Issy Bonn (born Benjamin Levin; 21 April 1903 – 21 April 1977) was a British comedian, singer, actor, and theatrical agent. His signature song was "My Yiddishe Momme".
Benjamin Levin was born into a Jewish family in Whitechapel, London, the son of a butcher. He spent part of the First World War working as a delivery boy. The job may not have paid well, but at least it brought some money into the home, thereby enabling him to devote his spare time to his real love- singing, but his family disapproved of his interest in the music hall and he was sent to Canada to live with relatives. When he returned, he joined an existing comedy and singing group, the Three Rascals, and used the stage name Benny Levine, which featured a rather bizarre mixture of ragtime music and vocal comedy in its act.
He performed in theatres and cinemas on a semi-professional basis, creating a comic character named Finklefeffer who became involved in all manner of humorous situations. He went solo in the early 1920s. He took the stage name Issy Bonn at the suggestion of BBC Radio producer John Sharman, who produced a popular programme, John Sharman's Music Hall and made his first radio appearance on the show in 1935, billed as "The Hebrew Vocal Raconteur". He combined sentimental songs such as "My Yiddish Momme" and "Let Bygones Be Bygones", with Jewish humour and sketches, many featuring the fictitious Finkelfeffer family.
.jpg)
Issy Bonn made over a thousand radio broadcasts on programmes such as Variety Bandbox, and reputedly had a repertoire of over 500 songs. He also regularly toured South Africa. He appeared in the films I Thank You in 1941, and Discoveries in 1939, where he played Mr. Schwitzer. He made his first recordings in 1942, for the Rex label, and later recorded for Decca and Columbia. He toured Europe with the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA), entertaining the forces, broadcasting on the highly-popular Variety Bandbox programme and playing variety engagements at all the major theatres in Britain.
After the war Issy continued to capitalize on his burgeoning fame with a new touring road shows including The Big Broadcasts and The Melody Lingers On, in which he appeared himself, as well as using to introduce many new, young artists who he discovered himself. This was typical of him. He was always interested in fostering previously unknown performers, encouraging, developing and helping them to make their way in the highly competitive world of show business.
Much as he enjoyed performing, Issy Bonn was still very much a realist. He knew that, no matter how popular he was, any celebrity’s time at the very top of the tree was likely to be limited. With a view to having something to fall back on when his days on stage were finished, he formed his own management agency, which he ran in tandem with his continuing live work for many years. He continued to appear on radio, television, and in pantomimes, and toured, often with the popular trumpeter Eddie Calvert.
In the event Issy’s career went on for a good deal longer than he might have anticipated. In fact he carried on performing until the Seventies, after which he became manager of a provincial theatre, thereby keeping his links with the profession he loved so much. His image appears on the cover of The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
He died in London on his 74th birthday on 21 April 1977.
(Edited from Wikipedia & CD liner notes by Tony Watts)