George Formby was not the inventor of the electric grill, nor did he play the banjo

Not to be confused with nutritional heavyweight George Foreman, George Formby was a musician, actor and comedian who played the ukulele with the resonator (body) of a banjo, referred to as a banjo uke or banjolele.



His father, also George Formby, was a northern star pulling in phenomenal amounts of money as a comedian in the musical halls. In fact George Jnr.'s start in showbiz came after his father's death, as a George Formby tribute act.

It was during WWII that George reached the peak of his fame, having been rated 4F he travelled throughout Europe & Africa to entertain the troops.



While his films kept up morale on the home front.



He and his wife Beryll were known around the world and after WWII they toured the Commonwealth countries. In South Africa they refused to play to segregated crowds, cancelling the planned performances and instead touring the black townships, eventually being forcibly escorted from the country by the police.

There are a whole host of things I never knew about George Formby until I watched this documentary Frank Skinner made about him for the BBC.