Melvyn Hayes | |
|---|---|
| Born | Melvyn Hyams 11 January 1935 Wandsworth, London, England |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, voice artist |
| Years active | 1953–present |
| Television | Quatermass II (1955) It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974–1981) The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) EastEnders (2005) Drop the Dead Donkey (1998) Benidorm (2011) |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 6, including Charlie |
| Website | http://melvynhayes.com/ |
Melvyn Hayes (né Hyams; born 11 January 1935) is an English actor and voice-over performer. He is best known for playing the effeminate Gunner (later Bombardier) "Gloria" Beaumont in the 1970s BBC sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum, for appearing in the Cliff Richard musical films The Young Ones, Summer Holiday and Wonderful Life as well as Here Come the Double Deckers (1970–1971).
Born in Wandsworth, South London,[1] Hayes attended Sir Walter St John's Grammar School For Boys, Battersea. As a youth he worked in Fleet Street, carrying advertising print blocks between newspapers. In 1950 he saw an advertisement seeking an assistant for the conjurer The Great Massoni.[2] He got the job and was soon "disappearing twice daily for £4 per week" performing the Indian rope trick in Maskelyne's Mysteries at The Comedy Theatre in London. He was also in a theatrical troupe called Terry's Juveniles, and later appeared in repertory theatres in Surrey, Derbyshire and the Midlands.
He has appeared in pantomimes as dames in Christmas productions of Sleeping Beauty as Nanny Nellie and Aladdin as Widow Twankey.
His film roles include the young Victor Frankenstein in The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Willem in Operation Amsterdam (1959), Cecil Biggs in Bottoms Up (1960), Jimmy in The Young Ones (1961) with Cliff Richard, Cyril in Summer Holiday (1963), again with Cliff Richard and 'Brother' Willy in Crooks in Cloisters (1964).
Hayes has performed voices on children's cartoons such as SuperTed, The Dreamstone, Little Dracula, Alfred J. Kwak, Pongwiffy and Budgie the Little Helicopter.
One of his earliest roles was in the BBC Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School. He played Edek in The Silver Sword (by Ian Serraillier) in 1957, a children's television production about Polish refugees trying to find their parent after World War II. The Human Jungle (1963) Starring Herbert Lom as Dr Richard Corder. Hayes featured in It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974–1981), as Gunner "Gloria" Beaumont for the first two series, then, after Bombardier Solomon left, he was promoted to bombardier.
Other roles include parts in EastEnders as Michael Rawlins. Carry On England, Love Thy Neighbour, The Thin Blue Line, Here Come the Double Deckers, Potter's Picture Palace (1976 & 1978),[3] the final series of Drop the Dead Donkey and Not Going Out (2023). He also provided the voice to characters in the English translation of the cartoon Alfred J. Kwak. In March 2011, Hayes appeared as Mr Pink in the ITV1 comedy TV series Benidorm. He was also in the Doctor Who - The Companion Chronicles audio The Scorchies (2013).
In August 2023 Hayes appeared in the BBC sitcom Not Going Out.[4]
Hayes first married actress Rosalind Allan, with whom he has two daughters and one son. He has two daughters with his second wife, former actress and theatrical agent Wendy Padbury; their daughter, Charlie Hayes, also became an actress. He is now married to Jayne Male and lives in Ryde on the Isle of Wight. Hayes has one child with Male.[5]
He was at one time the pub landlord of the Stag Inn in the village of Offchurch in Warwickshire[6] the White Hart Tap in St Albans, Hertfordshire, and The Brantham Bull, Brantham, Suffolk.
Hayes is a member of the Grand Order of Water Rats and in 2004, was made King Rat.[citation needed]
