Wee Georgie Wood

George Wood Bamlett OBE (17 December 1895 – 19 February 1979), known professionally as Wee Georgie Wood, was a British comic entertainer and actor who appeared in films, plays and music hall revues. He had a lengthy career of over fifty years, based on exploiting the childlike appearance that he retained in adulthood.

Biography

He was born in Jarrow, County Durham, but within a few weeks of his birth moved to South Shields where his father owned a pawnbroker's shop. His parents were George Bamlett and Georgina, née Wood, who divorced in 1908 on account of his father's adultery. Georgie had a form of dwarfism, as an adult reaching a height of , and retaining an unbroken voice.

From the age of five, he started performing in concert parties as an entertainer, and at the age of 13 was still able to perform in the guise of a five-year-old. He was originally billed as 'the Boy Phenomenon', but he dropped the name after one theatre mistakenly advertised him as 'the Boy Euphonium'.

In 1917, he met fellow performer Dolly Harmer (born Sarah Elizabeth Caron, 1867–1956). She was the daughter of Pierre Caron, who performed as Peter Harmer, and had worked in music halls since the 1880s. She and Wood established a working relationship in which she played Wood's mother, continuing to perform in the role for over 35 years. Together they performed comedy sketches in which she would try to persuade him to behave properly. They toured together, worldwide, but usually performed in separate pantomimes during the winter months.

Wood has been termed "a brilliant raconteur... [and] a very funny comedian". He was considered to have been one of the most successful pantomime stars of his era and remained a popular performer through the 1920s and 1930s, though his style became increasingly outdated and it became more difficult for him to act the part of a child. though the marriage was brief and in later years Wood refused to speak of it.

Wood and Harmer performed together until 1953, when they made a mutual decision to retire.

Wood died at Gordon Mansions in Bloomsbury, London, on 19 February 1979, aged 83. Glencannon (1957) - Cookie, (filmed in England)