Max David Bacon (1 March 1904, London, England – 3 December 1969, London, England) was a British actor, comedian and musician (drummer and occasional vocalist in Ambrose's band).[1][2] Although he was British-born, his comedic style centred on his pseudo-European, Yiddish accent and in his straight-faced mispronunciation of words.

Max Bacon

Biography

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Bacon's father came from a leather-working family to London from Katowice, then in Galicia in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.[3] In London, his father worked as a basket-weaver.

Before becoming a character actor, Bacon was a drummer in Britain during the 1920s and 1930s.[3] He was taught by the vocalist and drummer Harry Bentley. After a couple of years at the Florida Club with Ronnie Munro's band he began a long association with Ambrose's Orchestra, with whom he recorded as drummer and occasionally as Yiddish vocalist.[4][5] In the late 1930s he had become well known enough to tour the halls in his own right and as part of a touring unit known as the Ambrose Octet with Evelyn Dall, among others.[6]

He lived in his later years at The White House, a hotel near Great Portland Street, London, now known as the Melia White House, in Albany Street. He never married.

Partial filmography

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References

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  1. ^ "Max Bacon". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Max Bacon". Aveleyman.com.
  3. ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Musicians index B". Mgthomas.co.uk.
  5. ^ "Rediscovering The East End's Yiddisher Jazz Scene". Londonist.com. 9 November 2018.
  6. ^ Tracy, Sheila (22 April 2011). Talking Swing: The British Big Bands. Random House. ISBN 9781780570044 – via Google Books.
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