Actors - Reg Varney

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	Actors - Reg Varney

Reg Varney (born July 11, 1916) is an English TV and film actor who starred in On the Buses, a popular British 1970s sitcom.

Born in Canning Town, East London, he also starred in Miss Robin Hood
and various other sitcoms during his career in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He attended Star Lane Primary School in Newham.

His father worked in a rubber factory in Silvertown. Reg had 2 sisters. Leaving school at 14, he worked as a messenger boy and a page boy at the Regents Park Hotel. He also started his career as a piano player after taking lessons as a child. His first paid engagement was at Plumstead Radical Club in Woolwich, for which he was paid eight shillings and sixpence. He played in working men's clubs at the age of 14, and later sang with Big Bands of the time. He also appeared in ABC Cinemas and pubs. He and his mother decided that showbiz was the career for him, and he gave up his day jobs.

His career altered slightly with the onset of World War II. He joined the Royal Electrical Engineers, but continued performing in Stars in Battledress and did a tour of the Far East.

He then went on to become an all round entertain working his way around the Music Halls. Also doing Summer Shows, Benny Hill would play his straight man.

In 1961 he got the role as a foreman in a TV series called The Rag Trade. After that followed another comedy role in Beggar My Neighbour; this also starred Pat Coombs, June Whitfield and Peter Jones. Pat Coombs was to play Reg Varney's wife and would later appear in the On The Buses movie. The series ran from March 1967 to March 1968 (24 episodes of 30 minute duration) and a short special was shown as part of Christmas Night With The Stars on 25th December 1967.

Then another sitcom was penned by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney who had written The Rag Trade. The series was called On The Buses. It proved a great success and Reg started to take on more film roles. These included Go For A Take and The Best Pair of Legs In The Business. In the latter, Reg plays a drag artist-cum-compere at a caravan holiday site. Down The Gate followed but was not a great success. He played a Billingsgate Fish Porter.

He also had six of his own hour long spectaculars "The Other Reg Varney."

He had his own cabaret act and toured places like Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

In 1988 On The Buses went onto the stage and again Reg went over to Australia playing Stan. A few years later Reg was found to have health problems and took up residence in a small village near Dartmouth. He also owns a villa in Malta. He is now retired and spends his time between his home and villa.

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