Ken Barrie

Ken Barrie
Born
Leslie Hulme

(1933-01-09)9 January 1933
Tunstall, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, England
Died29 July 2016(2016-07-29) (aged 83)
Denham, Buckinghamshire, England
Other namesLes Carle
Occupation(s)Voice actor, singer
Years active1955–2016
Spouse
Doreen Pye
​
​
(m. 1954; died 2009)​
Children2

Leslie Hulme (9 January 1933 – 29 July 2016), known professionally as Ken Barrie, was an English voice actor and singer. He was best known for singing the theme tune of the BBC television programmes Hi-de-Hi!, Postman Pat and Charlie Chalk, and also narrated the latter two. He was also known for providing the voices of several of the series' characters.[1]

Biography

Barrie was born on 9 January 1933 in Tunstall, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire. Under the stage name Les Carle, he recorded for Embassy Records, an offshoot of Woolworths that released inexpensive cover versions of pop hits, between 1962 and 1965.[2][3] He changed his stage name when a friend told him it was French for "the Charlies", and took his new name of Ken Barrie from the names of his wife's brothers.[4]

His singing and narrating voice and whistling was heard in many movies and television commercials. Barrie provided singing voices in feature films for many actors, including George C. Scott, in Jane Eyre (1970), Horst Buchholz in The Great Waltz (1972), and Larry Hagman in Applause (1973).[4]

He became the voice of the children's television show Postman Pat in 1981, narrating the first and second series and also providing the voices of the characters Postman Pat, Ted Glen, Granny Dryden, Peter Fogg, Major Forbes, George Lancaster, Jeff Pringle, Alf Thompson, Reverend Peter Timms, P.C. Arthur Selby, and Sam Waldron.[4] He retired from voicing Pat in 2008 when the series was revamped as Postman Pat Special Delivery Service, though stayed on as the voice of Ted, Alf, P.C. Selby and Reverend Timms for the show's first series (sixth series overall) before leaving the show completely in 2013. A single of the theme song, credited to Barrie, reached number 44 on the UK Singles Chart in 1982, and re entered the chart the following year.[5]

He sang the soundtrack for the television show Charlie Chalk[6] and recorded the soundtracks for the films Sharks' Treasure (1975),[7] Emily (1976) and Silent Scream (1979). He also whistled the tune for the theme song of the 1987 BBC series My Family and Other Animals, based on the book by Gerald Durrell, and sang the theme song to the hit long running BBC sitcom Hi-de-Hi!.

Death

Barrie died at his home in Denham, Buckinghamshire, on 29 July 2016 from liver cancer.[8][4]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1970 Jane Eyre[9] Edward Rochester (Singing voice)
1972 The Great Waltz[10] Johann Strauss, Jr. (Singing voice) Uncredited
1973 Applause[11] Bill Sampson (Singing voice)
1979 Ray Charles' World of Music[12] Singer
1986 Christmas Eve With Val Doonican[13] Unknown
1990 Postman Pat's ABC[14] Narrator (voice)
Postman Pat's 123[15]
1994 Read Along with Postman Pat[16]
1999 Calling All Toddlers[17] Narrator (segment: Postman Pat: Postman Pat and the Hole in the Road)
2002 Calling All Toddlers 2[18] Narrator (segment: Postman Pat: Postman Pat has the Best Village)
2003 Postman Pat's Magic Christmas[19] Postman Pat, Ten Glen, Reverend Timms, Mr. Pringle, Santa Clause (voice)
2004 Postman Pat's Pirate Treasure[20] Postman Pat, Ted Glen, Alf Thompson, PC Selby, Reverend Timms, Matt Clifton (voice)
2006 Making Children Smile[21] (voice)
2009 The Official BBC Children in Need Medley[22] Ted Glen (voice)

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1976 Centre Play[23] Singer 1 episode
1980-1988 Hi-de-Hi![4] opening and closing theme song singing voice 58 episodes
1981-2008 Postman Pat[24] Narrator, Postman Pat, Ted Glen, Alf Thompson, PC Selby, Reverend Timms, Mr. Pringle, Granny Dryden, Peter Fogg, Major Forbes, George Lancaster, Matt Clifton, Pat Clifton, Sam Waldron, Santa Clause, The Train Inspector (voice) 144 episodes
1988-1989 Charlie Chalk[25] Song vocals (voice) 13 episodes

Video Games

Year Title Role Notes
2007 Postman Pat and the Greendale Rocket[26] Postman Pat (voice)

References

  1. ^ Hall, Marsh (1993). The Junior Bookshelf, Volume 57. Indiana University.
  2. ^ Singles Discography for Embassy Records. Retrieved 29 July 2016
  3. ^ "The Cranes Skiffle Group". St. Margarets Community Website. 14 May 2009. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Postman Pat voice actor Ken Barrie dies". BBC News. Retrieved 30 July 2016
  5. ^ Betts, Graham (2004). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2004 (1st ed.). London: Collins. p. 57. ISBN 0-00-717931-6.
  6. ^ "Charlie Chalk (1987)". Woodland Animations / HIT Entertainment. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  7. ^ Willis, John A. (1976). John Willis' Screen World, Volume 27. Crown Publishers.
  8. ^ "Ken Barrie, the voice of Postman Pat, dies at the age of 83". ITV News. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016
  9. ^ "Ken Barrie Obituary".
  10. ^ "The Great Waltz (1972)".
  11. ^ "Ken Barrie Obituary".
  12. ^ "Ray Charles' World of Music (1979)".
  13. ^ "Christmas Eve With Val Doonican (1986)".
  14. ^ "Postman Pat's ABC (1990)".
  15. ^ "Postman Pat's 123 (1990)".
  16. ^ "Read Along with Postman Pat (1994)".
  17. ^ "Calling All Toddlers (1999)".
  18. ^ "Calling All Toddlers 2 (2002)".
  19. ^ "Postman Pat's Magic Christmas (2003)".
  20. ^ "Postman Pat's Pirate Treasure (2004)".
  21. ^ "330520 Cast".
  22. ^ "The Official BBC Children in Need Medley (2009)".
  23. ^ "Centre Play (1973-1977)".
  24. ^ "Postman Pat (1981-2017)".
  25. ^ "Charlie Chalk (1988-1989)". Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  26. ^ "Postman Pat and the Greendale Rocket (2007)".