This British 30-minute domestic comedy series had a very American feel and featured the multi-talented Dickie Henderson as himself.
The other main characters were his long-suffering wife™ (played by June Laverick), his 10-year-old son (John Parsons) and his musical manager, accompanist and best friend, Jack (Canadian, Lionel Murton).
Henderson’s dancing skills and agility were called on regularly. Falling off a horse, jumping from Brighton Pier and into a lake were scripted in just one series.
His real son Matthew once asked him: “Why do you fall down so often on TV?”
“That’s what they pay me for”, he replied.
Directed by Bill Hitchcock, The Dickie Henderson Show also featured weekly guest stars as Dickie’s many showbiz friends.
Many guest stars appeared in character, such as Raymond Francis as Detective Superintendent Tom Lockhart from No Hiding Place.
Henderson made his TV debut in 1953 on the BBC’s Face the Music before appearing on Arthur Askey’s show Before Your Very Eyes.
In 1955 he played the lead in Teahouse of the August Moon in the heart of London’s West End (which ran for twelve months) and followed that with a three-month cabaret stint in America, appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show in March 1956.
Dickie was eventually given his own series by ITV with a follow-up series casting him alongside Anthea Askey (daughter of Arthur) and former boxing champ Freddie Mills, and with scripts previously used by Sid Caesar in Your Show of Shows.
Tragedy struck in 1963 when Dickie’s wife, Dixie, died just as he was reaching the peak of his popularity. He continued with his series until 1965 and then took a break.
It was three years before the series returned, by which time June Laverick had retired so Dickie was given a new wife (Isla Blair). He also had a different son, Richard Jr (played by Danny Grover).
The series was revived briefly in 1970 as A Present For Dickie for which June Laverick came out of retirement to appear in the last episode. His costars included Fabia Drake, Dennis Ramsden and Billy Burden.
Dickie Henderson died on 22 September 1985, just short of his 63rd birthday
Dickie
Dickie Henderson
June
June Laverick
Jack
Lionel Murton
John
John Parsons
Richard Jnr
Danny Grover
Jane
Isla Blair
Henderson’s dancing skills and agility were called on regularly. Falling off a horse, jumping from Brighton Pier and into a lake were scripted in just one series.
