A Spider & His Webs: Lionel Barrymore in It's a Wonderful Life

 (If you have not seen It's a Wonderful Life, you might not want to read this article. It addresses plot points key to the film. In other words, Here There Be Spoilers! You have been warned.)

"You sit around here and you spin your little webs and you think the whole world revolves around you and your money. Well, it doesn't, Mr. Potter. In the whole vast configuration of things, I'd say you were nothing but a scurvy little spider!" (George Bailey to Henry F. Potter in It's a Wonderful Life)

Short of Drew Barrymore (the granddaughter of the legendary John Barrymore), today it is quite possible that Lionel Barrymore is the most famous member of that illustrious acting dynasty.  Over the years Lionel Barrymore would play many impressive roles. He won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role as Stephen Ashe in A Free Soul (1931).  He played Otto Kringelein in Grand Hotel (1932), Billy Bones in Treasure Island (1934), James Temple in Key Largo (1948), and Dr. Gillespie in the "Dr. Kildare" movie series. Despite having played a number of well received parts over the years, there can be little doubt that Lionel Barrymore's fame today rests primarily with one movie, It's a Wonderful Life (1946), in which he played the villain Henry F. Potter.

Not only is Henry F. Potter (more often than not called "Mr. Potter" or even more often simply "Potter") today the most famous role Lionel Barrymore ever played, he is so identified with the role that it is hard to picture anyone else in it. As hard as it is to believe, other actors were considered for the role. Both  Dan Duryea and Charles Bickford had been in the running for the part. While  both Messrs. Duryea and Bickford would have done well in the role, fortunately Lionel Barrymore got the role of Potter in the end.

There can be little doubt that much of the reason Lionel Barrymore was cast as Henry F. Potter was the simple fact that he had played a similar role for literally years. Starting in 1934 for many years Lionel Barrymore played the role of Ebeneezer Scrooge in annual Christmas specials on CBS Radio. In fact, when MGM produced their version of A Christmas Carol (1938), they had originally intended to cast Lionel Barrymore in the role of Scrooge. Unfortunately, while shooting retakes for Saratoga (1937), Mr. Barrymore tripped and broke his hip. In the end the role of Scrooge in the film went to his friend Reginald Owen. The similarities between Scrooge and Potter are immediately noticeable to anyone who has read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (or seen one of the many screen adaptions) and has seen It's a Wonderful Life. Indeed, if anything else Potter is even worse than Scrooge. Time critic Richard Corliss once described Lionel Barrymore playing Potter as "...Scrooge, the Grinch and Simon Legree in one craggy, crabby package." One has to suspect that, unlike Scrooge, Potter could never have been reformed. Quite simply, he would have ordered the ghosts out of his bedroom and that would have been the end of it!

Indeed, Potter is a thoroughly despicable person, one of the greatest screen villains of all time. Peter Bailey (played by Samuel S. Hinds), the father of George Bailey (played by James Stewart), describes him as "Frustrated and sick. Sick in his mind, sick in his soul, if he has one." Watching It's a Wonderful Life, there is not only some doubt as to whether Potter has a soul, but whether he has a heart as well.

The first scene in It's a Wonderful Life to significantly feature Mr. Potter shows just how greedy and how lacking in compassion he can be. Seeking advice from his father, twelve year old George barges in on a meeting between Peter Bailey and Henry F. Potter. In the meeting Potter is calling in a loan of $5000 that he made to the Bailey Building and Loan. When Peter Bailey asks for thirty more days in which to raise the funds, Potter suggests that he foreclose on the Building and Loan's lendees. Peter points out to Potter that these are families with children to no avail. That's right. Potter has no problem throwing families with children out on the street!

As It's a Wonderful Life progresses Potter does not get any better. In fact, he seems to only get richer and even meaner. It soon becomes clear that Potter either wants to own the Bailey Building and Loan or, at least, see to it that it is closed down. Indeed, not long after Peter Bailey has died Potter makes a motion at a Board of Directors meeting to dissolve the Building and Loan and "...turn its assets and liabilities over to the receiver." He is stopped only because George stands up to him. During the Depression, when there is a run on the bank, Potter makes an offer to buy Building and Loan shares for "fifty cents on the dollar." It is quite clear he doesn't simply intend to save the Building and Loan--he wants to either take control of it or kill it.

Over the course of the film we learn that Potter has his own housing development. It is aptly named "Potter's Field", a traditional term used for a graveyard for paupers unable to afford burial in a better cemetery. Potter's Field would appear to be something of an overpriced slum. In trying to convince the customers of the Building and Loan not to go to Potter, George says to Joe (played by Ray Walker), "Joe, you lived in one of his houses, didn't you? Well, have you forgotten? Have you forgotten what he charged you for that broken-down shack?" During the Depression, Potter took control of Bedford Falls' bank, bus line, department store, and apparently every other business in town. As he tells George, "You saved the Building and Loan, and I saved all the rest. (to which George replies, "Yes. Well, most people say you stole all the rest.")"

If somehow viewers had any doubts that Potter was evil, then they would be washed away by events leading up to the film's famous climax. When Uncle Billy stops to needle Potter in the bank, he unfortunately hands Potter a newspaper containing the $8,000 meant to be deposited for the Building and Loan. After discovering he has the money, rather than giving it back to Uncle Billy or depositing it in the Building and Loan's account for him (which as the owner of the bank and one of the Building and Loan's directors he could presumably have done), Potter simply keeps the money. That's right, As if there was any doubtabout  it before, Potter is capable of outright theft.

It is Potter's theft of the $8,000 that directly leads to George's suicide attempt, which in turn leads to his guardian angel Clarence showing him what life in Bedford Falls would be like if he had never been born. While Pottersville (as Bedford Falls was renamed in the alternate reality without a George Bailey) appears to be prospering, it's not the sort of town in which most people would want to live. The primary businesses on Main Street seem to be nightclubs, dime-a-dance halls, pawn shops, and strip joints. The residents of Pottersville are obviously miserable and probably living below the poverty line. Only Bert the Cop (played by Ward Bond)  appears to be unchanged (one can only guess Bert was the most virtuous man in Bedford Falls or Pottersville). We are not shown Henry F. Potter in the world in which George was not born, but one can't help but wonder that he isn't happy.

Of course, here it must be pointed out that, although it sometimes seems so, Mr. Potter is not all bad. In fact, like many great villains it seems likely that Potter does not think of himself as evil. After Peter Bailey's death he actually does show some admiration for the man, even if it is clear he thought of him as an idealist and sentimentalist. When there was a run on the bank he did offer to save the Building and Loan. He could have just as easily not have called George and simply approached the Building and Loan's customers himself. In fact, had he done that he might have taken over the Building and Loan the same way he took over the bank. Potter even showed some admiration for George and offered him a job, although his motives for doing so were questionable. It seems possible that Potter is any many respects a mirror image of George. That is, like George, Potter is motivated in maintaining Bedford Falls. The problem is that Potter's idea of maintaining Bedford Falls means leaving its citizens with only the barest of necessities and himself with everything else!

It has often been pointed out that It's a Wonderful Life violated the MPAA Production Code in that we are never shown Potter as being punished for stealing the Building and Loan's $8,000. I rather suspect it did so because we do not have to be told that he was punished. We simply know he was. To me, at least, it seems not long after the events of the movie, Uncle Billy probably remembered he left the $8,000 in the newspaper he handed to Potter. The following investigation revealed that Potter did indeed have the $8,000 and as a result he was sent to jail. Given Potter's age at that point, he probably died there.

Henry F. Potter has come to be counted as one of the greatest screen villains of all time. In its list of the 50 greatest movie villains of all time, the American Film Institute ranked Potter at no. 5. In Time Magazine's lists of the 25 Greatest Villains, Potter came in at no. 8. What is more, Henry F. Potter would have a lasting influence on popular culture by inspiring yet other villains. While it is well known that both the appearance and speech of Underdog's archenemy  Simon Barsinister was inspired by Lionel Barrymore, what many do not realise is that Simon was specifically inspired by Lionel Barrymore as Mr. Potter. Montgomery Burns on The Simpsons also owes a good deal to Potter, right down to the greed and total disregard for anyone else.

Of course, what made Henry F. Potter such a great villain was not simply the movie's script by Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, and Frank Capra. Quite simply, it was Lionel Barrymore's performance. A lesser actor might well have hammed it up in the role, but not Mr. Barrymore. Lionel Barrymore plays Potter straight, and as a result he seems all the more evil for it. As played by Lionel Barrymore, Henry F. Potter is not some caricature, stock villain, or cartoon bad guy. He is the sort of villain that could all too easily exist. Indeed, he is the sort of villain some people may have encountered in real life.

Indeed, Lionel Barrymore's performance as Potter is all the more remarkable when one considers that the actor played many more roles than villains. Among his best known roles today may be that of the kindly, if irascible Dr. Gillespie in the "Dr. Kildare" movies. In A Family Affair  (1937), the film that would spark the "Andy Hardy" series, Mr. Barrymore originated the role of Judge Hardy played by Lewis Stone in the series. In some respects, despite having played Scrooge on radio for many years, Lionel Barrymore was cast against type as Henry F. Potter. Many, if not most of, Mr. Barrymore's roles throughout his career were of kindly, if cantankerous characters, characters who would never dream of foreclosing on families with children or stealing $8,000.

As played by the great Lionel Barrymore, Henry F. Potter has become one of the best remembered movie villains of all time. More so than even Scrooge, he has come to exemplify the trope of the evil businessman. Both J. R. Ewing and Montgomery Burns could have taken lessons from him. It seems quite likely that no other actor will every match Lionel Barrymore when it comes to playing a villainous businessman.

The Late Great Uggie

Uggie, the scene stealing canine star of The Artist (2011), was put down August 7 2015. He had developed a tumour in his prostate gland. Uggie was 13 years old.

Uggie was born on February 14, 2002 in California. Two owners rejected him as being "too wild" and he was about to be sent to the pound when he was adopted by animal trainer  Omar Von Muller. Planning to only foster Uggie until he could find a forever home for him, Mr. Von Muller decided to keep the puppy and train him as an actor.

Uggie made his film debut in an uncredited part in What's Up, Scarlet? in 2005. He appeared in the films Wassup Rockers (2005) and Water for Elephants (2011) before his star making turn in The Artist. Critics noted the dog's talent, often stating he stole every scene in which he appeared. Campaigns were launched for Uggie to receive a special Oscar as well as a special BAFTA Award. He did win the Palm Dog at the Cannes Film Festival. He also received a special mention at the Prix Lumière Awards, as well as Best Dog in a Theatrical Film at the first Golden Collar Awards. On June 25 2012 his paw prints were placed in front of  Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

After The Artist Uggie appeared in the film The Campaign (2012) and the TV movie Holiday Road Trip. He guest starred on an episode of Key and Peele.

There can be no doubt that Uggie was an adorable dog. He was quite possibly one of the cutest  Jack Russell Terriers to ever appear on screen. But Uggie was also enormously talented. He knew a number of tricks and could display emotions rarely seen in dogs in motion pictures on television. In fact, he numbered among the greatest canine stars of the screen, alongside Skippy (who played Asta in the "Thin Man" movies) and Moose (who played Eddie for years on Frasier). To this day I think it was a miscarriage of justice that he was awarded neither a special Oscar nor a special BAFTA for his work in The Artist. His performance was better than most human actors. In many ways Uggie was the Henry Fonda of the canine set, the best in his profession. Sadly at 13 Uggie was a very old dog. It is sad that he could not have lived much, much longer to leave us with many more great performances.

Voice Artist Susan Sheridan R.I.P.

Susan Sheridan, who was the voice of , Trillian in the BBC radio show The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the voices of characters in a host of animated TV shows and films, died on August 8 2015 at the age of 68. The cause was breast cancer.

Susan Sheridan was born Susan Thomas in Surbiton, Surrey. Miss Thomas displayed a gift for mimicry while still a child, capable of imitating a wide array of voices. She attended Brigidine Convent School in Windsor, and Ashford Grammar School in Middlesex. She trained in acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. She acted in repertory in  Westcliff-on-Sea, Ayr, and Worthing. It was in 1975 when she was playing a West End production of the musical Winnie the Pooh that her talent for voices was recognised. Voice artist and character actress  Miriam Margolyes put Miss Thomas in touch with her voice agent and she auditioned for BBC Radio. In 1976 she married actor Michael Sheridan and "Susan Sheridan" as her stage name thereafter.

It was in 1978 that Mrs. Sheridan voiced Trillian for the first time on the radio show Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. She performed with BBC Radio's acting company between 1980 and 1992.

Susan Sheridan made her television debut as a voice artist in 1978 voicing a child in an episode of Bless Me Father. She provided a voice for an episode of Armchair Theatre and appeared in front of the camera in an episode of Agony. The Eighties would prove to be a busy decade for her. Starting in 1990 she provided the English voice of Moomin in the anime TV series Moomin. She also provided voices for the animated shows The Family-Ness, Jimbo and the Jet-Set, Muzzy in Gondoland, and Muzzy Comes Back. She was the voice of  Eilonwy in the Disney animated feature The Black Cauldron (1985). She provided the English voices of Michael and Judy in the anime TV film Lupin the Third Bye Bye, Lady Liberty.

In the Nineties she provided voices for the stop motion animated TV programme Noddy's Toyland Adventures. She was the voice of Milady de Winter in the English dub of the French animated series Albert the 5th Musketeer. She provided voices for the TV specials Santa's First Christmas and Father Christmas and the Missing Reindeer.

In the Naughts she provided a voice for episodes of the animated shows The Lampies and Jambareeqi Reviews. In the teens she guest starred on Midsomer Murders.

Susan Sheridan was one of the greatest voice artists of all time. She could do a wide array of voices. Indeed, she was equally adept at doing the voices of children and adults. Susan Sheridan could do the voices of everything from an infant to an old woman, and always sounded convincing. There were very few voice artists who could ever match her.

"Tous les garçons et les filles" by Françoise Hardy

Last week I had to write several eulogies for this blog and sadly this week looks to be more of the same. For that reason I decided to take a break from writing eulogies today and leave you with something somewhat happier. This is an old Scopitone film made for French singer Françoise Hardy's first hit, "Tous les garçons et les filles" (literally "All the Boys and the Girls"). The song was released in June 1962 and became a smash hit in France. It even proved to be a bit of a hit in the United Kingdom, reaching no. 36 on the British singles chart. As to the subject matter of the song, it is from the point of view of a girl who has never been in love, but who wants to be in love like other boys and girls her age (did I say it was somewhat happier?).

As to the film, it was made for the Scopitone, a visual jukebox introduced in France in the late Fifties. While Le Scopitone would prove somewhat popular in France, the jukebox never gained ground in either the United Kingdom or the United States. It persisted in France until 1978, when the last Scopitone film was made.

Without further ado, here is "Tous les garçons et les filles" by Françoise Hardy

The Late Great George Cole

George Cole, who played Flash Harry in the "St Trinian's films" and Arthur Daley in the TV show Minder among may other roles, died on August 5 2015 at the age of 90.

George Cole was born in Tooting, London on April 22 1925. His biological mother abandoned him when he was only ten days old. He was adopted by George and Florence Cole, who were respectively a labourer and an office cleaner. They were also amateur musicians who performed in music halls and young George joined them when he was old enough. He attended the Surrey county council school at Morden, but had to leave school at 14 to support his family when his father fell ill. For a time he delivered newspapers before getting an apprenticeship with the local butcher. On the Friday night prior to the Monday that he was to start working at the butcher shop, young Mr. Cole saw an advert in the The Star for a boy in a West End show. The next day, Saturday, he auditioned and was ultimately given a part with the touring company performing The White Horse Inn.

George Cole made his film debut when he was only 15 years old in Cottage to Let (1941). He played opposite Alastair Sim in the film. During its filming George Cole spent his weekends at Alastair Sim and his wife Naomi's house. Mr. and Mrs. Sim helped with George Cole's training as an actor, including helping him lose his Cockney accent. Ultimately, except for his time in the Royal Air Force, George Cole would live with the Sims for the next twelve years. Over the next few years George Cole appeared in the films Those Kids from Town (1942), The Demi-Paradise (1943), Henry V (1944), and Journey Together (1945).

In 1944 George Cole enlisted in the RAF. He trained as a wireless operator at Cardington, Bedfordshire until it was discovered his eyesight was too poor. He was transferred to Coastal Command H.Q. in Northwood, Hertfordshire for a year before he was assigned to running a mess hall in occupied Germany. In the Forties following the war George Cole appeared in the films My Brother's Keeper (1948), Quartet (1948), The Spider and the Fly (1949), Morning Departure (1949), The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950), and Gone to Earth (1950). He made his television debut in the 1948 production Dr. Angelus. He appeared on television in the productions The Anatomist and The Three Kisses.

It was in the Fifties that George Cole appeared in two of most famous roles. In the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol (AKA Scrooge), he played a young Ebenezer Scrooge (his friend and mentor Alastair Sim played the old Ebeneezer Scrooge). In 1954 in the The Belles of St. Trinian's he first appeared as con-man Flash Harry. He would play the role three more times in the "St. Trinian's" films. In the Fifties he appeared in such films as Flesh & Blood (1951), Laughter in Paradise (1951), Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951), The Happy Family (1952), Who Goes There! (1952), Top Secret (1952), Will Any Gentleman...? (1953), Our Girl Friday (1953), Happy Ever After (1954), Quentin Durward (1955), It's a Wonderful World (1956), The Green Man (1956), Blue Murder at St. Trinian's (1957), Too Many Crooks (1959), Don't Panic Chaps (1959), and The Pure Hell of St. Trinian's (1960). He starred in the TV programme A Life of Bliss. He guest starred on the shows Suspicion and ITV Television Playhouse.

In the Sixties George Cole appeared in the films Cleopatra (1963), One Way Pendulum (1965), The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery (1966), The Green Shoes (1968), and The Vampire Lovers (1970). He appeared frequently on British television throughout the decade. He starred in the show A Man of Our Times in 1968. He guest starred on such shows as Gideon C.I.D., A World of Comedy, The Wonderful World of Disney ("The Scarecrow of Romney March"), Comedy Playhouse, The Informer, Blackmail, Vendetta, ITV Play of the Week, Out of the Unknown, Jackanory, The Root of All Evil, and Armchair Theatre.

In the Seventies George Cole starred in the TV series Don't Forget to Write! and had a recurring role in the mini-series The Voyage of Charles Darwin. He guest starred on such shows as U.F.O., Madigan, Dial M for Murder, Affairs of the Heart, Quiller, The Sweeney, Good Neighbours, and Return of The Saint. He appeared in the films Fright (1971), Take Me High (1974), The Blue Bird (1976), and Double Nickels (1977).

It was in 1979 that George Cole took the role of Arthur Daley, a morally dubious used car salesman, on the TV series Minder. The show proved very popular, running throughout the Eighties and into the Nineties. He also starred on the TV programmes The Bounder, Blott on the Landscape, and Comrade Dad. He was a voice on the animated series Tube Mice. He appeared in the film Deadline Auto Theft (1983).

In the Nineties George Cole continued to appear on the TV show Minder. He starred in the TV shows Root into Europe, An Independent Man, and Dad. He appeared in the films Mary Reilly (1996) and The Ghost of Greville Lodge (2000).  In the Naughts George Cole appeared in the mini-series Bodily Harm. He guest starred on the shows Family Business, Agatha Christie's Marple, Diamond Geezer, New Tricks, Midsomer Murders, and Heartbeat.

George Cole may well be best known for playing shifty characters, many of which he played over the years. In fact, his two best known roles could quite aptly be described as "shifty". In the "St. Trinian's" films, Flash Harry was the consummate con man, selling race cards and helping the girls of St. Trinian's School bottle and sell the gin they made. Arthur Daley on Minder was actually much more than an unscrupulous used car salesman, as he engaged in wholesale, imports and exports, and nearly anything to make money whether it was legal or not. Although George Cole was not the least bit dodgy in real life, he was good at playing very dodgy characters.

Of course, Mr. Cole played more than con men and ne'er-do-wells in his career. As young Scrooge in A Christmas Carol (1951) he played a sad young man who felt abandoned by his overly strict father. In The Vampire Lovers he played a hapless landowner who falls afoul of a vampire. In the short lived sitcom Comrade Dad George Cole played a role about as far from the capitalists Flash Harry and Arthur Daley as one could get--a British working class father who is sympathetic to the Communists after the United Kingdom is taken over by the Soviet Union.  George Cole was a remarkable actor and one of the best British characters to emerge in the late 20th Century. He may be best remembered as Flash Harry and Arthur Daley, but he played a wide variety of roles during a remarkably long career.

Colleen Gray Passes On

Coleen Gray, who appeared in such films as Kiss of Death (1947), Red River (1948) and The Killing (1956), died on August 3 2015 at the age of 92.

Coleen Gray was born Doris Jensen on October 23 1922 in Staplehurst, Nebraska. She spent her childhood in Hutchinson, Minnesota. She earned a Bachelor's degree in English and music from  at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. After graduating from college she moved to California. She worked for a waitress in La Jolla for a time before moving to Los Angeles and enrolling at the University of California, Los Angeles. While attending UCLA she worked in the university's library as well as the YWCA.  Eventually she was signed to a seven year contract with 20th Century Fox.

Coleen Gray made her film debut in an uncredited, bit part in State Fair (1945). She appeared in another uncredited bit part in Three Little Girls in Blue (1946) before her first major role, playing the female lead in Kiss of Death (1947). In the late Forties she appeared in such films as Nightmare Alley (1947), Fury at Furnace Creek (1948), Red River (1948), Father Is a Bachelor (1950), Riding High (1950), and The Sleeping City (1950).

Despite appearing in The Killing in 1956, Coleen Gray's film career began to decline in the late Fifties. By that time she was appearing in such low budget films as The Vampire (1957) and The Leech Woman (1960). During the decade she appeared in such films as I'll Get You for This (1951), Apache Drums (1951), Models Inc. (1952), Kansas City Confidential (1952), The Vanquished (1953), Las Vegas Shakedown (1955), Frontier Gambler (1956), The Black Whip (1956), and Johnny Rocco (1958). She made her television debut in 1950 in an episode of Pulitzer Prize Playhouse and appeared frequently on television in the Fifties. She guest starred on such shows as Danger, Schlitz Playhouse, The Ford Television Playhouse, Lux Video Theatre, Four Star Playhouse, Damon  Runyon Theatre, Climax!, Mike Hammer, Playhouse 90, Tales of Wells Fargo, The Deputy, and General Electric Theatre.

The Sixties would see her career mostly take place on television. She appeared on such shows as Lawman, Maverick, Have Gun--Will Travel, Rawhide, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, 77 Sunset Strip, Mister Ed, Perry Mason, The Virginian, My Three Sons, Run for Your Life, Bonanza, The Name of the Game, and Adam-12. She appeared in the movies The Phantom Planet (1961), Town Tamer (1965), and P.J. (1968). She was a regular for a time on the soap operas Days of Our Lives and Bright Promises.

From the Seventies into the Eighties Miss Gray appeared on such shows as The F.B.I., Mannix, The Sixth Sense, Ironside, Emergency!, McCloud, and Tales from the Darkside. She appeared in the films The Late Liz (1971), Mother (1978),  and Cry from the Mountain (1985).

There can be no doubt that Coleen Gray was incredibly beautiful. Sadly, her wholesome yet delicate beauty largely dictated the sort of roles she was given.  In both films noirs and Westerns Coleen Gray was always the girlfriend or wife. It did not matter that her characters were often in love with bad men, they were nearly always virtuous. Coleen Gray played such roles very well, but she could clearly do much more. She proved that in The Leech Woman, as well as many of her television appearances. Hardly a good film by any stretch of the imagination, The Leech Woman at least gave her the chance to play a villainous character, namely the title character who drains men of their youth. In some of her appearances on Perry Mason she also got to play characters who were very different from those she had in film--namely, women who were not below scheming to get what they wanted. In the Rawhide episode "The Devil and the Deep Blue" she not only played a woman who was cheating on her husband, but one capable of murder as well.  While Coleen Gray will most likely be remembered for the many wholesome women she played in films noirs and Westerns, she was capable of playing many more roles.

Godspeed Cilla Black

Cilla Black died on August 1 2015 at the age of 72. The cause was a stroke.

Cilla Black was born Priscilla White in Vauxhall, Liverpool on May 27 1943. She attended St Anthony's Junior and Secondary Schools in Vauxhall. After leaving St. Anthony's she enrolled in courses in office skills at Anfield Commercial College.  Following her graduation she worked as a filing clerk at British Insulated Callenders Cables.

Eager to become a professional singer, she took another job working part time checking coats at the Cavern Club. Eventually she became a guest singer with such Merseybeat bands as Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes, and the Big Three. It was at the Iron Door Club, which was relatively near the Cavern Club, that she sang with an up and coming band called The Beatles. It was Bill Harry, the publisher of Mersey Beat, who gave Cilla her stage name when he mistakenly called her "Cilla Black" in an article in the paper. Cilla liked the name "Cilla Black" better than her given name and took it for her stage name.

It was in early 1962 that John Lennon of The Beatles introduced her to their manager Brian Epstein. Following an unrehearsed audition in which she sang Gerhwin's "Summertime" at a Beatles concert at the Majestic ballroom in Birkenhead, Brian Epstein turned down the opportunity to manage her. Fortunately he changed his mind a bit later when he saw her perform with John Rubin's modern jazz band at the Blue Angel in Liverpool. She made her first official appearance with The Beatles at the Odeon in Southport on August 30 1963. It was only a week later, on September 6 1963 that Cilla and her father signed a management contract with Brian Epstein. It was shortly afterwards that Brian Epstein introduced Miss Black to The Beatles' producer George Martin, who signed her to Parlophone Records.

Cilla Black's first single, "Loved of the Loved", was written by Paul McCartney (although credited to Lennon–McCartney). Released on September 27 1963, it only managed to reach number 35 on the British singles chart. Fortunately, Cilla Black's next single would prove to be much more successful. "Anyone Who Had A Heart" was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and had been recorded by Dionne Warwick in the United States. Cilla Black's cover of the song proved to be a hit in the United Kingdom and actually prevented Miss Warwick's version from going any higher than no. 42 on the British singles chart. As to Cilla Black's version of "Anyone Who Had A Heart", it went to number 1 on the British singles chart and topped the Irish singles chart as well.

Cilla Black's third single, "You're My World", would also go to number 1 on the British singles chart. It also went to number 2 on the Irish singles chart and number 1 on the Australian singles chart. It would be her only hit in the United States, reaching number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100. He following single, "It's for You", reached no. 7 on the British singles chart and no. 17 on the Australian singles chart, but only reached no. 79 in the United States.

Miss Black had several more hit singles in the United Kingdom in the Sixties, including her cover of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'", "I've Been Wrong Before", "Love's Just a Broken Heart", "Alfie", "Don't Answer Me", "Step Inside Love", "Surround Yourself with Sorrow", and "Conversations". She recorded several albums during the decade. Her debut album, Cilla, was released in 1965 and went to no. 6 on the British album chart. It was followed by Cilla Sings a Rainbow (1966), Sher-oo! (1968), Surround Yourself with Cilla (1969), and Sweet Inspiration (1970).

Throughout the mid to late Sixties Cilla Black appeared on various variety and music shows in the United Kingdom, including  Ready, Steady, Go; Top of the Pops, Juke Box Jury; Thank Your Lucky Stars; Blackpool Night Out; and Five O'Clock Club. In the United States she appeared on Shindig and The Ed Sullivan Show. In 1968 she became the star of her own variety show, Cilla, which ran on and off until 1976. She appeared in the Gerry and the Pacemakers' film Ferry Cross the Mersey (1965).

Cilla's music career declined in the early Seventies. Her last top ten single was "Something Tells Me (Something's Gonna Happen Tonight)", which went to no. 3 on the British singles chart in 1971. Her following single, "The World I Wish for You", only reached no. 51 in 1972. In the Seventies her only other singles to chart were "Baby We Can't Go Wrong", which went to no. 36 on the British singles chart in 1974 and "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song", which went to no. 51 in that same year. She released six albums in the Seventies, but none of them charted.

As the Seventies progressed Cilla Black was thought of more as a television personality than a singer. Her variety show Cilla continued to air on the BBC until 1976. In 1975 she starred in a situation comedy anthology series, Cilla's Comedy Six. The following year she starred in a similar situation comedy anthology series, Cilla's World of Comedy. She guest starred in a 1971 edition of The Goodies.

By the early Eighties Cilla Black's career was at low ebb. Fortunately an appearance on Wogan in 1983 would revitalise her career, although it would be as a television personality rather than as a singer. In 1984 she became the presenter on the long running reality show Surprise Surprise. The show ran until 2001. In 1985 she became the presenter on the dating game show Blind Date. It ran until 2003. She appeared on the shows The Keith Harris Show and Blankety Blank. Her song "Surprise, Surprise" (from the TV show) went to 90 in 1985.

In the Nineties Cilla Black continued to host Surprise Surprise and Blind Date. In 1998 she became the presenter on the game show Moment of Truth. It ran until 2001. She appeared in the specials Cilla's Celebration and Cilla's World. She appeared on Mr. Bean, Pebble Mill at One, and Stockton's Fling. Her single "Through the Years" went to no. 54 on the British singles chart. A single with Dusty Springfield, "Heart and Soul", went to no. 75.

In the Naughts she was a judge on the reality competition show Soapstar Superstar and a regular on the panel show Loose Women. She appeared on such shows as  So Graham Norton, Today with Des and Mel, GMTV, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Parkinson, and The Paul O' Grady Show.In the Teens she appeared on such shows as Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Your Face Sounds Familiar, and Through the Keyhole. In 2013 she appeared in the special The One and Only Cilla Black.

There can be no doubt that Cilla Black was one of the most memorable singers to emerge from England in the Sixties. She certainly had a distinctive voice. Writing about Miss Black in the Liverpool Echo, David Charters her as having "...a voice to tremble the stars and scare the angels - and enough ambition to fill a cathedral, or two." There can be no doubt that her voice packed a wallop. Her version of "Anyone Who Had a Heart" packed more emotion than Dionne Warwick could ever hope to muster in any song. Although it originated as an Italian song by Umberto Bindi ("Il Mio Mondo") and it would be recorded by others, Cilla Black's version of "My World" was always the best. Cilla Black had a powerful voice and sang with such sincerity that one could nearly believe she had lived the lyrics.

Of course, Cilla Black would later become a television presenter. She had a great deal of success presenting TV shows, to the point that an entire generation in Britain is probably more familiar with her from television than they are her singing career. As a presenter Cilla Black was unashamedly Liverpudlian and clearly working class, and it gave her a charm many other presenters always lacked. As a presenter she displayed the same unabashed honesty as she had in her songs and an incredible sense of humour. In the end Cilla Black was the consummate performer, a singer with an incredible voice and the ability to make any audience happy.