William Henry Ralph Reader (25 May 1903 – 18 May 1982), known as Ralph Reader, was a British actor, theatrical producer and songwriter, known for staging the original Gang Show, a variety entertainment presented by members of the Scouting movement, and for leading community singing at FA Cup Finals.
Childhood
Reader was born in Crewkerne, Somerset, England, the son of a Salvation Army bandmaster. He was orphaned by the age of eight and brought up by aunts and uncles. Joining the Scout movement at 11, he put on Scout shows as a patrol leader in the 2nd Denton and South Heighton Troop in Newhaven, Sussex.
His first job was as delivery boy for a relative's greengrocer's shop in Seaford. His employer took Reader to Brighton to buy supplies and then visit the Hippodrome theatre, where he saw many music hall stars of the day. At age 14 he became a telegram messenger and, at 15, an office boy at a cement works. From Magheramorne, County Antrim, Ireland, he moved after what he described as 'seven gloriously happy months', to New York where he began his stage career.
Early career
In 1920 he moved to the United States of America, working in various menial jobs, while acting in and directing off-Broadway shows. At 21 he choreographed his first Broadway show and the New York Times wrote: "Watch Ralph Reader". Returning to England, he produced and choreographed West End productions, notably variety performances at Drury Lane and at the Hippodrome.
In 1932, still in Scouting, he anonymously staged his first all-Scout variety show at the Scala Theatre, London. The Gang's All Here featured 150 Boy Scouts largely from London's East End, performing sketches, songs and dance numbers. The three performances were well received by public and critics. The following year The Gang Comes Back at the Scala played to capacity houses and the public and press began referring to "The Gang Show".
In 1934 that became its title and Reader acknowledged he was their producer. Besides the Gang Shows, in 1936, Reader wrote and directed a dramatic pageant called "The Boy Scout" with a cast of 1,500 Scouts at the Royal Albert Hall. In the same year, he wrote and played the lead in a feature film called "The Gang Show" which premiered at the Lyceum Theatre, London in April 1937.
In November 1937 "a bunch of Boy Scouts", as one writer described them, became the first amateurs to appear at a Royal Variety Performance. They shared billing with Gracie Fields, George Formby and Max Miller.
War service
Through the prewar Gang Shows, Reader became friends with Air Commodore Archibald Boyle, the deputy director of RAF Intelligence. The German Ambassador, Joachim von Ribbentrop, attended the 1938 London Gang Show and invited Reader to visit the Hitler Youth Movement in Germany. Boyle persuaded Reader to become an Intelligence Officer in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve with the rank of Flight Lieutenant, although the diplomatic situation had deteriorated before he could take up von Ribbentrop's invitation.
On the outbreak of war, Boyle sent Reader to France for undercover work, in the guise of running a concert party, for which some former Gang Show members were recruited into the RAF. The show was entitled "Ralph Reader and Ten Blokes from the Gang Show" and, besides allowing Reader to complete intelligence tasks, had a positive effect on morale.
On returning to England, Reader was ordered to expand the Gang Shows, while his visits to RAF stations allowed Reader to monitor subversive propaganda which was a concern of the RAF high command. Reader eventually raised twenty-four RAF Gang Show units and two female WAAF units with a total establishment of nearly four hundred serving personnel. The RAF Gang Shows toured nearly every theatre of war, from Iceland to Burma.
By 1944, Gang Show units were estimated to have travelled 100,000 miles and entertained 3,500,000 servicemen. Some of those who served in the RAF Gang Shows would later become well known entertainers, such as Peter Sellers, Tony Hancock, Harry Worth, Dick Emery and Cardew Robinson. For his services to the Royal Air Force he was awarded an MBE (Military Division) in 1943.