Charlie Drake

June 19, 1925

Charlie Drake, was an English comedian, actor, writer and singer best known for his catchphrase "Hello. My darlings!". With his small stature (5 ft 1 in or 155 cm tall), curly red hair and liking for slapstick, he was a popular comedian with children in his early years, performing with Jack Edwardes in the double act Mick and Montmorency on children's TV. He subsequently made the break into primetime TV and critical and commercial acclaim with his solo show Drake's Progress (1955-1957). He was best known for his series The Worker (1965–70) in which he played a perpetually unemployed labourer who, in every episode, was dispatched to a new job by the ever-frustrated clerk at the local labour exchange. In the sixties, Drake made the transition to cinema, making several comedy films. By the 1980s, Drake reinvented himself as a straight actor, including a memorable performance as Smallweed in the 1985 BBC adaptation of Bleak House and playing Nagg in Samuel Beckett's Endgame in 1989. He suffered a series of strokes in 1995 and retired, passing away in 2006 at the age of 81.