Reg Varney
Reg Varney was born in Canning Town, England, United Kingdom on July 11th, 1916 and is the TV Actor. At the age of 92, Reg Varney biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 92 years old, Reg Varney physical status not available right now. We will update Reg Varney's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.
Reginald Alfred Varney (11 July 1916 – 16 November 2008) was an English actor, entertainer and comedian best known for his television roles on The Rag Trade and On the Buses, appearing in the latter's three spin-off film versions.
Early life
Varney was born in Canning Town, Essex (but now part of London), to Sidney Thomas Varney and his wife Annie (née Needham). His father worked in a rubber factory in Silvertown and he was one of five children who grew up in Addington Road, Canning Town. He was educated at the nearby Star Lane Primary School in West Ham and after leaving school at 14, he worked as a messenger boy and a page boy at the Regent Palace Hotel.
Varney took piano lessons as a child and was good enough to find employment as a part-time piano player. His first paid engagement was at Plumstead Radical Club in Woolwich, for which he was paid eight shillings and sixpence (42½p). He also played in working men's clubs, pubs and ABC cinemas, and later sang with big bands of the time. He and his mother decided that show business was the career for him, and he gave up his day jobs. Varney became a solo pianist at the Windmill Theatre in May 1938. In late 1939, he married Lilian E. Flavell (1915-2002) at East Ham.
During the Second World War, Varney joined the Royal Engineers, but continued his performing career as an army entertainer, touring in the Far East for a time. After being demobilised in the late 1940s, he starred on stage in a comic revue entitled Gaytime, with Benny Hill as his partner in a double act. He then became an all-round entertainer, working his way around the music halls.
Career
Prior to being cast in the role of long-suffering factory foreman Reg Turner in BBC television sitcom The Rag Trade (1961-63), Varney had only appeared in a few film and television appearances, making him a household name. He was aware that he was the only one with West End acting experience and had worked hard to make up for it. He appeared in a show called The Valiant Varneys (1964–65), where he portrayed several characters in front of a live audience. After that came after another comedy role in Beggar My Neighbour (1966-68), Pat Coombs, June Whitfield, and Peter Jones appeared in Beggar My Neighbour (1966–68); this also starred Pat Coombs, Peter Jones, And John Jones. Pat Coombs played Varney's wife. Varney appeared in The Great St Trinian Robbery (1966) with Frankie Howerd, Dora Bryant, and George Cole.
At Barclays Bank's Enfield Town branch, the world's first voucher-based cash dispensing machine was installed. Varney was living in Enfield at the time, and he was caught on film making the first withdrawal from the machine on Tuesday, June 27th, 1967.
Varney's most prominent lead role was on the LWT's On the Buses (1969–73) as bus driver Stan Butler. Varney went to length to prepare for the role, even seeking a public service license so he could be caught on the open road. Varney was not insured, but LWT had to use licensed chauffeurs for these scenes. On the Buses (1971), Mutiny on the Buses (1972), and Holiday on the Buses (1973). Varney was 52 when the first series was released, but Stan, who lived with his mother and often tried to attract young women, was presumed to be 35 years old. Varney was just eleven years younger than Doris Hare, the main actor who played Stan's mother, and more than Anna Karen who played his sister.
Varney left the series midway through the last season, hoping to move to film and other projects. In the end, he appeared in only two other non-Buses film, The Best Pair of Legs in the Business (1973), and two television series, Down the 'Gate (1975–76), which was shown in Billingsgate Fish Market (1973). However, neither show resembled his success with On the Buses, and Varney did not appear in another television series after Down the Gate was cancelled after twelve episodes. In 1977, LWT revived The Rag Trade, but Varney did not reprise his role.
With his one-man show, he performed on cruise ships and toured Australia. "Whatever I did after On the Buses, nobody cares about it," he told an interviewer. However, I can't dismiss the program because it has offered me invitations to do concert tours in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada."
During his fame, he was a cogstar on television program This Is Your Life in May 1970, when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews, making further appearances in Doris Hare, Douglas Bader, June Whitfield, and Anthony Newley.
Varney released numerous LP albums during his career, including this one by Reg Varney on 1972; Reg Varney on The 88s at Abbey Road on Columbia; Reg Varney's Party Reg Varney on the EMI-One-Up label in 1973; and A Variety of Varney on Astor in 1976.