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	* {{imdb name\|0450795\|Clay Keyes}}		* {{imdb name\|0450795\|Clay Keyes}}
	* {{imdb name\|4662840\|Frank Tully}}		* {{imdb name\|4662840\|Frank Tully}}

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	{{DEFAULTSORT:Haver and Lee}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Haver and Lee}}
	[[Category:English comedy duos]]		[[Category:English comedy duos]]
	[[Category:English male comedians]]		[[Category:English male comedians]]

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[[File:Haver_and_Lee.jpg|thumb|200px|Signed publicity photo, {{circa}}1940 - Haver (Clay Keyes) on right]]
'''Haver and Lee''' were a British [[comedy duo]] who were active between the late 1920s and early 1940s. Haver was '''Clay Keyes''' (born Henry James Newbold; 9 December 1892 – 19 June 1970). Lee was '''Frank Tully''' (born Frank Mendoza Jr.; 14 December 1888 – 19 January 1962). Both also had separate careers – Keyes with his wife Gladys, and as a solo comedian and broadcaster, and Tully as a dancer with his sister Vesta.

==Background==
Keyes and Tully both came from theatrical families, and met and decided to work together as children.<ref name=haverleebbc>[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/20/20?order=asc&q=%22Haver+and+Lee%22#search Search, "Haver and Lee", ''Radio Times'', BBC Genome]. Retrieved 21 March 2021</ref>

Tully was born in [[Antwerp]], [[Belgium]], and was a member of the Boisset troupe of acrobats and comedians, known internationally for their comedy and [[pantomime]] skills. Most of the troupe, including Tully's parents, were members of the Mendoza family; Tully was his mother's maiden name. In about 1912, he formed a [[music hall]] act with his much younger sister Vesta, as "eccentric" or "American" dancers, performing to [[ragtime]] music. The following year they performed at [[Knowsley Hall]] near [[Liverpool]] in a private command performance for [[King George V]] and [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]], with other performers including [[George Formby Sr.]] and [[David Devant]], one year after the first public [[Royal Command Performance]].<ref>"The Royal Variety Programme", ''London Evening News'', 7 June 1913, p.6</ref> Frank and Vesta continued to perform together until the 1920s, sometimes billing themselves as "the Royal Dancers".<ref name=layers>[https://www.layersoflondon.org/map?l=eyJmcmVlX3RleHRfcXVlcnkiOm51bGwsInNlYXJjaF9wYWdlIjoxLCJjYXRlZ29yeV9hbmRfdGVybV9maWx0ZXJzIjp7InRlcm1faWQiOm51bGwsImNhdGVnb3J5X2lkIjoxfSwiYWN0aXZlX2xheWVyX2dyb3VwX2lkcyI6W119&m=eyJjZW50ZXIiOls1MS41MDc0LDAuMTI3OF0sInpvb20iOjEwLCJsaWdodHNPdXQiOmZhbHNlfQ%3D%3D&record=15254 Chris Beddoe, "Frank and Vesta, Eccentric dancers", ''Layers of London'']. Retrieved 21 March 2021</ref>

Keyes was born in Liverpool, also into a family of performers who travelled internationally.<ref name=whoswho/> His father and grandfather, both named Henry Newbold, both worked as music hall comedians, dancers, and as [[slackwire]] walkers, and both used the name Henri Balleni. The elder Balleni, Keyes' grandfather, crossed [[Niagara Falls]] on a [[tightrope]] in 1873, and jumped into the river below with his fall broken by a [[bungee cord|rubber cord]].<ref>[https://imaxniagara.com/daredevils-of-niagara-falls-the-tightrope-walkers/ "Daredevils of Niagara Falls: The Tightrope Walkers", ''Niagara IMAX'', 22 June 2011]. Retrieved 21 March 2021</ref>

==Haver and Lee==
Tully made his first BBC radio broadcasts in 1924.<ref>[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?order=asc&q=Frank+Tully#search Search, "Frank Tully", ''Radio Times'', BBC Genome]. Retrieved 21 March 2021</ref> From 1929, Keyes also appeared in his own right as a comic [[juggler]] of [[Indian club]]s, sometimes billed as "The Ace of Clubs".<ref name=bbckeyes/><ref name=gifford>[[Denis Gifford]], ''The Golden Age of Radio'', B.T. Batsford Ltd, London, 1985, {{isbn|0-7134-4235-2}}, p.145</ref>

Keyes and Tully formed the comedy double act Haver and Lee in the mid-1920s. Haver (Keyes) was the [[straight man]], with a marked American accent, who attempted to recite or sing while Lee (Tully) would interrupt with nonsensical comments and [[wisecrack]]s. They appeared in [[BBC radio]] broadcasts from 1931, billed as "The Fun Racketeers",<ref name=haverleebbc/> and later made regular appearances on ''[[Henry Hall (bandleader)|Henry Hall]]'s Guest Night'', closing their spot with the [[catchphrase]], "Play, Henry!".<ref>Gifford, 1985, p.110</ref> They also appeared together in several films, including ''[[The Student's Romance]]'' (1935), ''[[Mother, Don't Rush Me]]'' (starring [[Robb Wilton]], 1936), and ''[[Once in a Million]]'' (1936), and made short films for [[British Pathé]].<ref>[https://www.britishpathe.com/video/haver-lee Haver and Lee, ''British Pathe'']. Retrieved 21 March 2021</ref>

From 1940, they played the roles of Duckweed and Eggblow, two useless handymen in a hotel, in the anarchic radio comedy series ''[[Danger - Men at Work!]]'', written and produced by [[Max Kester]].<ref name=gifford/><ref name=foster>[https://worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/Radio-Comedy-1938-1968-1996.pdf Andy Foster and Steve Furst, ''''Radio Comedy 1938-1968'', Virgin Publishing, 1996, pp.24-27]</ref> They made their final radio broadcast together in the show ''[[Happidrome (radio)|Happidrome]]'', in 1944.<ref name=haverleebbc/>

==Clay and Gladys Keyes==
Keyes also worked with his wife Gladys ({{nee}} Massey; 1890–1974). They wrote the radio show ''Charing Cross Road'', a "play with music" about the lives of theatrical professionals in London, first broadcast in 1934. It also featured Tully and other performers including [[Charles Hawtrey (actor, born 1914)|Charles Hawtrey]],<ref name=bbckeyes>[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?q=%22Clay+Keyes%22#search Search, "Clay Keyes", ''Radio Times'', BBC Genome]. Retrieved 21 March 2021</ref> and [[Charing Cross Road (film)|was filmed]] two years later, starring [[John Mills]] and [[June Clyde]]. Clay and Gladys Keyes also wrote ''Rogues and Rhythm'', broadcast in 1936.<ref>[https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Radio-Pictorial/The-Radio-Pictorial-1936-01-31-S-OCR.pdf "New Keyes Play", ''Radio Pictorial'', 31 January 1936, p.8]</ref>

In 1941, Gladys and Clay Keyes devised and scripted the radio [[variety show]] ''The Old Town Hall'', a popular weekly series hosted by Clay Keyes and featuring his wife in various character roles. The show also starred [[Richard Goolden]], and featured "Can You Beat the Band?", a slot in which listeners sent in joke questions, the answers to which were the titles of popular songs. If the band failed to guess the correct answer, there was a call of "Pennies on the drum!", and participants donated money to the "Spitfire Fund", a military charity. The show continued on the radio until 1947.<ref>Gifford, 1985, p.44</ref><ref name=whoswho>[https://worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Enjoyment/Radio%20Whos%20Who%201947.pdf "Clay Keyes", ''Radio Who's Who 1947'', pp.189-190]</ref>

After the end of the [[Second World War]], Keyes reprised his role as Duckweed in ''Danger - Men at Work!'', but without Tully.<ref name=foster/> In 1949, Keyes appeared in another show, ''Clay's College'', also co-written with Gladys Keyes. His final radio appearances were in the mid-1950s as the host of ''Midday Music Hall''.<ref name=bbckeyes/>

==Deaths==
Tully retired after the end of the war, and died in [[Croydon]] in 1962, aged 73. Clay Keyes died in [[Saltdean]], [[Sussex]], in 1970, aged 77.

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* [https://www.britishpathe.com/video/haver-lee Haver and Lee] film short, ''British Pathe''
* [https://www.britishpathe.com/video/haver-lee-1/query/Haver++Lee Haver and Lee] second film short, ''British Pathe''
* {{imdb name|0450795|Clay Keyes}}
* {{imdb name|4662840|Frank Tully}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haver and Lee}}
[[Category:English comedy duos]]
[[Category:English male comedians]]

Haver and Lee - Revision history

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