She Knows Y'Know [DVD]

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People still seem to remember me," said the great old stager. "This business of ours really is quite extraordinary." She made her own music hall debut at the age of 10, developing a popular act in which she sang, clog danced and performed impersonations. By the age of 14 she was already writing, producing and performing her own comedy shows. Her most popular music hall act was as a northern gossip, performing a monologue alongside a silent, sullen companion named “Big Cynthia”, almost always played by a man in drag. Some material has not been retained: duplicates of scripts etc., some truly ephemeral items of correspondence, and some unannotated printed music scores have been destroyed. Audio tapes originally accompanying the collection have been transferred to the North West Sound Archive.

Baker was born in Farnworth, Lancashire, the first of seven children. Her father, Harold Baker, was a painter and signwriter, who also worked part-time in the music halls as a comedian. At ten, Baker made her debut at the Opera House, Tunbridge Wells, and continued to tour as a single variety act — singing, dancing and performing impersonations. By 14, she had started writing, producing and performing her own shows. Her stage act included a gossip from the North of England, with a silent, sullen companion named "Big Cynthia", almost always played by a man in drag (such as Victor Graham, and lastly by Matthew Kelly). [3] Her act was full of malapropisms and catchphrases that had become part of her public persona, the most familiar being "She knows, y'know!" and, when asked the time "It's quarter past... I must get a little hand put on this watch." [4] Film and television career [ edit ] Born in Farnworth, near Bolton, on February 4th, 1905, she was the eldest of seven children. Her father, Harold, was a painter and signwriter who supplemented his income as a part-time comedian in the music halls, where young Hylda was bitten early by the performing bug. Now that deferral is nearly up. An independent scrutiny of the framework is in progress, prior to the full review next year.His time as a Baker's boy also included seven episodes of Be Soon - another catchphrase - her first television series. Then, beyond the Covid crisis, there are the seemingly permanent problems besetting Scotland. Not the least of which is the grim mortality rate associated with the misuse of drugs. In 2020, no fewer than 1,339 souls succumbed, once again the worst rate in Europe. Either way, this will pose problems for the UK and Scottish Governments, for Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon. The FM may hope to come out relatively well when her endeavours, notably in communication, are compared with Downing Street.

And, of course, all those malapropisms. This is where a word is substituted for another with a similar sound which creates a comic effect. The term comes from the character Mrs Malaprop in Sheridan’s 18th century play The Rivals. “Promise to illiterate this fellow from your memory,” she said. Her final television appearance came the same year in an episode of the BBC arts documentary show Omnibus about comedians, broadcast on 28 December 1978. My favourite part in this movie comes towards the end. It reminds me so much of the color - 'The Colour Purple'. It's the scene where - or it's the way Marilyn walks in the room brandishing a wedding ring and making the announcement 'I's Married Now' - "I Married Terry 3 Months Ago" - (in a snotty nose voice) - as if that makes everything alright and all the problems go away.In 1955, her music hall skills were used to full effect on BBC Television’s “The Good Old Days”, which led to a TV series, “Be Soon”, named after another of her catchphrases. More TV work followed, together with film roles including a memorable turn as ‘Aunt Ada” in the 1960 classic “Saturday Night and Sunday Morning”, starring Albert Finney. Other film cameos included “Up the Junction” and “Oliver!”, both in 1968, but it was in TV sitcoms where Hylda Baker found her true home and became a household name. Then there was William Barker - just Williams, it seems - whose famed department store in Northallerton is celebrating its 125th anniversary. He'd met his wife at Durham, their daughter named Gay after the comedy The Gay Dog. Times, and meanings, change. "She arrived on the Friday of the very best week we ever did in Spennymoor," he once recalled. In her late seventies her dementia worsened and in 1981 she moved to a care home for retired performers in London. Her final two years were spent in hospital, where she died in May 1986, at the age of 81. For a generation of TV and film viewers, Hylda Baker will be forever remembered as a feisty and sharp-tongued performer whose mangled monologues and comical facial contortions had us rolling in the aisles.