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Lance Percival, obit from The Stage
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Jan 21, 2015, 1:05:24 PM1/21/15
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Obituary: Lance Percival
By: Michael Quinn
Published 11:10am Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Lance Percival found fame singing topical political songs in a calypso style on the BBC's pioneering satire show That Was the Week That Was and went on to become a stalwart of British television and film comedy.
Born in Sevenoaks, Kent, he began his career writing radio advertising jingles in Canada, to where he emigrated in 1955 after national service. Catching the musical fad of the day, he formed the calypso group Lord Lance and toured Canada and the US.
Returning to London, Percival began performing on the club and cabaret circuit, and in 1961-62 appeared alongside Kenneth Williams and Sheila Hancock in Peter Cook's One Over the Eight revue at the Duke of York's Theatre.
Later stage work included an SS officer in Rolf Hochhuth's The Representative (Birmingham Rep, 1965); the revue Night is for Delight (featuring sketches by Harold Pinter) at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford (1966); Jack Pulman's romp The Happy Apple (Hampstead, 1967); Consider My Position (Yvonne Arnaud, 1980); and The Ratepayer's Iolanthe (Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, 1984).
On TW3 (1962-63), Percival showed himself to be a highly capable comedic actor, mimicking leading figures of the day, notably Alec Douglas-Home opposite Willie Rushton's Harold Macmillan. His calypso songs, improvised on suggestions from the studio audience and inspired by the week's political events, proved a weekly highlight.
One such, Shame and Scandal in the Family, reached number 37 in the charts in 1965. He released several other novelty songs with Beatles producer George Martin. The Beatles connection continued when Percival provided the voices of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr for the group's eponymous animated television cartoon series (1965) and 'Old Fred' in the 1968 film Yellow Submarine.
Alongside TW3, he appeared in the Jimmy Jewel and Ben Warriss comedy It's a Living (1962) and starred in his own sitcom, Lance at Large, co-written by Peter Tinniswood and David Nobbs (1964), and The Lance Percival Show (1965-66).
His film career was boosted by 1962's Carry on Cruising and cameos in Hollywood star vehicles The VIPs (1963) and The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964). Later credits included the Julie Andrews musical Darling Lili and the Peter Sellers comedy There's a Girl in My Soup (both 1970), the children's drama Bluebirds (1989) and Jekyll and Hyde (1990).
After a car accident in 1970, in which one person died and Percival nearly lost the sight of one eye, he turned to writing, although he appeared in the 1971 film version of Frankie Howerd's hit TV series Up Pompeii and its two sequels. He wrote pantomimes and more than 100 episodes of the ITV game show Whodunnit, and in 1973 created and appeared in the short-lived sitcom Up the Workers.
Percival enjoyed something of an Indian summer as a regular guest on BBC Radio 4's Just a Minute and became a much-in-demand after-dinner speaker and speechwriter for business moguls. He published two books of whimsical verse in 1985 and 1986.
John Lancelot Blades Percival was born on July 26, 1933. He died on January 6, aged 81. He is survived by his son.
Copyright (c) 2015 The Stage Media Company Limited
Obituary: Lance Percival
By: Michael Quinn
Published 11:10am Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Lance Percival found fame singing topical political songs in a calypso style on the BBC's pioneering satire show That Was the Week That Was and went on to become a stalwart of British television and film comedy.
Born in Sevenoaks, Kent, he began his career writing radio advertising jingles in Canada, to where he emigrated in 1955 after national service. Catching the musical fad of the day, he formed the calypso group Lord Lance and toured Canada and the US.
Returning to London, Percival began performing on the club and cabaret circuit, and in 1961-62 appeared alongside Kenneth Williams and Sheila Hancock in Peter Cook's One Over the Eight revue at the Duke of York's Theatre.
Later stage work included an SS officer in Rolf Hochhuth's The Representative (Birmingham Rep, 1965); the revue Night is for Delight (featuring sketches by Harold Pinter) at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford (1966); Jack Pulman's romp The Happy Apple (Hampstead, 1967); Consider My Position (Yvonne Arnaud, 1980); and The Ratepayer's Iolanthe (Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, 1984).
On TW3 (1962-63), Percival showed himself to be a highly capable comedic actor, mimicking leading figures of the day, notably Alec Douglas-Home opposite Willie Rushton's Harold Macmillan. His calypso songs, improvised on suggestions from the studio audience and inspired by the week's political events, proved a weekly highlight.
One such, Shame and Scandal in the Family, reached number 37 in the charts in 1965. He released several other novelty songs with Beatles producer George Martin. The Beatles connection continued when Percival provided the voices of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr for the group's eponymous animated television cartoon series (1965) and 'Old Fred' in the 1968 film Yellow Submarine.
Alongside TW3, he appeared in the Jimmy Jewel and Ben Warriss comedy It's a Living (1962) and starred in his own sitcom, Lance at Large, co-written by Peter Tinniswood and David Nobbs (1964), and The Lance Percival Show (1965-66).
His film career was boosted by 1962's Carry on Cruising and cameos in Hollywood star vehicles The VIPs (1963) and The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964). Later credits included the Julie Andrews musical Darling Lili and the Peter Sellers comedy There's a Girl in My Soup (both 1970), the children's drama Bluebirds (1989) and Jekyll and Hyde (1990).
After a car accident in 1970, in which one person died and Percival nearly lost the sight of one eye, he turned to writing, although he appeared in the 1971 film version of Frankie Howerd's hit TV series Up Pompeii and its two sequels. He wrote pantomimes and more than 100 episodes of the ITV game show Whodunnit, and in 1973 created and appeared in the short-lived sitcom Up the Workers.
Percival enjoyed something of an Indian summer as a regular guest on BBC Radio 4's Just a Minute and became a much-in-demand after-dinner speaker and speechwriter for business moguls. He published two books of whimsical verse in 1985 and 1986.
John Lancelot Blades Percival was born on July 26, 1933. He died on January 6, aged 81. He is survived by his son.
Copyright (c) 2015 The Stage Media Company Limited
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