Graham Victor Harold Moffatt was a mid-20th century English comedic character actor. He is best known for a number of films where he appeared with Will Hay and Moore Marriott as 'Albert': a plump cheekily insolent street-savvy youth.
Early life
Moffatt was born on 6 December 1919 in Hammersmith, West London, the son of Frederick Victor Moffatt and Daisy Eleonora née Whiteside, both of whom outlived him. He had two sisters, one being Rita Doreen Moffatt. He was born exactly 31 years after Will Hay, with whom Moffatt would perform with in a string of successful cinema films in the 1930's. He wanted to act from an early age. He first worked as a call boy at Shepherd's Bush Studios, and often saw actor Tom Walls going in and out of the sound stages. Walls took a liking to Moffatt, and chose him for a bit part in the 1934 film A Cup of Kindness. He then gave up his job as a call boy, and went on to appear in five more films in minor, mostly uncredited roles before getting his big break in Will Hay's films.
Cinema career
His first film with Will Hay was Where There's a Will in which he plays an office boy. In his next film with Hay, Windbag the Sailor, he is joined by Moore Marriott and his character has become 'Albert'. He is known by this name in all his later films with Hay and Marriott: Oh, Mr Porter!, Old Bones of the River, Convict 99, Ask a Policeman and Where's That Fire?. Still as Albert, he appeared again with Moore Marriott in a series of films starring Arthur Askey: Charley's Aunt, I Thank You, and Back Room Boy. His later films include Powell and Pressburger's A Canterbury Tale and I Know Where I'm Going!.
Post-acting life
In the mid-1940's he semi-retired from show business to become a publican with his wife, Joyce Muriel Hazeldine, whom he married in June 1948 and remained married to for 17 years until his death in July 1965. Together, they ran the Swan Inn at Braybrooke, followed by the Englishcombe Inn at Bath. Whilst landlord of the Swan Inn, Moffatt became good friends with local musician and actor Jim Dale who would often drink at the pub. In March 1952 he was admitted to hospital in Kettering after two weeks of hiccoughing. He still made sporadic cinema film appearances in minor parts, the last being in the 1963 film 80,000 Suspects, directed by Val Guest, who was a writer of many of the films that Moffatt starred in with Will Hay and Moore Marriott.
Moffatt married Joyce Muriel Hazeldine in 1948. He died on 2 July 1965 in Bath, Somerset from heart failure at the early age of 45. His ashes were scattered in the English Channel at the village of Beer in Devon. He is survived by his three children Richard, Jayne and Chris.
Tributes
The Will Hay Appreciation Society was founded in 2009 by British artist Tom Marshall, and aims to preserve the legacy of Will Hay, Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt and to bring their work to a new generation of fans. As of June 2019, the organisation has over 4200 members. The Will Hay Appreciation Society unveiled a memorial bench to Will Hay, Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt in October 2018, in Cliddesden, Hampshire the filming location for Oh, Mr. Porter!. The bench was unveiled by Pete Waterman. Moffatt's life story was made into a short film by The Will Hay Appreciation Society which features interviews from his three children, Richard, Chris and Jayne. The film is called Graham Moffatt: Britain's Favourite Fat Boy. On 18 August 2019The Will Hay Appreciation Society unveiled a plaque commemorating Graham Moffatt at one of the pubs he was landlord at, the Swan Inn, Braybrooke. The unveiling was attended by his children, members of the society and local villagers.
