| Harry Secombe
Sir Harry Donald Secombe CBE (8 September 1921–11 April 2001) was a Welsh entertainer, a noted fine tenor singing voice and a talent for comedy. Born at St. Thomas, Swansea, he was one of the original Goons, appearing in the radio series as Neddie (Harry) Seagoon, the protagonist of the show's ridiculous plots. He had first met Spike Milligan, the founder of the series, during army service in World War II in North Africa. He shared his birthday, 8 September, with the other member of the trio, Peter Sellers.
Secombe appeared in many stage musicals, including Pickwick (1963) and The Four Musketeers (1967), and had several chart successes, the song most associated with him being "If I Ruled the World" (from Pickwick). He also appeared as Mr. Bumble in Carol Reed's film of Lionel Bart's Oliver! (1968).
Later in life, Secombe (whose brother was a vicar) attracted new audiences as a presenter of religious programmes, such as the BBC's Songs of Praise and ITV's Highway.
He was knighted in 1981, and jokingly referred to himself as Sir Cumference (in recognition of his rotund figure).
Secombe suffered a stroke in 1997, from which he made a slow recovery, only to be diagnosed with prostate cancer the following September. After suffering a second stroke in 1999, he was forced to abandon his television career, but made a documentary about his condition in the hope of giving encouragement to other sufferers.
Secombe and his wife, Myra Atherton, had four children. He died at the age of 79, from cancer, at his home in England.
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