Sir Harry Donald Secombe was a Welsh
entertainer, with a fine tenor singing voice and a
talent for comedy. Born in Swansea, he was one of the
original Goons, appearing in the radio series as Neddy
Seagoon, the protagonist of the show's ridiculous plots.
Secombe had first met Spike Milligan, the founder
of the Goons, during army service in World War II in
North Africa. He shared his birthday, 8 September with
the third member of the trio, Peter Sellers.
Secombe appeared in many stage musicals, including
Pickwick (1963) and The Four Musketeers (1967), and
had several chart successes, the song most associated
with him being "If I Ruled the World" (from
Pickwick). He also appeared as Mr. Bumble in Lionel
Bart's film Oliver! (1968).
Later in life, Secombe (whose brother was a vicar)
attracted new audiences as a presenter of religious
programmes, such as the BBC's Songs of Praise and ITV's
Highway.
He was knighted in 1981. After suffering a stroke,
he was forced to abandon his television career, but
made a documentary about his condition in the hope
of giving encouragement to other sufferers. |