A touch of confusion as My Name Is Harry Worth
Published: Sunday 21st July 2024
From the 1960s to 1980s, Harry Worth was a much-loved comedian and a household name. He always played the hapless and confused man who cheerfully let modern life pass him by, and although he knew what he meant, no one else seemed to understand a word he was saying.
His biggest legacy in comedy is 'the mirror trick'. Standing in a shop doorway by a window, you raise one arm and one leg and the reflection makes it look as if both arms and legs are lifting, giving the illusion that you are levitating off the floor. People still do it, but they probably don't know why: mention Harry Worth now and very few remember him, yet at the time "the man in the window" was a huge star, with TV ratings that would rival the greats.
Born Harry Bourlon Illingsworth in West Riding, Yorkshire in 1917, he left school aged 14 to work down the mines, as his father had done. He started performing in a local amateur dramatics society in Tankersley, near Barnsley, to escape the drudgery of his everyday life, and it was there that he discovered a flair for throwing his voice and developed a deliberately bad comedy vent act, which he took around working men's clubs. In 1941 he joined up for duty, serving in the RAF, and it was there that he continued to perform in troop shows in India. During this time in the forces he developed the bumbling persona of a nervous and inept chap, who seemed conscious that he was slightly in the way and apologetic for taking up the audience's time. It was, in fact, an incredibly clever comedic device and made the public warm to him even more.
By the mid 1970s, Harry had already starred in two very successful comedy shows on BBC television: Here's Harry, from 1960 to 1964; and Harry Worth, from 1966 to 1970. As with Morecambe & Wise a few years later, when Thames poached him away from the Beeb it was considered quite a coup. He first made a sketch show for them, Thirty Minutes Worth, which ran for two series in 1972 and 1973, but his first situation comedy for ITV was My Name Is Harry Worth, launching in 1974.
The show's title had become something of a catchphrase for Harry: 'My name's Harry Worth. I don't know why, but there it is!' The show was billed as 'The trials and tribulations of a forgetful, and sometimes confusing, door-to-door brush salesman', and it ran for only one series, eight episodes airing from April to June 1974. The main premise was that Harry was well-meaning but utterly confused and confusing, ending up in a series of muddles and misunderstandings, usually with authority figures or in shops and services.
Each episode sees him try to navigate the little trials and tribulations of everyday life, which he makes more complicated by just being himself. Harry gets the wrong end of the stick in every situation and even the simplest tasks, like buying a roll of lino or getting a television repaired, get out of hand and become hugely complicated. He was the master of talking at cross purposes and that's where most of the comedy lies, as pretty much every situation starts with Harry misunderstanding what is happening or what is required of him.
Indeed, the whole series hinges on a misunderstanding as Episode 1 starts with Harry arriving at Mrs. Maybury's house to sell her brushes. He's a terrible salesman and she thinks he's come about the advertisement in the newsagent's window to rent a furnished room. Harry lives in his own world, mixing up addresses and remembering phone numbers by adding the digits together. Mrs Maybury is charmed by him and in Episode 2 she describes him as eccentric when her brother questions Harry's vagueness and demands he produce a character reference.
By Episode 3 Harry has settled in and wants to help. Mrs Maybury has been widowed for a long time and talks about being lonely, so Harry goes off to a marriage bureau to find her a husband. Unfortunately this episode does feel more dated than the others: there are jokes about how absurd it would be for men to marry men, and what some would see as cultural appropriation; but it's all of its time and with the comedy of Harry Worth there's never any malice.
The fourth episode presents a change from the series norm of every day bumbling. It begins in-keeping, Harry mistaken for a bank manager whilst trying to open a new account, but soon escalates to find him held for ransom by two kidnappers. Of course there's yet further misunderstanding and he ends up asking the kidnappers to sign as referees on his application form. He's unfazed by the whole thing and takes the situation in his stride, driving the criminals to despair.
They're not the only people he pushes to the point of madness. Harry purchases a second-hand TV set in Episode 5 but it doesn't work. He somehow manages to lose Mrs Maybury's TV set, exasperate the TV repair man and upset all the locals at the pub. It gets more absurd in Episode 6 when he borrows Mrs Maybury's car to go and do some shopping. He attempts to buy a roll of lino; the car is towed away, whilst also reported as stolen; and he causes chaos in the carpet shop.
Harry and authority just don't mix and in Episode 7, after many mistakes and mix-ups, he takes Mrs Maybury's niece to a local disco. A lout soon starts bothering her for a dance, but Harry is the one who ends up being arrested! (Incidentally, Harry's dancing is one of the series' funniest scenes, having the time of his life bopping away.) There's a further howler of a routine in the courtroom, giving Worth the chance to display his comedy timing prowess to the full.
Finally, the series closes with possibly the most frustrating episode of all, as Harry drives a telephone company manager to a full-on breakdown. The seemingly simple job of arranging a telephone extension into his bedroom becomes a nightmare for both the telephone company and the plumbers who have come to install a new washing machine.
There's more than a hint of Frank Spencer about Harry Worth's character in how he baffles and annoys people, and what starts as mild irritation in the first few episodes has escalated to mania by the end of the series. It's hard to decide quite if the character is meant to be eccentric, or naïve, or just doesn't understand how he annoys everyone as he bumbles along in a haze of good-humoured confusion. Even the opening titles show a negative reaction to the character. Filmed near Strawberry Hill railway station in Richmond Upon Thames, Harry rounds the corner onto the busy street, and as he lifts his trilby hat he announces, 'Hello everyone. My name is Harry Worth'. The street instantly clears, as shoppers, school children, the postman, the window cleaner and shopkeepers disappear as fast as possible. Then the mournful theme music written by the composer Nachum Heiman kicks in as Harry shrugs and meanders down the road, seemingly at a loss as to why everyone has gone.
The only person not annoyed by Harry, finding him charming is landlady Mrs Maybury, played by Lally Bowers, the only other character who appears in all eight programmes. Leading up to this series, Lally was an experienced stage actress who had popped up in several comedies, plays, dramas and soap operas on television, such as ITV's Playhouse, the BBC's long-running Play Of The Month, Coronation Street, ...And Mother Makes Three and The Fenn Street Gang, making her a familiar face to many viewers. She mothers Harry by cooking him cheese and onion pie all the time for supper and making him cocoa on the stove.
At first she seems slightly dotty and confused herself, but she's the only one who actually 'gets' Harry, telling him she finds him 'Delightfully confusing when you get the wrong end of the stick'. The rapport and genuine affection between the pair is a joy, their referring to each other by surname alone giving further texture, harking back to a simpler time when manners and respect underpinned society.
Although there were no other regular characters the series boasted a fine supporting cast of cameos in each episode. Reginald Marsh appeared in two episodes as George, Mrs Maybury's overprotective and suspicious brother; Gerald Sim as a bank manager; Richard Davies, Glyn Houston and David Lodge as policemen; Peter Jones as a marriage counsellor; and Sally Geeson as Mrs Maybury's niece, Sandra.
Sally's soon-to-be husband, William G Stewart, produced and directed the show. They had worked together previously on Bless This House, and she enjoyed working with Worth, as she explains in Robert Ross's book Forgotten Heroes Of Comedy:
From the first day of rehearsals, it struck me what a sweet, down-to-earth and unaffected man Harry was. Although he had a brilliant sense of humour, he definitely did not have any airs and graces. Everybody liked him on set - the other actors, the camera crew - all admired his totally brilliant comic timing.
As well as having an experienced producer/director on board, there was some great writing talent behind the show. Ronnie Taylor, who had previously written Here's Harry and Harry Worth on the BBC with the star, wrote four episodes; George Layton (Doctor In The House, Don't Wait Up) and Jonathan Lynn (who went on to co-create Yes Minister) wrote three episodes together; and Spike Mullins and Peter Robinson (who both worked on The Two Ronnies) wrote one.
Yet despite its indisputable comic pedigree the show was not a great success. Audiences seemed to find Harry as annoying as the other characters did, his constant talking at cross purposes and mishaps were wearing thin after so many years. My Name Is Harry Worth was not commissioned for another series. Instead, he went on to star in a one-off special for the BBC in 1976 simply called Harry; made two series of How's Your Father for Yorkshire Television from 1979 to 1980; and starred in the little-remembered David Croft/Jeremy Lloyd sitcom Oh Happy Band!, back at the BBC, also in 1980. In reality his best work was behind him, and he would never recapture the successes he'd enjoyed at the BBC in the 1960s.
Harry died on 20th July 1989 aged 71. At his memorial service, fellow comedian Sir Harry Secombe said: 'Harry has left a legacy of laughter and we have all been enriched by his presence here on earth'.
Yes, there are frustrating elements and the humour might have dated in places, but there remains much to enjoy about My Name Is Harry Worth. For the public and his peers, as Sir Harry Secombe's quote shows, he was highly regarded as a skilled and loved comedian. Those who remember him undoubtedly do so fondly.
Where to start?
Episode 1 - There's No Place Like It
Worth first moves in with Mrs Maybury, renting a furnished room from the kindly widow, but really he only came to the door to sell her some brushes. By bed time he's got lost, confused two taxi drivers, left his pyjamas at the fishmongers, got stuck on the roof trying to rescue a cat whilst wearing a ladies' coat, and had a run-in with the police. Just another day of bewilderment for Harry!
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Love comedy? Find out moreThe Complete Harry Worth Collection
The Complete Harry Worth Collection brings you over eleven hours of comedy gold from the master of confusion, Harry Worth.
Available for the very first time on DVD, this fantastic set includes My Name Is Harry Worth, plus three hilarious series of Thirty Minutes Worth. Join one of the most popular comedians of his time as he reduces everyone he comes into contact with to a state of bewilderment and frustration with his well-meaning, bumbling incompetence.
Includes a never-before-heard 1987 audio interview with Harry Worth.
First released: Monday 8th August 2011
DVD- Distributor: Revelation Films Ltd
- Region: 2
- Discs: 4
- Catalogue: PAR61504
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