Declared unfit to serve in the Second World War because of the removal of a tuberculosis-infected kidney,[4] he taught the harmonica to troops in a BBC radio series, which ran for 42 weeks, beginning in 1940.
A one-off special for BBC Television in 1956, entitled Here's Archie, was written by Wolfe, but still featured Chesney with his harmonica act.
It starred Sid James as a dishonest property developer, with Dennis Price as his partner, but lasted for only a single series of 13 episodes.
[14] Around the same time, the two men created The Rag Trade (1961–63), starring Peter Jones as Harold Fenner, ungenerous head of Fenner Fashions, Miriam Karlin as the shop steward, Paddy, and Reg Varney as the foreman trying to mediate the conflict between employer and employed in a London East End sweat-shop.
[17] Rejected by Associated-Rediffusion, who thought factory workers would not watch it, the pitch was picked up by Frank Muir and Denis Norden who were then comedy advisers for BBC Television.
[9] Unusually for the time, the series featured strong female roles,[18] who it has been said gained the best lines, and it was a popular and critical success, being watched by more than 11 million viewers.
[2] Chesney and Wolfe repeated their success with the BBC sitcom Meet the Wife (1964–66) starring Thora Hird and Freddie Frinton.
[6] Rejected by the BBC,[3] it was commissioned by Frank Muir, now Head of Entertainment at the then recently established London Weekend Television, who said it was "rather at the baked beans end of my menu".
[21] Doris Hare was his Mum (originally played by Cicely Courtneidge),[22] Michael Robbins his brother-in-law Arthur, Anna Karen as his plain sister Olive.
As David Stubbs wrote for The Guardian in 2008, Grant and Varney were playing "two conspicuously middle-aged men" pursuing "an endless array of improbably available 'dolly birds'".
[4] When On the Buses ended, Wolfe and Chesney followed it with Don't Drink the Water (1974–75), which starred Stephen Lewis's Blakey character abroad in Spain with his sister (played by Pat Coombs).
Originally it starred Dad's Army actor James Beck (who died in 1973, after recording the second series) with Jo Rowbottom and Jonathan Cecil also appearing.
[9] It led to a sequel, featuring the characters played by Arthur Mullard and Queenie Watts moving into a council house, entitled Yus, My Dear (1976).
[26] In 1977, following the BBC's rejection of a new pilot episode, The Rag Trade was revived by LWT for the ITV network, with Peter Jones and Miriam Karlin returning; it lasted for two series.
[7][15] Karlin, however, encouraged to return to the role by a promise from Chesney and Wolfe of a more ethnically diverse cast, ultimately regretted her involvement, believing the sole black character was merely a token.
[29] Chesney was no longer a regular harmonica player in his last years; he preferred to play jazz on his grand piano at home.
[5] Wolfe died on Sunday 18 December 2011, aged 89, three days after sustaining head injuries from a fall at a care home in London.