Monday, December 11, 2023

There should be a blue plaque: Jim Dale's birthplace in Rothwell


He is remembered in Britain as the star of 11 Carry On films and, if you really know your stuff, as a pop star of the 1950s who was recorded by George Martin, but there is more to Jim Dale than that. Olivier recruited him to the National Theatre Company, where they acted Shakespeare together.

In the US he is a massive Broadway star and famous for his readings of the Harry Potter books. It would be interesting to know why Stephen Fry's versions were not thought suitable for the audiobook market there.

Dale was born in 1935 in the little Northamptonshire town of Rothwell. As it was a sunny afternoon and a bus bound for Rothwell passes down my road every hour, I thought I would go there and photograph his birthplace.

So here it is. Sure enough for this part of the county, there is a former shoe factory standing opposite.

Later. It's been pointed out to me that there are a couple of problems with this post.

First, you don't qualify for a blue plaque until you are dead, and Jim Dale is happily still with us.

Second, despite what my source said, this is not his birthplace. Dale was born in a cottage in Fox Street, Rothwell, that has since been demolished, and grew up with in Jubilee Street. That house is still there.

Apart from that...

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