Harry H. Corbett OBE
Publicity photo of Corbett in the 1970s
Born	(1925-02-28)28 February 1925 Rangoon,British Burma
Died	21 March 1982(1982-03-21) (aged 57) Hastings,East Sussex, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1945–1982
Notable work	See below
Television	Steptoe and Son
Spouses	Sheila Steafel ​ ​ (m. 1958; div. 1964)​ Maureen Blott ​ ​ (m. 1969)​
Children	2, includingSusannah Corbett

Harry H. Corbett (28 February 1925 – 21 March 1982)^[1]OBE was an English actor. He is best remembered for playingrag-and-bone man Harold Steptoe alongsideWilfrid Brambell in the long-runningBBC Television sitcomSteptoe and Son (1962–1965, 1970–1974). His success on television led to appearances in comedy films includingThe Bargee (1964),Carry On Screaming! (1966) andJabberwocky (1977).

Corbett was born on 28 February 1925,^[1] the youngest of seven children, inRangoon,Burma,^[1] (nowMyanmar)^[2] where his father, George Corbett (1885/86–1943),^[2] was serving as a companyquartermaster sergeant in theSouth Staffordshire Regiment of theBritish Army, stationed at acantonment as part of the Colonial defence forces.^{[citation needed]} Corbett was sent to Britain after his mother, Caroline Emily,née Barnsley (1884–1926),^[2] died ofdysentery when he was eighteen months old.^[1] He was then brought up by his aunt Annie Williams, in Earl Street,Ardwick,Manchester, and later on a newcouncil estate inWythenshawe.^[1] He attended Ross Place and Benchill primary schools; although he passed the scholarship exam for entry toChorlton Grammar School, he was not able to take up his place there^[why?] and instead attendedSharston secondary school.^[3]

Corbett enlisted in theRoyal Marines during theSecond World War,^[1] and served in theHome Fleet on the heavy cruiserHMSDevonshire. AfterVJ Day in 1945 he was posted to theFar East, where he was involved in quelling unrest inNew Guinea and reportedly killed twoJapanese soldiers in hand-to-hand fighting. He was then posted toTonga, but deserted and remained inAustralia before handing himself in to theMilitary Police. His military service left him with a damaged bladder following an infection, and a red mark on his eye caused by a thorn, which was not treated until late in his life.^[3]

Upon returning to civilian life, Corbett trained as aradiographer^[1] before taking up acting as a career, joining theChorltonRepertory theatre.^[4] In the early 1950s, he added the initial "H" to avoid confusion with the television entertainerHarry Corbett, known for his act with the glove-puppetSooty.^[4] He joked that "H" stood for "hennyfink", a Cockney pronunciation of "anything". In 1956, he appeared on stage inThe Family Reunion at thePhoenix Theatre in London.^[1]

From 1958, Corbett began to appear regularly in films, includingFloods of Fear (1958), filmed at Pinewood, coming to public attention as a serious, intense performer, in contrast to his later reputation in sitcom. He appeared in television dramas such asThe Adventures of Robin Hood^[4] (as four characters in episodes between 1957 and 1960) andPolice Surgeon (1960). He also worked and studiedStanislavski's system atJoan Littlewood'sTheatre Workshop at theTheatre Royal inStratford, London.^[4]

In 1962, scriptwritersGalton and Simpson, who had been successful withHancock's Half Hour, invited Corbett to appear in "The Offer", an episode of theBBC's anthology series of one-off comedy plays,Comedy Playhouse, written by Galton and Simpson. He played Harold Steptoe, arag-and-bone man who lives with his irascible widower father, Albert (Wilfrid Brambell) in a dilapidated house attached to their junkyard and stable for their cart horse, Hercules. At the time, Corbett was working at the Bristol Old Vic, where he appeared asMacbeth.^[4]

The programme was a success and a full series followed later that same year, continuing, with breaks, until 1974, when theChristmas special became the final episode. Although the popularity ofSteptoe and Son made Corbett a star, it damaged his serious acting career, as he became irreversibly associated with Steptoe in the public eye. As a result, severe typecasting forced him to return to the role of Harold Steptoe over and over. Before the series began, Corbett had played Shakespeare'sRichard II to great acclaim; however, when he playedHamlet in 1970, he felt both critics and audiences alike were not taking him seriously and could only see him as Steptoe. Corbett found himself receiving offers only for bawdy comedies or loose parodies of Steptoe.^[1]

In 1967, he was interviewed by Clive Goodwin, for an episode of a BBC series in which "leading young actors discussed their start in the profession, the parts that brought them success and their views on acting."^[5][6]

Production of the sitcom was stressful in the last few years, as Brambell was analcoholic, often ill-prepared for rehearsals and forgetting his lines and movements.^[7] A tour of aSteptoe and Son stage production in Australia and New Zealand in 1977 proved a disaster due to Brambell's drinking.^[7]

The television episodes were remade for radio, often with the original cast; it is these that were made available on cassette and CD. After the series ofSteptoe and Son had officially finished, Corbett and Brambell played the characters again on radio (in a newly written sketch to tie in with the Scottish team's participation in the1978 World Cup), as well as in a television commercial forKenco coffee. The two men reunited in January 1981 for one final performance asSteptoe and Son in a further commercial for Kenco.^[8]

Steptoe and Son led Corbett to comedy films: as James Ryder inLadies Who Do (1963); withRonnie Barker inThe Bargee (1964), written by Galton and Simpson;Carry On Screaming! (1966) (replacing an unavailableSid James); the "Lust" segment ofThe Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins (1971); andTerry Gilliam'sJabberwocky (1977). There were twoSteptoe and Son films:Steptoe and Son (1972) andSteptoe and Son Ride Again (1973). In 1966 he appeared as a narrator infour episodes of the BBC children's television seriesJackanory, and he also had the leading role in two other television series,Mr. Aitch (written especially for him, 1967, in which he portrayed 'a bowler-hatted, cigar-smoking well-to-do wheeler and dealer')^[9] andGrundy (1980). Corbett had a supporting role in theDavid Essex filmSilver Dream Racer (1980), and also appeared in the filmHardcore (1977). In addition, he had a supporting role inPotter (1980) with Arthur Lowe on the BBC.^[4]

Corbett recorded multiple 45rpm records, most of which were novelty songs based upon the rag-and-bone character, including "Harry, You Love Her" and "Junk Shop".^[10] He recorded a number of sea shanties and folk songs. In 1973, he recorded an album titledOnly Authorised Employees To Break Bottles which was a "showcase of accents", with songs from Corbett in a range of accents, includingLiverpudlian,Brummie andMancunian; the title echoes a notice which is visible in the bottle-smashing scene in the film 'The Bargee'. The album was recorded in 1973 and released in 1974 on the Torquay, Devon-based RA record label with support from seventies folk band 'Faraway Folk': RALP^[10] Including the album, he released over 30 songs.^[10]

Corbett married twice, first to the actressSheila Steafel (from 1958 to 1964), and then to actress Maureen Blott (stage name Crombie) (from 1969 until his death in 1982), with whom he had two children, includingSusannah who has written abiography of her father,Harry H. Corbett: The Front Legs of the Cow, in March 2012.^[4]

Corbett was aLabour Party campaigner, and once appeared in aparty political broadcast,^[11] and was a guest of Prime MinisterHarold Wilson.^[7] The television character Harold Steptoe appears as the Labour Party secretary for Shepherd's Bush West in the sixth series episode, "Tea for Two". In 1969, Corbett also appeared as Harold Steptoe in a Labour Party political broadcast, whereBob Mellish had to argue against Steptoe's accusation that all parties are the same.^[12]

As Prime Minister, Wilson wished to have Corbett appointed anOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). Corbett was included, along with theSooty puppeteerHarry Corbett, in the1976 New Year Honours.^[13][14][11]

A heavy smoker all his adult life,^[15] Corbett had his firstheart attack in September 1979.^[15] According to his daughter, Susannah,^[15] he smoked 60 cigarettes a day until the heart attack, after which he cut down to 20.^[16] He appeared inpantomime at theChurchill Theatre,Bromley, within two days of leaving hospital. He was then badly hurt in a car accident. The injuries to his face were obvious when he appeared shortly afterwards in the BBC detective seriesShoestring. Other work included the filmSilver Dream Racer, withDavid Essex, and aThames Television/ITV comedy seriesGrundy, both in 1980. In the latter, Corbett played an old man discovering the permissive society after a lifetime of clean living.^[17]

Corbett's final role was an episode of theAnglia Television/ITV seriesTales of the Unexpected, entitled "The Moles". Filmed shortly before his death, it was broadcast two months later, in May 1982.^[4]

Having appeared in several films and TV shows after production ofSteptoe ended, Corbett finally seemed to be overcoming the typecasting that affected much of his career when he died of aheart attack on 21 March 1982,^[1] inHastings,East Sussex. He was 57 years old.^[15]

Wilfrid Brambell appeared on BBC News paying tribute to Corbett;^[18]"A nice guy, and we did work well together, despite the fact that we only met when we were working because we live different lives and miles apart. I, as you know, have a two-room flat; he had a large farm with a wife, two kids, dogs, cats and a mother-in-law".

He is buried in the graveyard at St Michael the Archangel church atPenhurst,East Sussex. The headstone inscription, chosen by his wife Maureen, reads "The earth can have but earth, which is his due: My spirit is thine, the better part of me", fromWilliam Shakespeare'sSonnet 74. Maureen was buried alongside him in 1999.

Corbett is commemorated in the name of the Corbett Theatre at theEast 15 Acting School atLoughton.^[4]

Corbett made few solo radio appearances. The following are sourced from the BBC Archive.^[19]

• Comedy Parade, "The Kerbstone Twist Show",BBC Light Programme (1964) – Wingate Gibbon
• Sounds Familiar, BBC Light Programme (1967) – panellist
• Waggoners' Walk,BBC Radio 2 (1975) – self, with Wilfrid Brambell
• Just Before Midnight, "Play Soft Then Attack",BBC Radio 4 (1978) – Alf

This list does not include any of the spoken-word recordings ofSteptoe and Son.

• Harry H. Corbett at theBFI'sScreenonline
• Harry H. Corbett atIMDb
• Harry H. Corbett Heaven
• Harry H. Corbett atFind a Grave

• 1925 births
• 1982 deaths
• 20th-century English male actors
• Best Actor BAFTA Award (television) winners
• English male film actors
• English male television actors
• English male stage actors
• Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England
• Labour Party (UK) people
• Male actors from Manchester
• Officers of the Order of the British Empire
• Male actors from Yangon
• People from Wythenshawe
• Royal Marines personnel of World War II

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