Jimmy Perry
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| Jimmy Perry OBE | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jimmy Perry 9 September 1923 England |
| Occupation | Writer, Producer. |
Jimmy Perry OBE (born 9 September 1923 in Barnes, London) is an English writer and actor, most famous for devising and co-writing the BBC sitcom Dad's Army with David Croft.
He is credited with the original idea for Dad's Army, which was based on his experiences in the Home Guard during World War II. He also collaborated with Croft on It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Hi-de-Hi! & You Rang, M'Lord?
Many of these sitcoms drew heavily on personal experience: at 17 he joined the Watford Home Guard (Dad's Army); two years later he was called up into the regular forces, and was sent to Burma with the Royal Artillery, where he joined the Royal Artillery Concert Party (It Ain't Half Hot, Mum). Demobbed and back in the UK, he trained as an actor at RADA, spending his holidays working as a Redcoat in Butlin's Holiday Camps (Hi-de-Hi). His grandfather had worked as a butler, and Jimmy heard many anecdotes about life "below stairs", which served as a basis for You Rang, M'Lord?
Dad's Army character, mummy's boy Private Pike, was based upon teenage Jimmy Perry, who said, "She didn't go so far as making me wear a scarf, but she came pretty near."
Although best known for his comedy writing, Perry has also experienced musical success, composing the signature tunes to all of the above comedy series. The most well-known of these, the theme tune for Dad's Army, "Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr Hitler?", won the Ivor Novello Award in 1971 for Best TV Signature Tune.
During the early 1960s, Jimmy Perry was actor-manager at the Watford Repertory Theatre, a role (perhaps intentionally) emphasised by his penchant for heavy checked tweeds, Inverness cape and deerstalker cap.
He received the OBE in 1978. His memoir, A Stupid Boy, was published in 2002.
