View source for Bud Flanagan

{{About|the British entertainer|the American 1930s film actor, Edward (Bud) Flanagan|Dennis O'Keefe}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Bud Flanagan 
| honorific_suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|OBE|size=100%}}
| image       = bud-flanagan.jpg
| caption     = Flanagan in a [[BBC]] publicity photograph from 1943
| birth_name  = Chaim Reuben Weintrop
| birth_date  = {{birth date|df=yes|1896|10|14}}
| birth_place = [[Whitechapel]], [[London]], England
| death_date  = {{death date and age|df=yes|1968|10|20|1896|10|14}}
| death_place = [[Kingston, London|Kingston]], London, England
| other_names = Robert Winthrop
| occupation  = Music hall and vaudeville entertainer, comedian, television and film actor
| known_for   = [[Music hall]] comedy [[double act]]
| spouse      = {{marriage|Ann "Curly" Quinn<br />|1925|1968|end=his death}}
| children    = Buddy Flanagan (1926–1956)
| resting_place = [[Golders Green Crematorium]], London, England 
}}

'''Bud Flanagan''', {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|OBE|size=100%}} (born '''Chaim Reuben Weintrop''', 14 October 1896 – 20 October 1968) was a British music hall and vaudeville entertainer and comedian, and later a television and film actor. He was best known as a double act with [[Chesney Allen]]. Flanagan was famous as a wartime entertainer and his achievements were recognised when he was appointed an [[Order of the British Empire|Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] (OBE) in 1959.

== Family background ==

Flanagan was born in [[Whitechapel]], in the [[East End of London]]. His parents, Wolf Weintrop (1856–1932) and Yetta (Kitty) Weintrop (1856–1935) were Polish [[Jew]]s who were married in the city of [[Radom]], Poland, and fled to [[Łódź]] on their wedding day to avoid a [[pogrom]]. Wolf and Yetta Weintrop intended to escape to the "[[New World]]" from Eastern Europe – they paid for a ticket to [[New York City|New York]], but a dishonest ticket agent gave them a ticket to London.

In London, Wolf learned to be a shoe and bootmaker, earning extra money singing as a part-time [[cantor (church)|cantor]] ([[Hazzan]]) and by singing in pubs on Saturday nights. Wolf and Yetta Weintrop had ten children, all born in London. At the time of the [[1881 United Kingdom census|1881 UK Census]], Wolf "Wienkopf" and family lived in [[Brick Lane]], and by the [[1891 United Kingdom census|1891 UK Census]], the "Wientrob" family had moved on to 12 [[Hanbury Street]], [[Spitalfields]].

== Early life ==
[[File:flanagan-plaque.jpg|thumb|right|[[Blue plaque]] on 12, [[Hanbury Street]] where Flanagan was born in 1896]]

At the time of the 1901 census, the Weintrop family were still at Hanbury Street, with Reuben aged four living with six of his siblings and his parents over a fried fish shop. They later owned a barber shop and tobacconist in [[Whitechapel]]. Weintrop attended school in [[Petticoat Lane]], and by the age of 10 was working as [[Call boy (theatre)|call boy]] at the Cambridge Music Hall. In 1908, he made his début in a talent contest at the London Music Hall in [[Shoreditch]], performing conjuring tricks as Fargo, the Boy Wizard.

Weintrop was born with a sense of adventure and was keen to see the world. In 1910, aged 14, he decided to leave home and walked all the way to [[Southampton]] where he claimed to be an electrician aged 17 to get a job aboard ship. He sailed with the ''SS Majestic'' to New York, and jumped ship when it arrived in the US. Reuben got various jobs selling newspapers, delivering telegrams for [[Western Union]], and harvested wheat in [[Fargo, North Dakota|Fargo]], [[North Dakota]]. He joined a vaudeville show that toured across the US, whilst in October 1914, he sailed with a show to perform in New Zealand and Australia. He travelled to perform on stage in South Africa, where he met his brother Alec (Alexander), who was living there at the time.

Once back in [[San Francisco]], Reuben decided to return to [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|the United Kingdom]] to enlist to fight for Britain in the [[First World War]].  He returned to Britain in 1915 and enlisted as "Robert" Weintrop; he joined the [[Royal Field Artillery]], and was sent with his unit to fight in France. In the Army, he worked as a driver and entertained the troops with his singing and impersonations. Here he met the anti-Semitic [[Sergeant-Major]] Flanagan, on whom Reuben later had his revenge when he adopted the name "Flanagan" as his stage name. In 1919 he formed a comedy double act, Flanagan and Roy, and they had a "black and white" act.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Scotsman |journal=The Scotsman |date=March 11, 1919 |page=7}}</ref> Newspaper reports indicate that Flanagan had gone solo by 1924 and was gaining an increasing audience.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Falkirk Herald |journal=Falkirk Herald |date=September 6, 1924 |page=4}}</ref>

== Showbusiness career ==
Bud Flanagan is best remembered as part of a [[double act]] with [[Chesney Allen]], billed as [[Flanagan and Allen]]. They had first met on active service in [[Flanders]], but did not work together until 1926, touring with a [[Florrie Forde]] show called "Here's to You".<ref>{{cite book|title=Rediscovered Dundee|author=King, Brian|publisher=Troubador Publishing|year=2020|isbn=978-1838591922}}</ref> They established a reputation and were booked by [[Val Parnell]] at the [[Holborn Empire]]. As [[music hall]] comedians they would often feature a mixture of comedy and music in their act and this led to a successful recording career as a duo and roles in film and television. Flanagan and Allen were both also members of [[Crazy Gang (comedy group)|The Crazy Gang]], appearing in the first show at the [[London Palladium]] in 1931, and continued to work with the group, concurrently with their double-act career.<ref>{{cite book|title=Movies are a Conspiracy: Selected Essays on Cinema|author=Coniam, Matthew|publisher=Lulu|year=2019|isbn=978-0244466909}}</ref>

Flanagan and Allen's songs featured the same, usually gentle humour for which the duo were known in their live performances, and during [[World War II]] reflected the experiences of ordinary people during wartime. Songs like "[[We're Going to Hang out the Washing on the Siegfried Line]]" mocked the German defences (the [[Siegfried Line]]), while others like "Miss You" sang of missing one's sweetheart during enforced absences. Other songs such as their most famous "[[Underneath the Arches (song)|Underneath the Arches]]" (which Flanagan co-wrote with Reg Connelly) had universal themes such as friendship, which, again, helped people relate to the subject matter. The music was usually melodic, following a binary verse, verse chorus structure, with a small dance band or orchestra providing the backing. The vocals were distinctive because, while Flanagan was at least a competent singer and sang the melody lines, Allen used an almost spoken delivery to provide the harmonies.

[[File:Memorial to Bud Flanagan, Golders Green Crematorium.JPG|thumb|250px|Memorial to Bud Flanagan, Golders Green Crematorium]]
Allen semi-retired in 1945 and Flanagan increasingly became a solo performer, although the two of them still appeared together on occasion, including for the 1957 TV series ''Together Again''. In 1959, Flanagan was awarded the [[OBE]],<ref>{{cite book|title=My Crazy Life|publisher=Frederick Muller Ltd., London |year=1961}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Supplement to the London Gazette|date=5 June 1959|url=http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/41727/supplements/3709 |access-date=12 March 2013}}</ref> and received the award from the [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Duke of Edinburgh]] at [[Buckingham Palace]]. By the 1960s, and with his career on the wane, Flanagan used his wealth to invest in betting shops.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eastlondonhistory.com/2010/11/10/bud-flanagan/ |title=East London History |publisher=eastlondonhistory.com |access-date=6 April 2013}}</ref>  Flanagan was a member of the entertainment charitable fraternity, the [[Grand Order of Water Rats]].

Flanagan's last recording was [[Jimmy Perry]] and Derek Taverner's theme for the [[British sitcom]] ''[[Dad's Army]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dadsarmy.co.uk/ |title=The Dad's Army Appreciation Society |publisher=Dadsarmy.co.uk |date=14 May 2000 |access-date=22 April 2010}}</ref> "[[q:Dad's Army#Theme song|Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr Hitler?]]", recorded by [[Pye Records|Pye]] shortly before his death in 1968, and for which he was paid 100 [[Guinea (coin)#Replacement by the pound|guineas]] (£105). The song was an affectionate pastiche of the sort of songs Flanagan had sung during the war.

In tribute, Flanagan's fellow comedian [[Charlie Chester]] said, "No artist born was more loved by his brothers. No man gave more in human happiness".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bflf.org.uk/|title='Bud Flanagan Leukaemia Fund'|website=Bflf.org.uk|access-date=22 October 2021}}</ref> Flanagan was cremated at the [[Golders Green Crematorium]].<ref name ="findagrave">{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6691|title=Plaque indicating Bud Flanagan's final resting place |publisher=Findagrave.com |access-date=22 April 2010}}</ref>

==Personal life==
He met his wife Anne ("Curly"), daughter of Irish comedian Johnny Quinn ('The Singing Clown'), who was a dancer in "Mrs. Stacey's Young Ladies".{{Citation needed|date=February 2020}} They were married in 1925 and in 1926 their son Buddy was born. Buddy died of [[leukaemia]] in [[Los Angeles]] on 29 February 1956.<ref name ="findagrave"/> After his death, the estate of Bud Flanagan started a charity to promote cancer research. A primary aim of the Bud Flanagan Leukaemia Fund<ref>{{cite web|author=Ray Donn |url=http://www.bflf.org.uk/ |title=The Bud Flanagan Leukaemia Fund |publisher=Bflf.org.uk |access-date=22 April 2010}}</ref> is to support the Leukaemia/Myeloma Unit at the [[The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust|Royal Marsden Hospital]] in Sutton, Surrey.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.royalmarsden.nhs.uk/RMH/ |title=The Royal Marsden Hospital |publisher=Royalmarsden.nhs.uk |access-date=22 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070815203814/http://www.royalmarsden.nhs.uk/RMH/ |archive-date=15 August 2007 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* Flanagan, Bud (1961) ''My Crazy Life'' (Autobiography), F Muller, London
* {{cite book |author=Chambers, Colin |title=The Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre |publisher=Continuum |location=London |year=2002 |isbn=0-8264-4959-X }}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|281012}}
* [http://www.thecrazygang.co.uk/gang.htm The Crazy Gang]: tribute site
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110710164025/http://www.eastlondonforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=534 East London Forum: Bud Flanagan]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flanagan, Bud}}
[[Category:1896 births]]
[[Category:1968 deaths]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:British entertainers]]
[[Category:British people of Polish-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:English Jews]]
[[Category:Musicians from London]]
[[Category:Music hall performers]]
[[Category:Pye Records artists]]
[[Category:People from Whitechapel]]
[[Category:Golders Green Crematorium]]
[[Category:20th-century English comedians]]
[[Category:British male comedy actors]]
[[Category:Royal Field Artillery soldiers]]
[[Category:Military personnel from London]]