Actors - Cardew Robinson

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	Actors - Cardew Robinson

Douglas John Cardew Robinson was a British comic, whose craft was rooted in the Music Hall and Gang Shows. He was born in Goodmayes in Essex on 14th August 1917, and educated at Harrow County School for Boys. He achieved fame in the 1940s as “Cardew the Cad”, a schoolboy character he created. He played the character on radio and stage and later in a film, “Fun at St Fanny’s”. Cardew the Cad became a cartoon strip in “Film Fun”, a children’s comic of the period.

Cardew Robinson successfully made the transition from Variety and radio, into TV and films. In the latter, he nearly always played small but memorable cameo parts, thus an early theatrical review mentioned “…Mr Cardew Robinson, who seems to specialise in grotesques…”. In the production of “Camelot” in London in 1964, Cardew Robinson played King Pellenore. The show apparently ran for 650 performances, although it was not well received by the critics. Cardew Robinson was best known in Britain for appearances on TV and in radio shows like “You’ve Got to be Joking” which he created, as well as “Does The Team Think”. He only played in one “Carry On” film: in “Carry on Up the Khyber”; he was a fakir, drawing the memorable line from Bernard Bresslaw, whose character, Bungdit Din tells him to, “Fakir…off!”.

Among his other activities, Cardew Robinson wrote material for other comedians, wrote a book, “How to be a Failure” and even wrote songs with Roger Whittaker. He was also a golfer and enjoyed listening to classical music, to the extent that an early fiancée left him because she was bored by it.

Cardew Robinson died on 27th December 1992 at the age of 75. His obituary in The Times, describes him as “…a quiet studious man, whose private face belied his public appearance…”. A letter to the paper from a later headmaster of his old school, talks about his “…generous spirit…”. Certainly he seems to have been well regarded by friends and audiences alike.

Appearances

1959 I'm All Right Jack
1968 Carry On Up the Khyber
1989 Shirley Valentine

Reference

Obituary in The Times, 28th December 1992

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