Jack Warner - Yer Can't 'elp Laughin' / What! The Old Blue Pencil? (1940)

Jack Warner OBE (24 October 1895 -- 24 May 1981) was an English film and television actor, and Comedian. He was born in London, his real name being Horace John Waters. His sisters Elsie and Doris Waters were well-known comediennes under the names Gert and Daisy. Like them, Jack Warner made his name in music hall and radio, starring the the popular wartime BBC radio variety series Garrison Theatre, his act usually involved him reading letters from his brother Syd, away in the army, writing home to the family. His catchphrase at this time was "mind my bike!" and often used the phrase "plue pencil" as a euphamism for swearing (prior to the late 1960s theatre plays all had to be submitted to the Lord Chamberlain's office to pass the censor, any bits deemed 'unsuitable' were crossed out and notes added with a blue pencil) hence Warner saying things like "what the blue pencil do you think you're doing," also used as a song title "What! The Old Blue Pencil." He also did a Maurice Chavalier impression in songs such as 'Somebody's Asked Me' and 'Boom'. He became known to cinema audiences as the patriarch in four of popular post-World War II family films about the Huggetts, beginning with Holiday Camp. A BBC radio series about the family, Meet The Huggetts, followed in the 50s. He also co-starred in the 1955 Hammer film version of The Quatermass Xperiment and as a police superintendent in the 1955 Ealing Studios black comedy The Ladykillers. He starred in many 40s and 50s British B movies. It was in 1949 that Warner first played the role for which he would be remembered, PC George Dixon in the film, The Blue Lamp. One observer predicted, "This film will make Jack the most famous policeman in Britain". Although the police constable was shot dead in the film, the character was revived in 1955 for the BBC television series, Dixon of Dock Green, which ran until 1976. In later years though, Warner and his long-past-retirement-age character were confined to a less prominent desk sergeant role. The series had a prime-time slot on Saturday evenings, and always opened with PC Dixon giving a little soliloquy to the camera, beginning with the words, "Good evening, all". According to Warner's autobiography, Jack of All Trades, Elizabeth II once visited the television studio where the series was made and told Warner "that she thought Dixon of Dock Green had become part of the British way of life". He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1965. In 1973, he was made a Freeman of the City of London. Warner commented in his autobiography that the honour "entitles me to a set of 18th century rules for the conduct of life urging me to be sober and temperate". Warner added, "Not too difficult with Dixon to keep an eye on me!" The characterisation by Warner of Sergeant George Dixon, was held in such high regard that officers from Paddington Green Police Station bore the coffin at his funeral in 1981.

Added 23 Sept 2026