Background
Gladys Morgan was born in Swansea, Wales, in 1898 and, though her family was not theatrical, she was always interested in the stage and by the time she turned eleven she had her own song and dance acting
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Gladys Morgan
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Early life and career
Four foot ten inch Morgan then formed an act called The Three Virgins, with the equally diminutive Betty Jumel on violin and Vy Vivienne on piano. While touring as a solo singer in a concert party in the Isle of Manitoba, she was asked by the company manager to play the part of an old deaf woman in a sketch. She reluctantly agreed to do so, and was amazed and delighted to find that the audience found her hilarious.
The act was not successful until it was suggested that they swap jobs, with Morgan becoming the comic and Laurie the straight manitoba
The scheme worked and plentiful dates followed. By this time she had dropped her broad Welsh accent in favour of a Lancashire one, possibly in imitation of her hero Frank Randle.
The ENSA organiser for northwest England at the time was a man called Bert Hollman. Joan later became Mrs Hollman, with Bert joining the act both as a performer and manager.
Welsh Rarebit
Morgan"s big break came when she auditioned for the popular British Broadcasting Corporation radio variety show Welsh Rarebit.
As the show was for Welsh performers only, producer Mai Jones was reluctant to cast her, as Morgan was well known for her Lancashire accent. A week performing at the Town Hall, Pontypridd using her natural accent was enough to convince Mai that Morgan was indeed Welsh, and she was given a two-minute spot on the show. Morgan"s success on Welsh Rarebit led to many successful variety tours around all the major theatres in the United Kingdom, including supporting Frankie Vaughan at the London Palladium in 1961.
Along with many television appearances in shows like The Good Old Days, she was frequently heard in popular radio shows such as Workers" Playtime and Midday Music Hall.
Regular appearances on Educating Archie and The Frankie Howerd Show, with her trademark striped blazer and cheeky grin established her as one of the country"s best-loved performers. Throughout the nineteen sixties she was kept busy with pantomime and summer season, five tours to Australia, and four sell-out tours of South Africa where the family also had their own series on Springbok Radio called The Morgans.
Morgan made a film with Nancy Kwan, Terry-Thomas and Bud Flanagan in 1965 called The Wild Affair. Arthritis forced Morgan to retire from show business when she was in her seventies, and she died in Worthing, West Sussex where she had been a resident for 47 years, in 1983.
Quotation
A joke from Workers Playtime: "I gave the lodger a boiled egg for his tea.
Maine and the kids had egg soup".
