Trivia

Years after his wartime fame, his voice was regularly heard in millions of British homes for over eight years after his death in 1968, as immediately prior to it he had recorded "Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mister Hitler?", the theme song for the long-running sitcom Dad's Army (1968).

A member of "The Crazy Gang" of popular WWII comedians. Partner to Chesney Allen

Although nominally a comedy double act, Flanagan & Allen were also known for their renditions of popular songs, the most famous of which was "Underneath The Arches."

Was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1959 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to entertainment.

At the age of 14 he emigrated to the US, where he appeared in a vaudeville blackface act, eventually joining singer Florrie Forde's company.

Father of Buddy Flanagan.

Began on stage as "Fargo the Boy Wizard".

Flanagan's last recording was Jimmy Perry and Derek Taverner's theme for the British sitcom Dad's Army, "Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr Hitler?", recorded by Pye shortly before his death in 1968, and for which he was paid 100 guineas (£105). The song was an affectionate pastiche of the sort of songs Flanagan had sung during the war.

He married in 1925 and in 1926 his son Buddy was born. Buddy died of leukaemia in Los Angeles on 29 February 1956. After his death, the estate of Bud Flanagan started a charity to promote cancer research. A primary aim of the Bud Flanagan Leukaemia Fund is to support the Leukaemia/Myeloma Unit at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton, Surrey.

He was in the black face team of Harlem (Bud) and Bronx and when they split up he was asked to join Florrie Forde's show but she didn't like black face and without it Bud Harlem's name didn't fit so she told him to use her real surname of Flanagan. Bud was happy to do this as revenge against an offensively anti-Semitic Sergeant Major Flanagan with whom he had served in WWI.

Allen semi-retired in 1945 and Flanagan increasingly became a solo performer, although the two of them still appeared together on occasion, including for the 1957 TV series Together Again.

By the 1960s, and with his career on the wane, Flanagan used his wealth to invest in betting shops.

He met his wife Anne (known as "Curly"), daughter of Irish comedian Johnny Quinn ("The Singing Clown"), who was a dancer in "Mrs. Stacey's Young Ladies".

Bud Flanagan is best remembered as part of a double act with Chesney Allen, billed as Flanagan and Allen. They had first met on active service in Flanders, but did not work together until 1926, touring with a Florrie Forde show called "Here's to You".

Flanagan was a member of the entertainment charitable fraternity, the Grand Order of Water Rats.

Flanagan was a British music hall and vaudeville entertainer and comedian, and later a television and film actor.

He returned to Britain in 1915 and enlisted as "Robert" Weintrop; he joined the Royal Field Artillery, and was sent with his unit to fight in France. In the Army, he worked as a driver and entertained the troops with his singing and impersonations. Here he met the anti-Semitic Sergeant-Major Flanagan, on whom Reuben later had his revenge when he adopted the name "Flanagan" as his stage name.

Although nominally a comedy double act, Flanagan & Allen were also known for their renditions of popular songs, the most famous of which was "Underneath The Arches." The song which Flanagan co-wrote with Reg Connelly had universal themes such as friendship, which, again, helped people relate to the subject matter. The music was usually melodic, following a binary verse, verse chorus structure, with a small dance band or orchestra providing the backing. The vocals were distinctive because, while Flanagan was at least a competent singer and sang the melody lines, Allen used an almost spoken delivery to provide the harmonies.

In tribute, Flanagan's fellow comedian Charlie Chester said, "No artist born was more loved by his brothers. No man gave more in human happiness".

In October 1914, he sailed with a show to perform in New Zealand and Australia. He travelled further to perform on stage in South Africa, where he met his brother Alec (Alexander), who was living there at the time.