Medlock

One half of the popular music hall act Medlock & Marlowe (formed with her future husband Vic Marlowe in the mid-1930s), Bobbie Medlock was a dancer, acrobat and comedienne. Born in 1914, as Doris Smart, one of six children, she started her dancing career early, as a juvenile performer in 'Mrs Beam's Babes', and later as a solo artist. When she was 18 she teamed up with Lew Grade and played in theatres across London billed as "Grade and Medlock". The partnership lasted only a few months as Medlock was keen to include more acrobatic routines in the act, not just dancing. It was at this time that she met Vic Marlowe , who would become her future husband, and they formed 'Medlock & Marlowe', dancing their way around Britain and Europe. Their marriage was kept quiet as long as possible so that they might achieve separate salaries, but the secret was revealed when they took part in a show in South Africa, "Merrily We Roll Along", with George Lacy , produced by Thomas Charles Arnold . During the war years the double act appeared regularly at variety shows with the likes of Arthur Askey , Florence Desmond and The Crazy Gang . The act evolved from dancing and acrobatics into out-and-out comedy and by the 1950s they were performing, with rubber masks, as celebrities and famous folks of the time. In particular, their impersonations of George Bernard Shaw drew correspondence and suggestions for the act from Shaw himself. Before retirement in 1964 the duo had performed the world over, including many Royal Command Performances, and had shared the stage with stars such as Judy Garland , Gracie Fields , Bud Abbott and Lou Costello . Bobbie Medlock died on 11th January 2007 at the age of 92.