Charlie Vaude, a Northcote resident for many years, was a very successful live theatre and later popular radio personality and comedian before his death at his Clarke-street home on 29 October, 1942.
An archetypical “Cockney”, he was born in London circa 1882, his real name Charles Joseph Ridgway (sometimes shown as Ridgeway).
In his youth, he frequented music-halls and learned to imitate the patter and songs of leading comedians of the day. He came to Australia with his family around 1902 and after spending a couple of years as a casual labourer and pursuing an early interest in comedy theatre (which it is said his parents discouraged), he moved to Adelaide and while engaged at Broken Hill, he met Bill Barrington, a later stage partner.
He adopted the name “Vaude” from “Vaude-ville” and with Barrington, now “Bill Verne” as his “straight man”, the patter act of “Vaude and Verne” became a popular feature at Harry Rickard’s Opera House and the Tivoli circuit for many years (shown as “new artists” at Rickards in June, 1909). With his own company he later toured Queensland, and made
Rockhampton, where he leased a theatre, his headquarters.
With the new innovations of radio and “talkie” movies, Charlie recognised his type of live theatre was in decline and on his return to Melbourne, he joined the radio station 3DB in May, 1930, initially to liven up their advertising, but almost instantly shown as the station’s comedian.
He produced and starred in the station’s “Charlie Vaude’s Minstrel Show” and was a hit with on-air partner Renn Millar providing the comedy background while cricket experts deciphered telegrams arriving from Test matches in England.
The cricket broadcasts became part of Melbourne broadcasting folklore; with a highlight in the entertainment for the studio audience a large golliwog doll known as “Ricketty Kate” which rattled with eyes lit up and smoke emerging each time a wicket fell, invoking screams of “Ricketty!” and the chorus …
“When he lifts up his finger,
Don’t pout!
Just shout!
Ricketty Kate!”
…usually followed by a full refrain of “We Don’t Worry, We Don’t Care, Whose Afraid of the Big Brown Bear?” or whatever ditty was in fashion for that season. (Personal aside from the author – the broadcasts continued through most of the 1950’s and were something of a bargaining point in negotiations with Mum and Dad over bed-times – could I swap 8
o’clock or maybe in later years 9 o’clock for the first “Ricketty” of the evening – always, or course, hoping for a long partnership by the batsmen of either team to extend to the wee dark hours of perhaps 10.30)!
Vaude also combined in 1931 with journalist Charles Taylor to provide a series of reminiscences of his days on the road for the popular weekly, Table Talk.
Charlie was equally well-known and loved for the work he did for charity, in particular Melbourne hospitals in conjunction with the Coles & Garrard department store chain.
One report after he died suggested that he had raised £60,000 over the 12 years he was with 3DB. It was noted that despite being seriously ill after a major operation for cancer, Vaude on Good Friday had twice broadcast from his bed to assist the 3DB appeal for St. Vincent’s Hospital with which he had been closely associated for many years.
At the suggestion of a reader. The Herald and Weekly Times (who owned 3DB) launched the Charlie Vaude Memorial Fund which ultimately saw the permanent endowment of a memorial cot in the Children’s Hospital, (£500); a presentation cot in perpetuity at the Orthopaedic Section of the Children’s Hospital (£100), and Charlie Vaude’s “Little Pals Fund” which provided comforts, outings and assistance to orphans, sick children and the aged poor (£20).
Vaude settled in Northcote around 1934-35, firstly at 345 St. George’s Road (between Woolton-avenue and Shaftesbury-parade) and later at “Cherwell”, 197 Clarke-street where he died on 29 October 1942.
As Ridgway, Charlie was married twice: on 25 September 1911 at St Jude’s Anglican Church, Carlton, to 17-year-old Lilias May Roots (d. 6 November, 1931) , an actress, and on 5 October 1935 at Northcote with Presbyterian forms to Leila Halliday Sach, a dancer.
As well as his second wife, he was survived by a son broadly described in obituaries as “somewhere in Australia with the A.I.F.”
A.I.F. archives show Charles Albert Joseph VAUDE-RIDGWAY as VX64378 enlisting at the Royal Park camp and born 8 December, 1915 in Carlton; he served locally as a Staff sergeant with 2/15 Light Field Ambulance and was discharged 6 December, 1944.
Leila Vaude is shown in directories at 197 Clarke-street up until 1955, but details of her death have yet to be traced under VAUDE, RIDGWAY (RIDGEWAY) or SACH.
Around the time of his birth, Charlie senior was shown at 319 Lygon-street (later 86 Canning-street) when a brother, George Albert enlisted in July, 1915.
The feature image shows “Ricketties”, “The Best of the Tests“, a 72-page booklet produced just after the Australian’s 1938 Tour of England. There were probably other similar publications for other tours, all highly collectable today!
Clockwise left : Charlie Vaude; Ricketty Kate; 3DB’s overnight cricket coverage in the 1930 – Vaude (left), Renn Millar (centre), former Australian captain Jack Ryder (right) and journalist Frank Russell (seated and complete with monocle); Charlie Vaude as pictured by “Reynolds”, Table Talk, 21 August, 1930
