Hy Hazell

I had originally planned to mention Hy Hazell in my post about Every Home Should Have One (in which she convincingly plays an American matron) but I felt that the post was already long and besides, nobody would have heard of her. Now that Jonathan Calder has disproved the latter point, I have the excuse to relay a story told by Ms Hazell to (if I recall correctly) Ian Wallace, a regular panellist on My Music.

Hy Hazell, possessor of a great pair of legs, was a regular principal boy in pantomime. Touring pantomimes usually have a great deal of doubling-up of parts and therefore hurried changes of costume. Scene changes (presumably relying partly on local recruitment of hands) were not always smooth. In one particular production, Ms Hazell recalled, there was a grand final scena celebrating the greatness of the British navy. The cast lined up in front of a depiction of HMS Victory. Unfortunately, a panel was missing, so that they turned to salute the top half of Admiral Nelson ... and a bottom half comprising the back legs of the pantomime horse.