Sam Sherry

Sam Sherry (born Nottingham 12th January 1912, died 9th May 2001) appeared in Coronation Street in May 1978 as clog dancer Lol Unsworth.

His father was a music-hall artiste and taught his nine children dance steps including Lancashire clog dancing. Sam also learned acrobatic dance steps from his brother Jim. He left school at 14 and joined his brothers in a show called Contrasts, later changed to a revue named This Is It and A Sherry Cocktail which involved all of his family in singing, dancing and comedy. Further shows followed under the name Pageant on Parade and as "The Five Sherry Brothers" using a variety of dance moves and styles. After the Second World War, he worked in pantomine with Max Bygraves and Hylda Baker but retired in the late 1950s to run a a narrowboat hire and repair business.

He returned to dancing in the mid-1960s when there was an interest among the the folk-dance revivalists for traditional dances of the industrial north and he performed for the English Folk Dance and Song Society, as well as teaching the almost-forgotten clog dancing of his youth.

As well as appearing in an episode of the Granada Television series Strangers, he appeared in his 70's as a clog dancer in a production of Sergeant Musgrave's Dance at London's Old Vic, alongside Albert Finney and Max Wall. His dancing was seen for the last time on the BBC Omnibus programme, Fascinatin' Rhythm: The Story Of Tap, filmed when he was 88 years old.

External pages

 * Internet Movie Database entry for Sam Sherry
 * The Guardian obituary for Sam Sherry
 * Musical Traditions profile page for Sam Sherry
 * YouTube footage of Sam Sherry performing