Editing Max Bygraves (section)

==Career==
After the end of the war, Bygraves worked on building sites, while entertaining in pubs in the evenings. An early variety stage appearance in January 1945 was at the Grand, Clapham with a review stating "A new impressionist. Max Bygraves, is also a lad to be watched. He has a little to learn in the art of showmanship, but not much, but there is no denying the brilliance of his impersonations."<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Stage |journal=The Stage |date=18 January 1945 |page=3}}</ref>

In August 1946, he toured in a [[variety show]] with [[Frankie Howerd]],<ref>{{cite journal |title=Nottingham Evening Post |journal=Nottingham Evening Post |date=6 August 1946 |page=3}}</ref> who in turn introduced him to [[Eric Sykes]], and they began writing routines together. With Sykes, he also developed the radio show ''[[Educating Archie]]'', starring [[ventriloquist]] [[Peter Brough]] and his dummy [[Archie Andrews (puppet)|Archie Andrews]], and featuring Bygraves in the role of Archie's teacher. The idea for the programme came from record producer [[Wally Ridley]], who produced Bygraves' records during the 1950s.<ref name=leigh/>

In July 1950, he made his first appearance at the [[London Palladium]] supporting [[Abbott and Costello]],<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Stage |journal=The Stage |date=20 July 1950 |page=2}}</ref> and in 1951 he supported [[Judy Garland]] in her appearance there.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Stage |journal=The Stage |date=5 April 1951 |page=2}}</ref> Arising from this, she invited him to perform at the [[Palace Theatre (New York City)|Palace]] in [[New York City|New York]] in October 1951.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Daily News (New York) |journal=Daily News (New York) |date=18 September 1951 |page=57}}</ref>

Bygraves became a successful recording artist with seven top ten hits on the [[UK Singles Chart]] between 1952 and 1960.<ref name="betts"/> Many were [[novelty songs]]. One of his most popular recordings, "You Need Hands" in 1958, was written by Bygraves under the pseudonym Roy Irwin (or Erwin), a name picked at random from a telephone directory. He also wrote its follow-up, "Gotta Have Rain".<ref name=leigh>{{Cite news|date=2012-09-02|title=Max Bygraves: Entertainer who won the nation's hearts with his songs|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/max-bygraves-entertainer-who-won-the-nation-s-hearts-with-his-songs-tv-shows-and-patter-8101437.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220512/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/max-bygraves-entertainer-who-won-the-nation-s-hearts-with-his-songs-tv-shows-and-patter-8101437.html |archive-date=12 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-30|newspaper=The Independent}}</ref> His producer Wally Ridley said of Bygraves:
{{blockquote|Max's great talent was that he could punch lines, which was absolutely great for us. We'd give him songs with very short lines and he'd punch them out marvellously. Give him a long line and he would stumble over it, although I just flipped when I was given "Gilly Gilly Ossenfeffer Katzenellen Bogen by the Sea". I thought, "Fabulous, fabulous, this is a major hit for us." I took it to Max and his wife, Blossom, said, "That's no good, what does it mean?" ... The song was absolutely perfect for Max and its whole secret was "What the hell does it mean?"<ref name=leigh/>}}

He also occasionally worked as an actor, appearing in British films including ''[[Bless 'Em All (film)|Bless 'Em All]]'' (1948) and ''[[Tom Brown's Schooldays (1951 film)|Tom Brown's Schooldays]]'' (1951). Bygraves appeared as himself in the 1954 British film musical ''Harmony Lane'' directed by Lewis Gilbert. He portrayed the title character in the 1956 film ''[[Charley Moon]]'' and starred in the 1961 drama ''[[Spare the Rod (1961 film)|Spare the Rod]]''.<ref name=leigh/> In 1959, Bygraves bought the past and future rights to the [[Lionel Bart]] musical ''[[Oliver!]]'' for £350 at a time when Bart was experiencing severe financial difficulties. Bygraves later sold them for £250,000.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thestage.co.uk/features/obituaries/feature.php/37286/max-bygraves |title=Max Bygraves – Obituaries |newspaper=The Stage |access-date=2013-02-15}}</ref>

In the 1950s and 1960s, Bygraves appeared as a guest on several television variety programmes, both in the UK and United States. These included [[Ed Sullivan]], [[Jack Benny]] and [[Jackie Gleason]], in America. He was the subject of ''[[This Is Your Life (British TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'' in 1961 when he was surprised by [[Eamonn Andrews]] while rehearsing his new show, ''[[Do Re Mi (musical)|Do Re Mi]]'' at London's [[Prince of Wales Theatre]]. He appeared in several TV series including the sitcom ''Roamin' Holiday'' and the variety shows ''Max'' and ''Max Bygraves at the Royalty''.<ref name=leigh/> From 1983 to 1985, Bygraves hosted ''[[Family Fortunes]]'', taking over from his friend and fellow comedian [[Bob Monkhouse]]. He would later be succeeded as host in 1987 by [[Les Dennis]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.sky.com/story/979602/max-bygraves-veteran-entertainer-dies-aged-89 |title=Max Bygraves, Veteran Entertainer, Dies Aged 89 |work=[[Sky News]] |date=2012-09-01}}</ref>

From 1972, Bygraves recorded a series of albums, ''Sing Along With Max'' (later ''Singalongamax''), in which he sang medleys of familiar songs aimed at an older audience. The albums, for [[Pye Records]], sold millions of copies and led to spinoff shows and more recordings.<ref name=leigh/> In 1977, UK publishing house [[W. H. Allen & Co.|W. H. Allen]] published Bygraves' comic novel ''The Milkman's on His Way''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bygraves |first=Max |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/3607418 |title=The milkman's on his way |date=1977 |publisher=Allen |isbn=0-491-02290-5 |location=London |oclc=3607418}}</ref>

Bygraves' catchphrase was said to be: "I wanna tell you a story". Another well-known phrase of his was "That's a good idea, son!".<ref name=leigh/>