HENRY MCGEEBest known for his role as straight man to comics Benny Hill and Charlie Drake, Henry McGee was one of the most familiar faces on the small screen during a career that spanned almost half a century. He died on 28 January, 2006, aged 76.He was also famous for his supporting roles in many films and television shows including ‘The Saint’, ‘On The Buses’ and ‘Revenge of the Pink Panther’.Ironically, perhaps his most enduring role was alongside furry Sugar Puffs icon, the ‘Honey Monster’, in 1970s breakfast cereal advertisements.Mr McGee was regarded by many as one of the funniest actors to ever grace both screen and stage. As one critic wrote, “He only has to raise an eyebrow to raise a laugh.”Henry McGee was born on 14 May, 1929, in South Kensington, London. The only child of a Rolls-Royce engineer, he was educated at Stonyhurst College and planned to become a doctor.However, the death of his father at 17 and the subsequent financial strains forced the abandonment of his medical school dreams and he instead turned to acting as a career.After a brief stint in the Navy as a wireless operator and aided by a government grant, the young McGee went on to train at the Italia Conti Stage Academy where he made his professional acting debut in a visiting Comedie-Francaise production at the St. James’s Theatre.He then spent two years on stage in Australia, before returning to Britain in the 1960s to play a policeman in television’s ‘Softly Softly’. This led to further supporting roles on the small screen which displayed his talent for farce and, later, a serious lead in DH Lawrence’s ‘Jimmy and the Desperate Women’.In 1968 Mr McGee began his longest television partnership of all with comedian Benny Hill. In all, he appeared in 45 of the 58 episodes of ‘The Benny Hill Show’ before it was finally axed in 1989 amid claims of sexism.His 20-year association with comic Benny Hill often saw him serve as the infamous announcer on ‘The Benny Hill Show’.He starred as ‘Two-Ton Ted’ in the promotional music video for 1971’s ‘Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West’, which appeared on Top of the Pops that same year.Sitcoms were Mr McGee’s other regular screen outlet, including ‘The Worker’, ‘Up The Workers’ and Ronnie Corbett’s ‘No, That’s Me Over Here’.Meanwhile, the stage earned him some of his most high praise, particularly in later life, with lead roles in ‘Uproar in the House’ and ‘Run for Your Wife’.He died on 28 January, 2006, aged 76, after spending the last six months of his life in a nursing home suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.A teetotaller, Mr McGee reportedly enjoyed gliding and collecting old engravings.His mother’s ancestry can be traced back to the early 18th century and reveals an acting legacy which includes Kitty Clive.
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