of the screen and skies. Page 2. |publisher=[[The Register]] |date=25 May 2015 |access-date=6 May 2017}}</ref>

From 1934 to 1943, he was a prolific film star in Britain and was ranked the third highest grossing star at the British Box Office in 1938, behind [[George Formby]] and [[Gracie Fields]]. He is widely regarded as one of the most prolific and influential British comedians of all-time.<ref name="bbc1976"/>

Hay worked with [[Gainsborough Pictures]] from 1935 to 1940, during which time he developed a partnership with [[Graham Moffatt]], playing an insolent overweight schoolboy, and [[Moore Marriott]] as a toothless old man. Hay's 1937 film, with Moffatt and Marriott, ''[[Oh, Mr. Porter!]]'' was credited by ''[[The Times]]'' as being "a comic masterpiece of the British cinema",<ref>''The Times'' 16 May 2006</ref> while the writer [[Jimmy Perry]] cited the film as an influence on key character development for ''[[Dad's Army]]''.<ref name="jimmyperry">{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/jimmy-perry-obituary-creator-of-much-loved-sitcom-dads-army-a7377946.html |title=Jimmy Perry obituary: Creator of Dad's Army who used his own life experiences in much-loved sitcom |work=The Independent|date=24 October 2016 |access-date=9 May 2017}}</ref>

Hay often portrayed incompetent authority figures who attempt to conceal their incompetence but whose true traits are gradually exposed. As well as being incompetent, his characters are often immoral; for example, a clergyman involved in horse betting in ''[[Dandy Dick (film)|Dandy Dick]]'', a fraudster who lies about his career as a distinguished sea captain in ''[[Windbag the Sailor]]'', and a prison warden, [[Dr Benjamin Twist]], in ''[[Convict 99]]'', who obtains his job under false pretenses.<ref name="bbc3essay">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05qdw88 |title=The Essay, British Film Comedians: Will Hay |publisher=BBC Radio 3 |date=13 April 2015 |access-date=9 May 2017}}</ref> He is often compared to [[W. C. Fields]], who typically portrayed characters similar to those of Hay, being misanthropic, self-centered scoundrels who nevertheless remain sympathetic.<ref name="lostmaster">{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/4270299/Will-Hay-the-lost-master-of-British-comedy.html |title=Will Hay: the lost master of British comedy |work=The Daily Telegraph|date=16 January 2009 |access-date=10 May 2017}}</ref>

===Elstree Studios===
Hay had become interested in film making while touring in the United States in the 1920s, although, at the time he doubted he had a future in this field. Having returned to Britain, Hay started work at [[Elstree Studios (Shenley Road)|Elstree Studios]] in 1934 where he made three films, ''[[Those Were the Days (1934 film)|Those Were the Days]]'', ''[[Radio Parade of 1935]]'' and ''Dandy Dick''.<ref name="bbc1976"/>

===Gainsborough Pictures===
Hay's work at Gainsborough was his most successful, and source of his reputation as a great comic actor. During this period he became one of the most prolific film stars in Britain. On three occasions, British film exhibitors voted him among the top ten box office stars in an annual poll run by the Motion Picture Herald. He was ranked 8th in 1936, 4th in 1937 and 3rd in 1938.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article25390774 |title=PICTURES and PERSONALITIES. |newspaper=[[The Mercury (Hobart)|The Mercury]] |location=Hobart, Tas. |date=10 April 1937 |access-date=27 April 2012 |page=5 National Library of Australia}}</ref>

His first film for the studio was ''[[Boys Will Be Boys (1935 film)|Boys Will Be Boys]]'', whose screenplay was written by Hay himself. The movie's satire on the public school system was loosely based on the Narkover vein of humour in the work of ''[[Daily Express]]'' columnist, [[Beachcomber (pen name)|Beachcomber]]. Hay's film was widely seen as subversive towards authority, and it was granted an 'A' (adult) certificate by the [[British Board of Film Classification]].<ref name="bbc3essay"/> ''Boys Will Be Boys'' is widely regarded as Hay's break-out film. Writing for ''[[The Spectator]]'', [[Graham Greene]] described the film as "very amusing", and Hay's portrayal of Dr. Smart as "competent", though Green thought [[Claude Dampier]]'s portrayal of Second Master Finch (Hay's adversary) was the film's "finest performance".<ref>{{cite journal |last= Greene|first= Graham|author-link= Graham Greene|date= 23 August 1935|title= Where's George?/The Great God Gold/Boys Will Be Boys/The Murder Man|journal= [[The Spectator]]}} (reprinted in: {{cite book|editor1-last= John Russel|editor1-first= Taylor|date= 1980|title= The Pleasure Dome|url= https://archive.org/details/pleasuredomegrah00gree/page/16|page= [https://archive.org/details/pleasuredomegrah00gree/page/16 16]|isbn= 0192812866|url-access= registration}})</ref> Many years later, the ''[[Radio Times]] Guide to Films'' gave ''Boys Will Be Boys'' three stars out of five, observing that the film contains "the blend of bluster and dishonesty that makes his films irresistible".<ref>''Radio Times Guide to Films'' (2004). p.187</ref>

During his time with Gainsborough Hay worked with [[Marcel Varnel]], [[Val Guest]], [[Charles Hawtrey (actor born 1914)|Charles Hawtrey]], and [[Marriott Edgar]], as well as [[Moore Marriott]] and [[Graham Moffatt]], who were Hay's straight men in a number of his films. Moffatt played Albert, the overweight, insolent schoolboy reminiscent of Billy Bunter, while Marriott was the toothless old Harbottle. The trio appeared in six films together between 1936 and 1940, ''[[Windbag the Sailor]]'', ''[[Oh, Mr. Porter!]]'', ''[[Convict 99]]'', ''[[Old Bones of the River]]'', ''[[Ask a Policeman]]'' and ''[[Where's That Fire?]]''.

Hay's 1937 film alongside Moffatt and Marriott, ''[[Oh, Mr. Porter!]]'' is often considered to be one of the greatest [[British comedy films]] of all-time. The [[British Film Institute]] included the film in its 360 Classic Feature Films list;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/aaronbcaldwell/dimbfi.html |title=Top 100 Movie Lists – BFI's 360 Classic Feature Films |access-date=16 March 2007 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027094228/http://www.geocities.com/aaronbcaldwell/dimbfi.html |archive-date=27 October 2009 }}</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' magazine described the movie as "amusing, if over-long", noting that there was "<nowiki> </nowiki>no love interest to mar the comedy";<ref name=variety>{{cite news
|url = http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117793667.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0
|work = Variety
|title = Oh, Mr. Porter! Movie Review
|date = 1 January 1937
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071024092854/http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117793667.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0
|archive-date = 24 October 2007
|df = dmy-all
}}</ref> and the cult website [[TV Cream]] listed it at number 41 in its list of cinema's Top 100 Films.<ref name="tvcream">{{Cite web|url=http://www.tv.cream.org/extras/top100films/topfilms5041.htm|title=TV Cream's Top 100 Films|website=Tv.cream.org|access-date=4 September 2020}}</ref> The director Marcel Varnel considered the film as among his best work,<ref name="ReferenceA">''So You Want To Be In Pictures: The Autobiography of Val Guest''</ref> and it was described in 2006, by ''[[The Times]]'' in its obituary for writer [[Val Guest]], as "a comic masterpiece of the British cinema".<ref name="The Times, 16 May 2006">The Times, 16 May 2006</ref> [[Jimmy Perry]], in his autobiography, wrote that the [[triumvirate]] of [[Captain Mainwaring]], [[Corporal Jones]] and [[Private Pike]] in ''[[Dad's Army]]'' was inspired by watching ''Oh, Mr Porter''.<ref>James Perry, ''A Stupid Boy'' (2002), p. 100</ref>

Both Moffatt and Marriott were absent from Hay's 1938 film, ''[[Hey! Hey! USA]]'' with American comedy actor [[Edgar Kennedy]] being cast as Hay's sidekick instead; the film was a somewhat unsuccessful attempt to crack the American market.<ref name="reglegend3">{{cite web |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/05/25/feature_will_hay_british_comedy_legend/?page=3 |title=Will Hay: Britain's bumbling star of the screen and skies. Page 3. |work=[[The Register]] |date=25 May 2015 |access-date=6 May 2017}}</ref> In his Gainsborough films, Hay wore a wig, which made it appear as if he was balding.<ref name="lostmaster"/>

Hay decided to break up the partnership with Moffatt and Marriott after their 1940 film ''[[Where's That Fire?]]'' due to his concern that their act was becoming repetitive.<ref name="lostmaster"/> He was known to dislike working with the pair, describing their partnership as "a three legged stool".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishpictures.com/stars/Marriott_Moore.htm |title=Moore Marriott (1885 - 1949) |publisher=British Pictures |access-date=10 May 2017}}</ref> He had also expressed concern that [[Moore Marriott]], who portrayed Harbottle, received a bigger reaction from audiences than he did.<ref name="lostmaster"/> He had been seeking to break up their partnership in previous years, and it was only due to his film ''[[Hey! Hey! USA]]'' being somewhat unsuccessful that the writers and producers successfully talked him into bringing Moffatt and Marriott back.<ref name="stocktoncouncil"/>

===Ealing Studios===
Hay left Gainsborough and began working with Ealing Studios in 1940, in an attempt to break up his partnership with Moffatt and Marriott. [[Claude Hulbert]] and [[Charles Hawtrey (actor born 1914)|Charles Hawtrey]] were Hay's sidekicks in his first film for Ealing, ''[[The Ghost of St. Michael's]]'' (1941). Both would return to act with Hay in subsequent films - Hawtrey in ''[[The Goose Steps Out]]'' (1942) and Hulbert in Hay's final film, ''[[My Learned Friend]]'' (1943). [[John Mills]], who had appeared in Hay's first film, ''[[Those Were the Days (1934 film)|Those Were the Days]]'' returned to act as his sidekick in ''[[The Black Sheep of Whitehall]]''. ''[[The Goose Steps Out]]'' (1942) for Ealing was an effective piece of anti-[[Nazism|Nazi]] [[slapstick]]. In the film, Hay acts as a British spy posing as a Nazi agent and teaches Nazi students about British customs. When lecturing them on this topic, he tells the students that the [[V sign]] (often used in Britain as an insult) is a mark of respect, and instructs the class to make a synchronised V sign to a portrait of [[Adolf Hitler]]. This scene is often considered one of the most iconic from a [[British comedy films|British comedy film]].<ref name="bbc3essay"/>

During Hay's tenure with Ealing he was credited as a director in three of his films, ''[[The Black Sheep of Whitehall]]'', ''[[The Goose Steps Out]]'' and ''[[My Learned Friend]]''. In all three, he co-directed with [[Basil Dearden]]. In 1942, he starred in a short information film, ''[[Go to Blazes (1942 film)|Go to Blazes]]'' alongside [[Thora Hird]] and [[Muriel George]]. The film was set during [[the Blitz]] and his role was a dim-witted father who tried unsuccessfully to defuse a bomb which had landed near his house, the bomb is only defused through the help of his daughter, portrayed by Hird.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/1423872/index.html |title=Go to Blazes (1942) |publisher=BFI Screen Online |access-date=10 May 2017}}</ref> Also in 1942, he made an appearance in the [[propaganda film]], ''[[The Big Blockade]]'' among other prolific actors of the time, including [[Leslie Banks]], [[John Mills]] and [[Michael Redgrave]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6f4b2339 |title=The Big Blockade (1942) |publisher=The British Film Institute |access-date=10 May 2017}}</ref>

His final film, ''[[My Learned Friend]]'' in 1943 has been described as a masterpiece of black comedy and has been cited as paving the way for the future [[Ealing comedies|Ealing comedy films]] ''[[Kind Hearts and Coronets]]'' (1949) and ''[[The Ladykillers (1955 film)|The Ladykillers]]'' (1955).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/news/will-hays-new-direction-my-learned-friend |title=Will Hay's new direction: My Learned Friend |publisher=The British Film Institute |date=1 June 2015 |access-date=11 May 2017}}</ref> Due to ailing health, ''My Learned Friend'' was Hay's final film.<ref name="lostmaster"/>

Hay was scheduled to star in another film for Ealing in 1943, ''Bob's Your Uncle'', but his diagnosis of cancer prevented him from proceeding.<ref>Trade Advert - The Cinema 14 July 1942</ref>

Hay's tenure with Ealing was a box office success and his films were critically acclaimed, but have been described as not at the level of his Gainsborough films with Moffatt and Marriott.<ref name="bbc1976"/>

===Radio career===
The half-hour weekly Will Hay Programme began in August 1944, and was broadcast live from the [[BBC Paris Theatre]] in Lower Regent Street. With him in his schoolmaster role, were his pupils, [[Charles Hawtrey (actor, born 1914)|Charles Hawtrey]] playing the cheeky Smart, [[John Clark (actor)|John Clark]] as the class swot D'arcy Minor, and Billy Nicholls playing the dumb Beckett. The series lasted for four months and was cancelled, it is said, due to Hay's dispute with the [[BBC]] over the quality of the scripts. Just before Christmas, the show went live at the [[Victoria Palace Theatre|Victoria Palace]] for six weeks. The sketch was performed one more time at a gathering of variety entertainers at midnight on 4 May 1945 (4 days before [[VE Day]]) before the Royal Family and many military notables. This was at a private function at the [[Life Guards (British Army)|Life Guards]] barracks in [[Windsor, Berkshire|Windsor]]. It was not publicised in the newspapers due to security concerns. Hay's character during his radio series was called Dr. Muffin, a name chosen so that the students could mock him with the name "Old Crumpet".<ref name="howtickled">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007m5v6 |title=How Tickled Am I? Series 2 Episode 6 – Will Hay |publisher=[[BBC Radio 7]] |date=2008 |access-date=6 May 2017}}</ref>

==Astronomy==
In June 1932 he joined the [[British Astronomical Association]], in November of the same year he became a Fellow of the [[Royal Astronomical Society]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-journal_query?volume=42&plate_select=NO&page=313&plate=&cover=&journal=JBAA.|title=1932JBAA...42..313. Page 313|website=articles.adsabs.harvard.edu|access-date=2019-05-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-journal_query?volume=93&plate_select=NO&page=1&plate=&cover=&journal=MNRAS|title=1932MNRAS..93....1. Page 1|website=articles.adsabs.harvard.edu|access-date=2019-05-22}}</ref> He is noted for having discovered a [[Great White Spot]] on the planet [[Saturn]] in 1933.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://cdsads.u-strasbg.fr//full/seri/MNRAS/0094//0000085.000.html |title=The spot on Saturn |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |volume=94 |year=1933 |page=85 |last=Hay |first=W.T. |access-date=11 May 2017|bibcode = 1933MNRAS..94...85H |doi = 10.1093/mnras/94.1.85 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Pathé|first=British|title='Star' Turns Star Gazer Will Hay Discovers Spot On Saturn. 'School-Master Comedian' Tells How He Located White Blemish On Planet.|url=https://www.britishpathe.com/video/VLVAAK4YP8PQPDZCCL0J7MTAPW2DG-STAR-TURNS-STAR-GAZER-WILL-HAY-DISCOVERS-SPOT-ON-SATURN-SCHOOL/query/will+hay|access-date=2021-06-09|website=www.britishpathe.com|language=en-GB}}</ref>

Hay kept his career in astronomy separate from his comedy career and published ''Through My Telescope'' under the name of '''W.T. Hay''', using the same title when giving lectures on astronomy.<ref name="bbc1976" /> Hay was an advocate for education on astronomy and considered those who had an interest in astronomy "the only men who see life in its true proportion". In a 1933 interview with the ''[[Daily Mail]]'' he stated "If we were all astronomers, there'd be no more war."<ref name="mobberley">{{cite journal |title=Will Hay (1888-1949) and his telescopes |first1=Martin P. |last1=Mobberley |first2=Kenneth J. |last2=Goward |journal=Journal of the British Astronomical Association |volume=119| issue = 2 |pages=67–81 |date=April 2009 |bibcode = 2009JBAA..119...67M }}</ref> He was a friend of [[William Herbert Steavenson]], who would go on to become the [[President of the Royal Astronomical Society]] in 1957.<ref name="mobberley" />

Just before Hay died, a few items of his equipment were donated to the British Astronomical Association.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-journal_query?volume=58&plate_select=NO&page=250&plate=&cover=&journal=JBAA.|title=1948JBAA...58..235. Page 250|website=articles.adsabs.harvard.edu|access-date=2019-05-22}}</ref>

He also has an asteroid named in his honour - Asteroid 3125 Hay.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RbDkCwAAQBAJ&q=asteroid+named+after+will+hay&pg=PT162 |title=Asteroids: A History |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |date=26 April 2016 |first=Curtis |last=Peebles |isbn=9781944466046 |access-date=11 May 2017}}</ref>

==Personal life==
In 1907 Hay married Gladys Perkins (1889–1982),<ref>GRO Register of Marriages: DEC 1907 8d 287 SALFORD – William Thomson Hay = Gladys Perkins</ref> whom he had known since he was 15,<ref>{{cite book |title=The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers |last=Hockey |first=Thomas |year=2009 |publisher=[[Springer Publishing]] |isbn=978-0-387-31022-0 |access-date=22 August 2012 |url=http://www.springerreference.com/docs/html/chapterdbid/58592.html}}</ref> but they legally separated on 18 November 1935. However, they never divorced and Gladys cited the reason for this was that she was a Roman Catholic.<ref name="stocktoncouncil"/> They had two daughters and a son: Gladys Elspeth Hay (1909–1979), William Edward Hay (1913–1995)<ref>GRO Register of Births: SEP 1913 8d 120 SALFORD – William E. Hay</ref> and Joan A. Hay (1917–1975).<ref>GRO Register of Births: SEP 1917 8d 64 SALFORD – Joan A. Hay</ref> Following his separation from Gladys in 1935, he was in a long-term relationship with Randi Kopstadt, a native of Norway.<ref name="stocktoncouncil"/>

Off-screen, Hay was described as being something of an eccentric, and a very serious and private man, and some thought he may have had a dark side due to his demeanour.<ref name="bbc3essay"/> [[Peter Ustinov]], who made his film debut in ''[[The Goose Steps Out]]'' as a straight man to Hay, said in a 1990 interview when asked about working with him "Well, Will Hay wasn't very funny but I found that very few comics are"; he also said "And Will Hay was always wrapped in a blanket at certain hours and had his tea, and we all stopped talking while he was having his tea, and then we went on shooting. I don't remember him saying anything memorable, nothing I could remember at all. He was very funny when you saw him on the screen, but in life all those people are very, very strange."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/audio/id/1124365/ |title=Peter Ustinov: The Guardian Interview |publisher=BFI Screen Online |date=7 April 1990 |access-date=11 May 2017}}</ref>

He was known to be a [[hypochondriac]], and would often complain of illness to his colleagues when working.<ref name="bbc1976"/>

Hay was a passionate aviator, and gave flying lessons to [[Amy Johnson]].<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/humber/content/articles/2005/10/18/amy_johnson_feature.shtml "Local history: Amy Johnson]", BBC Humberside, 24 September 2014, accessed 2 July 2017.</ref>

In 1946 while on holiday, Hay suffered a stroke which left the right side of his body crippled and also affected his speech. He was told by his doctors that he would in all likelihood only make a partial recovery.<ref name="stocktoncouncil"/> Following his stroke, he spent time in [[South Africa]] on the advice of his doctors, because of the climate.<ref name="bbc1976"/> His health had improved slightly by the following year, when he had plans to become a film producer but, in 1947, his friend [[Marcel Varnel]], who had directed many of Hay's films, died in a car accident, and Hay postponed his plans.<ref name="stocktoncouncil"/>

==Death==
He made his last public appearance on Good Friday (15 April) 1949. Hay died at the age of 60 on 18 April 1949 at his flat in [[Chelsea, London]], three days later following a further stroke.<ref name="ODNB"/> His body was buried in [[Streatham Park Cemetery]] in London.<ref>GRO Register of Deaths: JUN 1949 5c 251 CHELSEA – William T. Hay, aged 60</ref> Those who were present at Hay's final appearance described him as showing no sign of illness, and said he had discussed his plans for the future.<ref name="stocktoncouncil" />

==Influences==
Comedians who have cited Hay as an influence include [[Ken Dodd]],<ref name="tomahawk">{{cite book |url=http://tomahawkpress.com/will-hay/ |title=Will Hay |first=Graham |last=Rinaldi |publisher=Tomahawk Press |year=2009 |isbn=9780955767012 |access-date=11 May 2017}}</ref> [[Eric Morecambe]], [[Tommy Cooper]], [[Harry Worth]],<ref name="reglegend3"/> [[Harry Enfield]], [[Jimmy Perry]] and [[David Croft (TV producer)|David Croft]].<ref name="jimmyperry"/> [[Ronnie Barker]] also cited Hay as an influence, and in 1976 hosted a documentary on [[BBC Radio]] that discussed Hay's life and career.<ref name="bbc1976"/> He is also mentioned in passing in the British comedy ''[[The Good Life (1975 TV series)|The Good Life]]''.<ref>''[[The Good Life (1975 TV series)|The Good Life]]'', season three, episode three, ''A Tug of the Forelock'', written by [[Esmonde and Larbey|John Esmonde and Bob Larbey]], and directed and produced by [[John Howard Davies]] for the [[BBC]], then telecast on Friday the 24th of September, 1976.</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:Buggleskelly Bench.jpg|thumb|right|The Will Hay Appreciation Society's 'Buggleskelly' memorial bench to Will Hay and his co-stars, unveiled on Sunday 14 October 2018 in Cliddesden, Hampshire, the filming location for 'Oh, Mr. Porter!']]
'The Will Hay Appreciation Society' was founded in 2009 by British artist [[Tom Marshall (artist)|Tom Marshall]] and aims to preserve Hay's legacy and bring his work to a new generation of fans. As of June 2019, the organisation has over 4,200 members.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.photogra-fix.com/willhay|title=The Will Hay Appreciation Society|website=Photogra-fix.com|access-date=4 September 2020}}</ref> ''The Will Hay Appreciation Society'' unveiled a memorial bench to Will Hay, [[Moore Marriott]] and [[Graham Moffatt]] in October 2018, in [[Cliddesden]], [[Hampshire]], the filming location for 'Buggleskelly' in ''[[Oh, Mr. Porter!]]''. The bench was unveiled by [[Pete Waterman]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.basingstokegazette.co.uk/news/16988533.mr-porter-returns-cliddesden-guests-tow/|title=Mr Porter returns to Cliddesden with guests in tow|newspaper=[[Basingstoke Gazette]]|access-date=4 September 2020}}</ref>

The humour of Hay's films has been described as subversive and similar to that of fellow English comedian [[Frank Randle]]. His films are often characterised as exhibiting traits of [[anti-authoritarianism]] and having a satirical approach towards how authority figures are portrayed. This is notable with Hay himself, who often played an incompetent authority figure who struggled not to be found out, but whose idiocy was discovered by those around him.<ref name="bbc3essay"/>

In 2009 a biography of Hay by Graham Rinaldi was published with a foreword by [[Ken Dodd]]. Hay never published an autobiography during his lifetime; however, when ill in the 1940s, he had begun writing one, entitled ''I Enjoyed Every Minute''. Excerpts from this unpublished autobiography were included in the 2009 book.<ref name="tomahawk"/>

[[Roy Hudd]] defined Hay as the "supreme master" of [[sketch comedy]].<ref name="bbc1976"/>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1922|| ''[[Playmates (Around the Town)|Playmates]]'' || || silent [[short film|short]]
|-
|1933|| ''Know Your Apples'' || || short and [[lost film]]
|-
|1934|| ''[[Those Were the Days (1934 film)|Those Were the Days]]'' || Magistrate Brutus Poskett ||
|-
|1934|| ''[[Radio Parade of 1935]]'' || William Garland ||
|-
|1935|| ''[[Dandy Dick (film)|Dandy Dick]]'' || The Rev. Richard Jedd ||
|-
|1935|| ''[[Boys Will Be Boys (1935 film)|Boys Will Be Boys]]'' || Dr. Alec Smart ||
|-
|1936|| ''[[Where There's a Will (1936 film)|Where There's a Will]]'' || Benjamin Stubbins ||
|-
|1936|| ''[[Windbag the Sailor]]'' || Capt. Ben Cutlet ||
|-
|1937|| ''[[Good Morning, Boys]]'' || Dr. Benjamin Twist ||
|-
|1937|| ''[[Oh, Mr Porter!]]'' || William Porter ||
|-
|1938|| ''[[Convict 99]]'' || Dr. Benjamin Twist ||
|-
|1938|| ''[[Hey! Hey! USA]]'' || Dr. Benjamin Twist ||
|-
|1938|| ''[[Old Bones of the River]]'' || Prof. Benjamin Tibbetts ||
|-
|1939|| ''[[Ask a Policeman]]'' || Sergt. Dudfoot ||
|-
|1939|| ''[[Where's That Fire?]]'' || Captain Benjamin Viking ||
|-
|1941|| ''[[The Ghost of St. Michael's]]'' || Will Lamb ||
|-
|1942|| ''[[The Black Sheep of Whitehall]]'' || Professor Davis ||
|-
|1942|| ''[[The Big Blockade]]'' || Royal Navy: Skipper ||
|-
|1942|| ''[[The Goose Steps Out]]'' || William Potts / Muller ||
|-
|1942|| ''[[Go to Blazes (1942 film)|Go to Blazes]]'' || Father || Short
|-
|1943|| ''[[My Learned Friend]]'' || William Fitch ||
|}

==See also==
{{cmn|
*[[Moore Marriott]]
*[[Graham Moffatt]]
*[[British comedy films]]
*[[Charles Hawtrey (actor born 1914)|Charles Hawtrey]]
*[[Radio comedy]]
*[[Cinema of the United Kingdom]]
*[[List of British actors]]
*[[English film directors]]
}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|0370547}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040403234924/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/trevor.buckingham/willhay.htm Will Hay.Comic Genius]
*[http://cdsads.u-strasbg.fr//full/seri/MNRAS/0110//0000130.000.html Astronomical obituary] MNRAS '''110''' (1950) 130 
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050410200412/http://www.blackhama.freeserve.co.uk/willhay.htm Will Hay Fan Page including audio files]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070124213742/http://homepage.mac.com/elliottday/willhay/willhaysoundsindex.html Radio files]
*[https://www.photogra-fix.com/willhay The Will Hay Appreciation Society]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hay, Will}}
[[Category:1888 births]]
[[Category:1949 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century English comedians]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:20th-century English non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:20th-century British astronomers]]
[[Category:English aviators]]
[[Category:English male comedians]]
[[Category:English stand-up comedians]]
[[Category:English male film actors]]
[[Category:English male radio actors]]
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[[Category:English satirists]]
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[[Category:English expatriates in South Africa]]
[[Category:English expatriates in the United States]]
[[Category:English male stage actors]]
[[Category:English humorists]]
[[Category:British male comedy actors]]
[[Category:British sketch comedians]]
[[Category:Slapstick comedians]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society]]
[[Category:Music hall performers]]
[[Category:People from Stockton-on-Tees]]
[[Category:Actors from County Durham]]
[[Category:Actors from Stockton-on-Tees]]
[[Category:Vaudeville performers]]
[[Category:Jugglers]]
[[Category:Hypochondriacs]]
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[[Category:Amateur astronomers]]
[[Category:Propaganda film directors]]
[[Category:Burials at Streatham Park Cemetery]]
[[Category:20th-century English screenwriters]]
[[Category:20th-century English male writers]]

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Will Hay