Granny’s Hall of Fame
Intro
Granny wants to remember the greats of our drag world, those who have given their all to the profession, they’ve made us laugh they’ve made us cry but one thing for certain they have entertained us.
If any of our members would like to write a personal tribute to an act that is no longer with us that absolutely blew them away over many years then please submit your story so we can pop it on our website.
Granny wants these great acts to be remembered for all times and their individual contribution to entertainment never to be forgotten.
Granny is kicking off with Shuffs Story
When I say, hello my lovelies I am paying tribute to an act that I really liked, of course I am talking about the adorable Mrs Gladys Shufflewick ( Rex Jameson) who Granny was lucky enough to see perform in the 1970’s on many occasions.
Born in June 1924 in SE London and found abandoned on the steps of Trinity hospital in Greenwich, but soon after.. baby Shuff was adopted by George and Mable Coster.
Raised in South End on Sea, then later in 1938 the family moved to Holloway in London. So now Shuff found himself as a teenager living in war- torn London.
Many of the variety theatres had been bombed but at 14 yrs old Shuff started to visit the Finsbury Park Empire, which was still standing, and he paid 6d, two and a half pence in today’s money every week to get into the gallery to watch all the top acts of the day and he absolutely loved the whole atmosphere and the ambiance created around entertainment and decided then that he too wanted a career on stage.
In 1942 Shuff was drafted into the Royal Airforce and thankfully soon after he was incorporated into Ralph Readers RAF gang show, and he toured North Africa, Cyprus and Italy with the forces show.
There were many famous names he was working alongside and their names read like a who’s who of comedy talent including,
Frankie Howard, Terry Thomas, Peter Sellars, Ian Carmichael and of course Spike Milligan, and to top it all his flight sergeant was none other than Tony Hancock who was also in charge of the unit.
After demob in 1945 Shuff decided to turn Pro he was spotted doing his routine as a cockney char lady known as Tipsy by Brian Sealers a producer at the BBC, but due to the character that Shuff performed at his audition for the BBC his comedy vicar routine during which he uttered a little bad language telling the congregation to flock off which didn’t go down well with the beeb.
Thanks to his many appearances though on radio, he was becoming a rising star in shows like, mid- day music hall, workers playtime and London nights, actually, in his first year he could be heard on 10 different radio platforms.
For the next three decades the 40,s 50,s and the 60,s
His timing and deliverance of his performance was immaculate, plus he wrote all his own material.
He was very proud to say that he had played Blackpool Wintergardens though by the late 60.s Shuffs act had become less genteel and innocent consequently his days at seaside specials were coming to an end.
On May the 4th 1950 on a show called Variety Band Box Mrs Gladys Shufflewick was born.
At this time in his life he was working alongside many well- known artists like Norman Evans, of over the garden wall fame,,, Sissy and Ada and the glamorous Danny La Rue.
Following on from his radio success joe public now wanted to see their radio stars on stage so Shuff signed up with a variety agent called Joe Collins and one of his first events was opening the show for the one and only Miss Dorothy Squires. (she really did love Roger)
Granny pays tribute to Dorothy Squires with a song now and again.
Shuff also played the Embassy Club, the Talk of the Town and the Astor plus many many more late- night venues.
Eventually Shuff caught the attention of impresario Vivienne Van Damm who was the general manager of the Windmill Theatre in Great Windmill Street which was the theatre that never closed during the last war and they put on a review style cabaret every day 2.30 pm till 11 pm. Where nakedish ladies appeared in different statute poses.
Many acts you may know started their careers at the Windmill Theatre like,
Bruce Forsyth, Barry Cryer, Harry Secombe Peter Sellars and Spike Milligan, and Shuff would often do 6 spots a day filling in between reviews and he was able to pop down between spots to the local pub nearby called the Bear and Staff which was gay friendly and played a very important part in LGBT history.
This is where Shuff honed his talent and learnt his craft and rose to a career high, and in 1955 he teamed up again with his old mucker Ralph Reader to do some TV work.
He appeared in It’s a great life alongside Terry Scott and also received the daily Mirrors personality of the year award.
He also worked alongside John Pertwee in a show called Pertwee’s Progress, and later John found success as the third doctor Who.
Unfortunately, at around this time he was declared bankrupt, which unfortunately led to more drinking and gambling,
We all have our little idiosyncrasies.
It is said that in 1962 the death of variety came upon the entertainment world with the closure of the Metropolitan Theatre on the Edgeware Road which had been one of the foremost variety theatres of its day, and many of the well- known performers turned out to pay tribute to the Metropolitan by attending the final show which Shuff was top of the bill that night and took the final curtain. What an accolade.
He was very proud to say that he had played Blackpool Wintergardens though by the late 60.s Shuffs act had become less genteel and family friendly consequently his days at seaside specials were coming to an end.
Shuff was a commanding force and a household name on the variety halls, summer seasons and pantomimes and sold out many theatres whilst portraying his character Tipsy, often referring to his local pub as the Cock and Comfort saying that usually there was more comfort than c…. , and was often seen wearing a stole made out of untouched pussy. Not much of that about today.
His timing and deliverance of his performance was immaculate, and he always wrote his own material.
At this time in his life he was working alongside many other well- known artists like Norman Evans, of over the garden wall fame, Sissy and Ada and the glamorous Danny La Rue.
In the 60’s the growth of the new working men’s clubs along with night clubs like Batley’s in Yorkshire and The Embassy in Manchester provided a new source of income for Shuff unfortunately in the 70’s Shuff’s homosexuality became well known and many of the working men’s clubs became hostile as his act was turning a little less innocent shall we say, and Granny has personal experience of hostility from working men’s clubs in the 70,s and 80,s but not all of them were hostile, luckily we’ve all had great nights in the vast majority of working men’s clubs.
Shuff later played to a younger and more political audience at the Theatre Royal Stratford and introduced young up and coming comedians like Michael Barrimore, Bobby Daveroe and Hail and Pace.
Timing is everything when you’re in entertainment and low and behold a new audience was emerging for Shuff in the late 60’s and early 70’s with the opening of bars like the Black Cap in Camden Town, the Vauxhall Tavern and the Skinners arms in Camberwell.
He was now playing to a gay audience’s where he continued selling out venues until his own final curtain call .
After leaving the Black Cap on the night of March the 5th 1983 after doing his show Shuff suffered a heart attack and was rushed to the Royal Free Hospital where he unfortunately passed away at a mere 58 yrs old and at his funeral at Golders Green cemetery there were 500 of his devoted fans there to pay their respects to this incredible performer, this perfectionist and truly funny guy who they all held very dear in their hearts and they all joined in a spontaneous rendition of My Old Man followed the van paying a final heartfelt tribute to an amazing theatrical trooper.
Finally,
I have found some quotes that precisely describe Shuffs career.
He was conceived in Variety
Born on radio
Grew up on TV and
Blossomed in live entertainment
A heartfelt tribute from his fellow artists said he was called the comediens comedien the one they all wanted to aspire too
So to all my good apples out there if you’ve got any memories or pics or videos of great times you had with Shuff please share them with our group so all our members can enjoy looking back at those halcyon days.
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