TV Tuesday: Just For Fun 1947
Seventy-five years, ago, today, the black & white TV Movie Just For Fun aired on the BBC. Created/devised and written by Richard Hearne, he stars as Mr. Pastry:
…an old man with a walrus moustache [sic], dressed in a black suit or raincoat and with a trademark bowler hat. [T]he the bumbling old man would have adventures, partly slapstick, partly comic dance, with two young friends. Jon Pertwee also starred in the show in a variety of roles. The Mr. Pastry character had originated in the 1936 stage show Big Boy in which Hearne had appeared with Fred Emney.
Directed and produced by Walton Anderson, it also starred John Blore Borelli (and his orchestra), Buddy Bradley, Joan Heal, Yvonne Hearne, Jean Kent & Henry Oscar.
Hearne first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in March 1954, with many subsequent visits. Buster Keaton was a fan. He was interviewed by producer Barry Letts for the role of Doctor Who when Pertwee departed but, wished to play The Doctor as Mr. Pastry. Letts, in turn, offered the role to Tom Baker.
I couldn’t find any clips for this movie but, I did find Hearne/Mr. Pastry on Ed Sullivan. ~Vic
Additional:
Just For Fun (BFI)
Just For Fun (British Comedy Guide)
July 6, 2022 at 11:07 AM
He would have been a great Doctor Who, although he was a little too much like William Hartnell as Mr. Pastry.
July 6, 2022 at 4:01 PM
Interesting. Doctor Who is older than I am. Mr. Pastry does resemble Hartnell, a bit. My first Doctor was Baker. I was just a kid.
July 6, 2022 at 3:37 PM
We’ve come a long way in 75 years.. the technology has definitely gotten better… the content has not ha!
July 6, 2022 at 4:02 PM
I agree with you…on both counts.
July 7, 2022 at 11:16 PM
I’ve never heard of this guy…but if Buster liked him…he had to be great. Buster was the man!
July 7, 2022 at 11:54 PM
I’d never heard of him either. It is slim pickings for US TV in the 1940s. The UK seemed to have more.
July 7, 2022 at 11:57 PM
With Buster’s seal of approval….that is all I need