1994: BUSTER MERRYFIELD on ONLY FOOLS... | Pebble Mill | Classic Celebrity Interview | BBC Archive
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- The Only Fools and Horses actor recalls his beginnings in showbusiness, his surprise at being cast as Uncle Albert and a gives a tip of the hat to his co-star David Jason with an anecdote about easing him into the cast.
He also talks about his piano skills, or self-proclaimed lack of them, before winning over the Bournemouth audience with a lovely sing-song.
Clip taken from Pebble Mill, originally broadcast on BBC One, Wednesday 29 June, 1994.
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Buster seems such a gent. He was superb in the best comedy of all time Only Fools & horses
He sounds nothing like I’d expected him to! Shows how much of an amazing actor Buster was. RIP
I met Mr Merryfield in Slough in 1997. I had a good chat with him and bought his autobiography which he signed.
Harry "Buster" Merryfield(27 November 1920[1] - 23 June 1999) was an English actor best known for starring as Uncle Albert in the BBC comedy Only Fools and Horses.
Early life
Merryfield was born and raised in Battersea, London, England. His father, also called Harry Merryfield, was a fitter, and his mother Lily (née Stone) was a part-time waitress. His sister Irene died when she was eight years old. He was given the name "Buster" by his grandfather, as he weighed nine pounds at birth, and it stuck throughout his entire life. He refused to divulge his real name, which only became known after his death.
He followed a strict fitness regime of daily press-ups and swimming sessions. As a boxer, he was a British schoolboy champion in the 1936 and Southern Command army champion in 1945. He was also an amateur football player and Millwall supporter, regularly attending games at the Old Den. In contrast to his pipe-smoking and rum-drinking character Uncle Albert, Merryfield was a teetotaler and nonsmoker his entire life.
Career
Before turning professional as an actor Merryfield was a keen amateur actor and director. His productions of John Osborne's The Entertainer (1966), The World-My Canvas (1968) by Ruth Dixon and A View from the Bridge (1969) by Arthur Miller, for the now-defunct amateur theatre group the Characters, won Best Play at the Woking Drama Festival in 1966, 1968 and 1969 respectively. He also won the Best Actor trophy for his roles in The Entertainer and The World-My Canvas.
Merryfield became a professional actor at the age of 57 after having worked for the Westminster Bank for nearly 40 years. He began work there on 11 July 1938 and passed his banking exams in 1939. During his time with the bank, he reached the position of senior area manager, but his banking career was interrupted by his war service. He spent the war in the army, where his physique allowed him to become a PT and jungle-warfare instructor. Awarded an emergency commission in the Royal Artillery on 13 March 1942, Merryfield was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. During the war is when he discovered his love of acting when he served as an entertainment officer staging shows for the troops.
After the war, the now married Merryfield returned to the bank. At NatWest he rose through the ranks. In April 1967 he became manager of the Shepperton sub-branch and by the time of his early retirement in July 1978, he was a bank manager at the Thames Ditton branch in Surrey. After retiring, Merryfield persuaded a repertory company to admit him. He performed at the Connaught theatre in Worthing in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and Equus. Merryfield appeared in some small television parts, including Hannah in 1980, as Professor Challis in The Citadel in 1983 and as a bishop in Strangers and Brothers in 1984.
Merryfield joined Only Fools and Horses in January 1985 as the former seafaring Albert Gladstone Trotter, known as Uncle Albert, who was Grandad Trotter's long-lost younger brother and was known for his catchphrase of "During the war...". The character was added after Lennard Pearce, who played Grandad, died in December 1984. Nine months earlier in March 1984, Merryfield and Pearce had costarred in two episodes of a Shroud for a Nightingale. Merryfield did much work for charities such as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. He wrote his autobiography, During the War and Other Encounters, in 1996.
In December 1997, Merryfield fell at the British Comedy Awards while walking to the stage to collect an award for David Jason for his part in Only Fools and Horses. Despite cutting his forehead, he continued and collected the award. Merryfield appeared in pantomime during Christmas of 1997 and 1998 in the father role in Beauty and the Beast at the Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth.
Personal life
Merryfield could play the piano by ear but could not read music. He was also a fan of disco dancing.
Death
Merryfield died at Poole General Hospital on 23 June 1999 as a result of a brain tumour. He was survived by his wife Iris, whom he had married in June 1942, his daughter Karen and two grandchildren. He was buried at a cemetery near Verwood, Dorset. Iris died on 5 November 2002 and was buried alongside him.
Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1983 The Citadel Professor Challis 2 episode
1984 Shroud for a Nightingale Sir Miles Honeyman 1 episode
1984 Strangers and Brothers Bishop 2 episodes
1985-1996 Only Fools and Horses Uncle Albert Trotter 37 episodes
R.I.P Buster, thank you for all the best of times.❤
I'd have loved to have been in that pub singing along with the ol dears and Buster!!! What a fine man he was!!! 🙏🏻🤘🏻❤️
What a nice man. His story also says a lot about what a gent David Jason is too.
To hear his actual voice is so strange 😮 he did a very very good impression 👏
Awww. Bless him
Great footage! RIP.
What an absolute gent
I’m not going to mention the name of the channel here on UA-cam but someone visited the grave, where the late Buster Merryfield is buried alongside his late wife and never mentioned the fact that he was a former bank manager turned actor and that’s a very significant change in career after his retirement
Legend
Lovely 😊
It played a brilliant part of uncle albert
Uncle Albert watching the sea and reminiscing
During the bank.
Grandad was my favourite but Buster had a hard act to follow but did a marvellous job
What a character though, Uncle Albert was so much better than Grandad, RiP to both guys but Uncle Albert took the 3rd wheel old relative character to another level. You could never produce another Uncle Alb, just like there can nly be One Del Boy, Rodders (Dave) or Trig.
Come on you irons ⚒️
Whos the interviewer?
My Uncle was convinced that Uncle Albert was a young man made up to look old
Or convinced you he was actually Captain Birdseye
It's nice to hear from Buster directly rather than him acting as Uncle Albert. And he can knock out a fine tune on the piano!
What a pleasure to hear his stories, RIP Buster you brought many smiles to a lot of people ❤
Me and my ex wife bumped into Buster in Bournemouth M&S in the mid 90s. He saw my new born lad and gave a pound for his piggybank . Such a character who is missed.
Get a quid out of a bank manager with out having to beg that's quite an achievement!
R.I.P Buster.Absolute legend.Amazing acting talent
We met him once, what a lovely bloke he was , we said you talk quite posh in real life so he started talking like his character uncle Albert in only fools and horses, nice man god rest his soul.
That shirt is so 90s. I’d forgotten how they looked like deck chair material. We all wore them though.
My childhood, sat watching only fools with my dad, great memories, RIP uncle albert, boycie, trigger, sid, and any others I may of forgotten, I'm 43 now and my kids, 13 and 9 love only fools, and no doubt their kids will too. Simply the best programme of all time.
Grandad aka Leonard Pearce. He too was brilliant in his role as Grandad may he rest in peace ❤
I forgot to mention grandad! Though personally I preferred uncle albert to grandad though he still was brilliant, the chandelier has to be his best ever scene 😂
@GazH-zc7jj yeah I did prefer uncle Albert, there was more about him and the series went from standalone episodes to a storyline.
I love Buster. What a good actor he was. 😂❤
Everybody said whenever he was about and in Poole, Bournemouth etc he would talk to anyone and loved it when people recognized him. He said on a clip ''It's like magic''
A nice surprise. I've never heard an interview with the man I only knew as "Uncle Albert".
Goodness me. Worked in a bank...!
And the sing-song. As a boy, I used to shake my head at the thought of the older people, standing around the piano (generally at times of the year like this).
I'm... kind of... sentimental about it all now.
Very much like Nicholas Lyndhurst in terms of accent...don't expect him to sound so different in real life from Only Fools.
RIP Buster...a legend
Nick still sounded like himself tone wise but Busters voice was totally different to Uncle Albert's.
“Do you really know how to play the piano”?
I was waiting for, “Well I’ll tell you son, During The War”……..🤣🤣
A true British gent.
What a nice man sadly missed.
Amazing to hear Buster, David Jason and Nic Lyndhursts real voices. Miles away from their OFAH ones. What great actors.
Buster sounded the most different.
A Wonderful clip…
Must be the First time on TV that he never said “During the war”….🤣😂 Great character & great to see him in real-life (so to speak) 👍🏼
during the 1940 to 1946 conflict
What a great gentleman and an fantastic actor WHOS RACHEAL
Nice, well spoken man. Seemed a true gentlemen.
RIP buster, you was a great edition to only fools and horses!
Addition
Buster
Were
I met him along Bournemouth seafront about that time as I was a local, maybe im in this footage.
During the 1990s I remember visiting an old timers pub just like that in Ramsgate with an elderly gentleman on the piano and people all singing along.
Uncle Albert what a legend ..Always laugh hard at Albert saying to Rodders n Del about him being on a Russian convoy.. Cold? You kids don't know the meaning of the word! One night the flame on my lighter froze!😂
When he wet himself on the sofa and then Rodney came and sat down after 😂😂😂
And that apple juice tastes horrible. 😂😂😂
"During the 1939-1945 conflict"
Only Fools had great writing and great humans working on it, thats why its so well loved from 4 year olds, 16 year olds, 30, 50, 70 or 90 year olds!! The greatest show ever. Never gets boring. Had al episodes on VHS, the DVD now Blu Ray. Happy New Year to everyone!
So sad that he died just 3 years after this. Razor sharp and seemingly healthy. Never know what’s round the corner.
On the other hand, it's a blessing for him and those who knew him that he was still in good mental health near the last stage of his life :)
I still see his grave everytime I go to see my nan and grandads at verwood cemetery! We now have a road here in verwood called Merrifield Road to pay respect for the years he lived here after he retired!!
Mans a legend him and grandad rip legend gone but not forgotten
Nice to hear his ‘original’ voice 😂
I love that Buster, David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst are all very well spoken in real life, compared to their cockney characters!
Lovely to watch rip buster
I dont know why my brain thinks like this but 90% of the people in that pub are no longet with us. RIP ♥️
Oh my. How different he sounds from Uncle Albert.
Such a musical talent to be able to hear a tune and know how to play it…. I know very few who can do this but they all put themselves down like buster does here, that’s because Unfortunately this huge skill is looked down on in musical educational settings, reading music and knowing where the notes are is much more important to them but this in no way makes a real musician….in my opinion it actually kills the creativity and emotion in music.
This is a real musician and that natural skill is what makes music….music.
Hope your resting in peace you'll live in forever
Altogether now.
Wiggle it about remove it
This clip of buster made me smile. Absolutely brilliant on only fools and horses, the type of guy you’d want at your local for sure!
He was lovely!
A hero of comedy.
RIP Buster ..Thanks for the many hours off entertainment you gave us in Only Fools And Horses 🐎. I have had the pleasure off meeting you as well as seeing you in Pantomime in Bournemouth Dorset. You legend and a gentleman 👏. Miss you Uncle Albert . 😢😢😢😢
The bugger CAN play all right! Those stride chords aren’t easy. He was great.
Brilliant what a lovely man rip
I used to live in Christchurch and Buster was regularly seen in the town centre - lovely lovely man - so polite and so giving
It’s sad he’s deceased and that most of the audience at the sing along would be too.
Such a legend
Such a lovely fella, unk on the joanna brings a warmth to a cold heart❤️
The description says this was recorder in 1994 but the clip title says 1996. Which one is it?
It's definitely from 1994.
Buster Merryfield RIP a great addition to the show after the late great Leonard Pierce. Only Fools and Horses will live on forever true British comedy.
He never tried to replace Lennard Pearce and was great as himself.
His accent completely caught me off guard
.... "" DURING THE WAR.... "" 'n' "" ERE' RODNEY!....""… 🏰🏴🍻
True legend.
He was amazing, in only fools and horses. And in Documentaries, they hardly mention him.
Doesn’t even sound like Uncle Albert. Legend of a guy!
Hes an actor you berk.
@@Leeann-rz3ei “berk”. Wow, are you 90 years old? 🙄
@@Leeann-rz3ei And it’s “he’s”. And you’re missing a comma. Get an education. Chuckle.
@@OYARZABALLLLLL-MA-RIBS strange thing to say about someone's you don't even know isn't it? My life is fantastic actually, i have a four bedroom house, a gorgeous fiance, two businesses on the go and now looking for a third. Also if i wanted your advice id ask for it, and your opinion means absolutely nothing to me.
@@Leeann-rz3ei yet you can’t even use a comma in “i’d”. Snigger. Chuckle. Owning you is so easy. Run along chunky.
Loved Uncle Albert and his stories that happened during the 1939-1945 conflict with Germany. Honestly didn’t expect him to sound so different
During the war...
😂😅😊😂😅
Oh don't start!
Wow, doesn’t he sound different lol
VOTT IS YOO NAMME
I met him when he asked me for directions when I was about 16, many yrs ago. His voice had me thinking is it not it is, so I asked lol.
"He's singing"!
"I know" !
"Does he know you've banned him" ? 😂😂
Dear Buster what a charming actor and dearly missed!
During the war..
He took Fools N Horses to another level. Sadly missed.
This is a gem.
Fantastic picture quality for 1994. Just proves they had the great cameras back then it’s just the dodgy after recordings people do.
Thank you for the laughs Buster you still live on as Uncle Albert making new generations of people laugh
Such a shame what's happened to our country and culture in major cities.
I remember my friend John seeing Buster as a kid, he shouted out uncle Albert! Buster apparently didn't look very impressed, lol
All the fools and horses cast in real life were so awfully awfully posh , most posh of them all was the girl who played Marlene, talk about a mouth full of marbles.
It's funny how Buster and Nicholas Lyndhurst will always be known for the voices they used for Albert and Rodney and yet the reality is they are both well spoken men.
Wonderful
My sole claim to fame is spotting 'uncle albert' whilst in an empty building in Richmond looking out the ground floor huge glass windows. Me and another guy ran to the window banging on it shouting "uncle albert...uncle albert!!" Buster turned waved at us along flashing that lovely beaming smile of his! We later learned from the on site property agent that Buster lives close by and is a much loved local celebrity.
What is the interviewers name? I remember him but can’t place his name.
I can't remember but he turns up from Hollywood talking about celeb gossip with dodgy plastic surgery on some morning ITV show
Ross King
@@GymMuzo --- Oh yeah Ross King. Cheers.
What a charming little video😊
Speaks bit diffrent legend rip
I always loved his sea legs.
Could walk normally in real life.
Genius casting.
Footage quality looks like it's been shot today!
I’m wearing a Uncle Albert T shirt
True gentleman and an absolute legend. 😊
Can’t stand the man who is viewing him Ross king
Legend 😂