Florence Mary Naylor (born 2 April 1926) is a British-American retired variety entertainer, known for her work as a West End leading lady,[1][2] radio and television celebrity, singer, pianist, and accordionist.

Mary started singing on an orange crate to attract customers while her parents sold fruit and vegetables in the open markets across the Midlands.

Between the ages of ten and twelve, Mary, her younger sister and brother, Margaret and Ernest, starred in Nottingham's Madame Haine's Accordion Band,.

[40] By the first week of February, 1940, Mary again was touring with a newly revised version of the “Youth Takes A Bow” group on the Moss Empire circuit,[41][42] this time chaperoned by her father, Cyril “Pops” Naylor.

[43] Most times the show was under the banner, "Youth Takes A Bow[44]" during 1940, and then ”Secrets of the BBC”[45] during 1941 since most of the cast, including its young stars, were regular favorites on British radio.

The children (ages 12–17) were told by management that if the bombs started to fall after the curtain had risen, they were to keep their acts going because it was safer at that point to have the audience stay in the theatre rather than risk flying debris outside.

The "Youth Takes A Bow" segment was usually positioned in the second act of the show, with the first act consisting of big name professionals like Alice and Rosie Lloyd, Adelaide Hall, Tessie O'Shea, June Marlow, The Danny Lipton Trio, Archie Glen, George Moon & Dick Bentley, Dickie "Large Lumps" Hassett, The Iizuka Brothers, The Donna Sisters, Archie Glen, Scott Saunders, and more.

At other times, the YTAB troupe would be incorporated for a week here and there in Jack Warner's stage version of his famous wartime show, Garrison Theatre, filling in playing various parts.

In April 1942, just after her 16th birthday, Mary left the “Youth Takes A Bow” company, for the breakout ingénue role in “Scoop”[81][82] at the London’s West End Vaudeville Theatre.

In September of that year, she left the cast of “Scoop” to play the part of Vera Hasset[83] in the film, "The Man in Grey"[84] with Margaret Lockwood, James Mason, and Stewart Granger.

Starting in 1942, and continuing after the war, Mary spent a lot of her spare time entertaining the forces at the "Stage Door Canteen" in London.

Sam Browne,[171] Ernie Wise,[172] Eric Morecambe,[173] Tessie O'Shea,[174] Dickie Henderson,[175] Adelaide Hall,[176] Tommy Trinder,[177] George Black,[178] Jack Hylton,[179][180] Arthur Askey,[181] Celia Lipton[182] Lew Grade,[183] Syd Walker,[184] and Bryan Michie.

[185][186] Mary Naylor married bird-manipulator magician, Jack Kodell[187][188] on Saturday, March 7, 1953[189] at London’s Caxton Hall Registry Office, Westminster.

[197] "King of Polonia" (1938) Empire, Hackney, London;[18] "Monday Night at Seven" (1939) London, various theatres;[198] "Mr. Walker Wants To Know (1939) Touring Show;[30] "Youth Takes a Bow" (1939-1942) Touring Show; "Band Waggon" (1939) London Palladium;[199] "Scoop" (1942) London Palladium;[200][201][202]  "Best Bib and Tucker (1942-43) London Palladium;[203]   "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" (1943) Edinburgh, Scotland;[204] "On With The Show" (1944) North Pier Theatre, Blackpool;[100] "Jewel & Warriss with Mary Naylor" (1944) Blackpool Palace, Blackpool;[205] "Strike a New Note" (1943) Prince of Wales Theatre, West End;[206] "Dick Wittingham" (1943) Aston Hippodrome, Birmingham;[207] "On with the Show" (1944) North Pier, Blackpool;[208] "Hip, Hip Hooray (1945) New Opera House, Blackpool,[209][210] then Tour;[211][212] "Humpty Dumpty" (1945) Palace Theatre, Manchester;[213] Moss Empires variety tour with Sam Browne (1946 -1956);[214] Royal Variety Performance (1946 - opening act), London Palladium;[215] "Out of the Blue" (1947) Grand Theatre, Blackpool;[216][217] "Turn On the Rainbow (1947), Empire, Liverpool;[218] "Aladdin" (1947), New Theatre, Oxford;[219] "Robinson Crusoe" (1948) Hippodrome, Preston;[220] "Sam Browne and Mary Naylor Road Show" (1949) various;[221][222] "Puss in Boots" (1950) Opera House, Belfast, Northern Ireland;[223][224][225] "Puss in Boots" (1951) Empire, Leeds;[226] "Goody Two Shoes" (1952) Royal, Hanley;[227] "Champagne on Ice" (1953) Palladium, London;[228] "Maid in America", Terrace Room at the Morrison Hotel, Chicago, IL USA and on tour (1956); "Robin Hood" (1957–58) ; "Babes in the Wood" (1957) Hulme Hippodrome[229]