Ted Ray

Ted Ray was very popular as a radio star in such 1950s shows as Ray's A Laugh. Before WWII, he was well known on stage as a variety artiste and was quite an accomplished violinist - an effective part of his act. Perhaps his personality and style were less suitable for television and he did not always seem comfortable in the medium. He was, however, a welcome guest on light entertainment shows and this contributor well remembers how much fun he could be in a Dennis Norden retrospective on variety acts, screened on British television in the mid-1970s. In the late 1960s he was badly hurt in a car crash and it seemed that he might face prosecution for possible intoxication at time of the accident. His sons, Robin and Andrew were well known on TV and the cinema respectively for his two specialities - music and the movies.