1. Personal
Jerry Desmonde was born James Robert Sadler in Linthorpe, Middlesbrough into a family of music hall performers who toured the halls in Scotland, North East England, and Yorkshire. [3] He was married to Peggy Duncan. [4] They had two children, a daughter Jacqueline and son Gerald. [2] After world war II Jerry and his family settled in London and his daughter Jacqueline married clarinetist Peter Howes the son of actor Bobby Howes. [2] Later Jerry worked as a minicab driver in London until becoming depressed; following a comparatively trivial argument with his business partner, he took his own life. [4] [5] [6]
2. Stage, film, television and radio career
James first appeared on stage at the age of eleven and later became part of his family's act The Four Sadlers. [4] He built a career as a song and dance man in musical theatre and later toured parts of the United States in 1927-1928 with Beatrice Lillie and Noel Coward in the two-act revue This Year of Grace. [4] [7] By 1934 he had married Peggy Duncan and they toured as a double act called Peg and Jerry, largely in Scotland. [4] In the 1940s Jerry as he was then known, was briefly a straight man for Scottish comedian Dave Willis and in 1942 Jerry was invited to be straight man for stage comedian Sid Field becoming one of the most celebrated comedy teams ever to appear on stage. [3] [4] They appeared together on stage in three very successful revues, Strike a New Note (1943) [8] and Strike it Again (1944) [9] and Piccadilly Hayride (1946) [10] at the Prince of Wales Theatre, London and in two films, London Town (1946) [11] an infamous flop, and in The Cardboard Cavalier (1949). [2] The two men next worked together on a stage play, Harvey at the Prince of Wales Theatre, from which Desmonde was ultimately sacked. [4] In 1950 a few months later, during the play's run Sid Field died of a heart attack.

As Sir Hector, governor of Sir Godrics Hospital (far right), he fends off an unwelcomed intruder Pitkin (played by Norman Wisdom, second from left) who interrupts in one of his duties in welcoming to Lady Brinkley as a potential fund raiser benefactor to the institution (played by Jill Melford, second from right) in the movie A Stitch in Time (1963).
In 1949 Jerry appeared on television as a presenter in Rooftop Rendesvous. [12] Jerry was a regular panellist and occasional guest host on the original UK version of the television panel game What's My Line? (1951-1962), [3] [13] [14] [15] and appeared in several TV comedies namely, Holiday Camp (1951) with Arthur Askey, [16] A Flight of Fancy (1952) with comedian (sic) Jimmy Young, Before Your Very Eyes (1956-58) with Arthur Askey, [17] and Bud in 1963 a sitcom with Bud Flanagan and other members of the Crazy Gang. [18] He also appeared in episodes of the television series A Question of Happiness (1964), [19] The Plane Makers (1964), [20] The Villains (1965), No Hiding Place (1965), The Mask of Janus (1965), [21] and Vendetta (1966) (1966). [2] As a game show host he hosted ATV's Hit The Limit (1956) [22] and The 64,000 Question (1956) [23] television gameshows and in October 1956 Jerry appeared on the front cover of TV Times. [24] On radio Jerry appeared with Bob Hope on the Bob Hope Show (1951) [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] and (1954) [28] the CBS radio play The Incredible History of John Shepherd (1954), [33] and occasionally presented Housewives' Choice [3] [5] on the BBC's Light Programme.
Jerry was on the London stage in Where's Charley? (1958) [34] a theatre musical production of the play Charley's Aunt with Norman Wisdom, and in the short-lived Belle (1961) [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] alternatively titled The Ballad of Dr Crippen a music hall musical with George Benson and Rose Hill.
Jerry Desmonde was in numerous movies from 1946 to 1965 including several comedies with Norman Wisdom, and starred in several others. [2] [40] The Wisdom films usually involved the gump character (Wisdom) in some manual occupation, in which he is barely competent, and in a junior position to a 'straight man' superior, often played by Edward Chapman, and fighting against the unfairness wrought by some 'authority figure', often played by Jerry Desmonde. [41]
3. Stage
Belle at the Strand Theatre, London (1961) [35] [36] [37] [38] [39]
Where's Charley? as Sir Francis Chesney at the Palace Theatre, London (1958)
The Royal Variety Show (1957) [42]
The Gay Musical Show at the London Palladium and then the Prince of Wales Theatre with Norman Wisdom (19??) [43]
Painting the Town a revue with Norman Wisdom at the London Palladium (1955) [44]
Red-Headed Blonde a farcical comedy at the Vaudeville Theatre, London (1952) [45] [46]
Out of this World at the London Palladium starring Frankie Howerd (1948) [43]
Piccadilly Hayride at the Prince of Wales Theatre, London (1946) [10]
Strike it Again at the Prince of Wales Theatre, London (1944) [9]
Strike a New Note at the Prince of Wales Theatre, London (1943) [8]
This Year of Grace on a USA tour then at the Selwyn Theatre, Broadway (1928) (credited as Jim Sadler). [4] [7]
4. Filmography
The Early Bird (1965), as Mr Walter Hunter the dairy owner, with Norman Wisdom
Gonks Go Beat (1965), as Great Galaxian, with Kenneth Connor IMDB
The Beauty Jungle (1964) USA: Contest Girl (1966), as "Rose of England" contest organizer, IMDB
Stolen Hours (1963) USA: Summer Flight, as a Colonel
The Switch (1963), as Customs Chief, IMDB, MTV
A Stitch in Time (1963), as Sir Hector Hardcastle, with Norman Wisdom
A Kind of Loving (1962), as a TV Compere
Carry on Regardless (1961), as Martin Paul
Follow a Star (1959), as Vernon Carew, with Norman Wisdom
Just My Luck (1957), as a Goodwood racegoer (uncredited), with Norman Wisdom, IMDB, screenonline
A King in New York (1957), as Prime Minister Voudel, with Charlie Chaplin
Up in the World (1956), as Major Willoughby, with Norman Wisdom, IMDB, Britmovie, MTV
Ramsbottom Rides Again (1956), as red indian Blue Eagle in a comedy western with Arthur Askey, IMDB
Man of the Moment (1955), as foreign office minister Jackson, with Norman Wisdom
The Angel Who Pawned Her Harp (1954), as Parker, IMDB
The Malta Story (1953), as a general (uncredited)
Trouble in Store (1953), as store chief Augustus Freeman, with Norman Wisdom
Alf's Baby (1953) USA: Her Three Bachelors (1954), as Alf Donkin, IMDB, MTV
The Perfect Woman (1949), as Raymond a dress shop manager
The Cardboard Cavalier (1949), as Colonel Lovelace, with Sid Field, IMDB, Britmovie, MTV
London Town (1946) USA: My Heart Goes Crazy (1953), as George a golfing instructor, with Sid Field.
5. References
Jerry Desmonde, Find A Grave01
Jerry Desmonde, Internet Movie Database52
Jerry Desmonde, Alan Myers Project33
Keith Proud, A lesser-known actor who was friend to big screen stars, North East History, The Northern Echo74
Jerry Desmonde, UKGameShows.com15
1950s British TV Memories, Whirligig06
This Year of Grace, Internet Broadway Database17
Sandra Sudley, Lunchbox, Whirligig18
Adam Benedick, Obituary: Roberta Huby, The Independent19
Rob Wilton, Personality, Theatricalia110
Roger Mellor, London Town - 1946, Britmovie.co.uk011
Rooftop Rendezvous, British Film Institute012
Gerry George, What's My Line?, Jerry George's Memories, 1950s British Television Nostalgia, Whirligig013
What's My Line?, UKGameShows.com014
The Box, Greasy Spoon Cafe015
Holiday Camp, British Film Institute
Matthew Coniam, Before Your Very Eyes (1956-1958), screenonline, BFI017
Jerry Desmonde, The bbc.co.uk Guide to Comedy018
Jacqueline Pearce, jacquelinepearce.com019
The Plane Makers, British Film Institute
The Mask of Janus, Action TV online021
Hit the Limit, UKGameShows.com022
The 64,000 Dollar Question, UKGameShows.com023
TV Times, AOL024
The Bob Hope Show, Radio Memories, Audio Classics Archive025
Bob Hope, YourRadioShows.Com 026
Bob Hope, Old Time Radio Show Catalog027
The Bob Hope Show, Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs128
The Bob Hope Show, Fibbermac's OTR Trading Site, Geocities029
Bob Hope Show, Old Time Radio Shows, radiomemory.com030
Bob Hope, Radio Revisited031
The Marilyn Maxwell Collection, Radio of Yesteryear032
Premier Collections: Crime Classics, Radio Archives033
Rob Wilton, Musicals 1950s, Theatricalia034
Rob Wilton, Musicals 1960s, Theatricalia135
Jack Reading's Programmes 1961, Templeman Library, University of Kent at Canterbury136
Belle, Musical Heaven137
Murder Mystery and Mayhem: Belle, British Musical Theatre138
Belle, CastAlbums.org139
Jerry Desmonde, AllMovie040
Steve Crook, British Films and Chat, Britmovie Forum041
Judy Garland At The London Palladium, Judy in London042
Publicity Postcards Full Colour, Vaudeville Postcards143
Painting the Town, The Guide to Musical Theatre044
Rob Wilton, Theatre World Magazines 1950s, Theatricalia045
Theatre Programs (UK) post 1939, Collectorspost.com046