Editing Ted Ray (comedian) (section)

==Biography==
Ray was born '''Charles Olden'''<ref name="Clarke" /> in [[Wigan]], [[Lancashire]], England, to comic singer and mimic Charles Olden (who used the stage-name Charlie Alden) and his wife Margaret Ellen (née Kenyon).<ref name=odnb/> His parents moved to [[Liverpool]] within days of his birth, and Liverpudlians regard him as a local. He was educated at Anfield council school and [[Liverpool Collegiate School]], and as a youth wished to become a footballer.<ref name=odnb/> 

As a comedian of the 1940s and 1950s, he demonstrated his ad-libbing skills in his weekly radio show ''[[Ray's A Laugh]]'' from 1949 until 1961.<ref name="Stevens">{{cite book	
|last= Stevens	
|first= Christopher
|title= Born Brilliant: The Life of Kenneth Williams
|publisher= John Murray
|year= 2010
|isbn = 978-1-84854-195-5
|page=371
}}</ref>
A [[music hall]] comedian, Ray usually played [[violin]] badly as part of his act, first as Hugh Neek, then "Nedlo the Gypsy Violinist".<ref name="Clarke">{{Cite book|title=Pseudonyms|author=Joseph F. Clarke|publisher=BCA|date=1977|page=137}}</ref> He also played comedy roles in several British films—notably as the headmaster in ''[[Carry On Teacher]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/1958/film/reviews/carry-on-teacher-1200419408/|title=Carry on, Teacher|work=Variety|date=1 January 1959}}</ref>

He is best remembered for the [[BBC Radio]] show ''[[Ray's a Laugh]]'', a domestic comedy in which [[Kitty Bluett]] played his wife.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007js9f|title=BBC Radio 4 Extra – Ray's a Laugh, From 01/04/1954|publisher=BBC}}</ref> Other actors and actresses who featured on the show included [[Peter Sellers]], [[Fred Yule]], [[Patricia Hayes]], [[Kenneth Connor]], [[Pat Coombs]] and [[Graham Stark]]; Sellers' earliest appearances predated ''[[The Goon Show]]'' by a couple of years. In 1949 and 1950, Ray was King Rat of the [[Grand Order of Water Rats]].<ref>{{cite web |title=past king rats, gowr.co.uk |url=http://www.gowr.co.uk/our-history/past-king-rats-1890-1965/ |website=Grand Order of Water Rats |access-date=7 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gowr.co.uk/all-water-rats/v/199|title=Biography of a Water Rat|website=gowr.co.uk}}</ref>

Ray was an accomplished [[golf]]er, frequently playing with professional sportsmen. Later in his career, he appeared with [[Jimmy Edwards]], [[Arthur Askey]] and [[Cyril Fletcher]] in the comedy radio panel game ''[[Does the Team Think?]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/43a770eda8ba4c0f8b3cb81fa133aedf|title=Does the Team Think?|date=23 November 1967|issue=2298|pages=70|via=BBC Genome}}</ref>

Ray appeared on television, reading on ''[[Jackanory]]'', a children's programme, in the 1960s and 1970s.<ref name=odnb/> In 1974, he presented a radio show on [[BBC Radio 2]], ''The Betty Witherspoon Show'', with [[Kenneth Williams]], [[Miriam Margolyes]] and [[Nigel Rees]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01mx2z9|title=BBC Radio 4 Extra – The Betty Witherspoon Show, From 22/06/1974|publisher=BBC}}</ref> He was also involved in ''[[Jokers Wild (TV series)|Jokers Wild]]'', an ITV celebrity comedy game show (1969–74) which was chaired by [[Barry Cryer]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Joker%27s_Wild|title=Joker's Wild – UKGameshows|website=ukgameshows.com}}</ref> [[Arthur Askey]] was another regular on the show.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/oct/11/broadcasting.gayrights|title=Obituary: Ray Martine|first=Gavin|last=Gaughan|date=11 October 2002|work=The Guardian}}</ref>

He married showgirl Dorothy Sybil (b. 1909), daughter of mechanical engineer George Henry Stevens;<ref name=odnb/> the couple had two sons: [[Robin Ray]], a well-known television personality in the 1960s and 1970s, who initiated ''[[Call My Bluff (UK game show)|Call My Bluff]]'' and specialist classical music shows, and [[Andrew Ray]], a child star of the 1950s who had a long career on stage, film and television.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/aug/26/guardianobituaries.film|title=Obituary: Andrew Ray|first=Dennis|last=Barker|date=26 August 2003|work=The Guardian}}</ref>

He was the subject of ''[[This Is Your Life (British TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'' on two occasions: firstly, in October 1955 when he was surprised by [[Eamonn Andrews]] at the [[BBC Television Theatre]], and secondly in February 1975, when Andrews surprised him on the doorstep of his [[Southgate, London|Southgate]] home.{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}}

In 1975, returning home from a day of golfing and alcohol, two of his passions, Ray was involved in a serious motor vehicle accident. The injuries sustained were physically debilitating and left him dependent on crutches; he was convicted of dangerous driving under the influence of alcohol.<ref name=odnb/><ref name=telegraph/>

On 16 June 1977, he recorded a half-hour interview talking about his life, which was broadcast on 25 July 1977. This was repeated on [[Radio 4 Extra]]'s ''It's a Funny Business'' series on 3 November 2013.

On 8 November 1977, he suffered a fatal [[heart attack]].<ref name="telegraph">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/stars-carry-happened-next/ted-ray/|title=Barbara Windsor, Kenneth Williams, and the cast of Carry On: what happened next?|date=6 May 2017|work=The Telegraph}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f5925ed|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304045256/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f5925ed|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 March 2021|title=Ted Ray|website=BFI}}</ref>