Thomas Edward Trinder (24 March 1909 – 10 July 1989) was an English stage, screen and radio comedian whose catchphrase was "You lucky people!".

Described by cultural historian Matthew Sweet as "a cocky, front-of-cloth variety turn", he was one of the United Kingdom's foremost entertainers during the Second World War.

Trinder's singing act won the contest and when collecting his award, he was approached by Will Murray who recruited him for his Casey's Court juvenile comedy show.

[5] After a few years with Casey's Court, Trinder then joined a dancing act called Phil Rees' Stable Lads.

[5] By 1926, the 17-year-old Trinder was the star of Archie Pitt's travelling variety comedy shows, often appearing at the Queen's Theatre, Poplar, London.

[9] Trinder's stage persona was confident and cheeky with what historian Matthew Sweet has described as a "transcendental self-belief" typified by his "you lucky people!"

To abolish deliberately the proscenium, to get down among the audience, treat individual members of it with easy familiarity, pinch their cigarettes and chocolates and to be loved for doing it... well, I have seen other artists try something like it, and their reward has been the frozen face and the indignant murmur.

[12] In July 1939, Trinder starred alongside Arthur Askey in Jack Hylton's stage version of the BBC's radio comedy series Band Waggon at the London Palladium.

[14] He performed for British armed forces personnel as part of ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association) and would joke that the organisation’s name stood for Every Night Something Atrocious.

[17] When appearing in George Black's musical revue Happy and Glorious in 1944, he arranged for large posters to be displayed across London bearing the slogan "If it's laughter you're after, Trinder's the name".

[21] It was Trinder's most successful comedy film[21] and one of its featured songs "All Over The Place" (words by Frank Eyton; music by Noel Gay) was among the most popular of the war.

He also took straight acting parts, playing an army driver in charge of a gang of French refugee children in The Foreman Went to France (1942) and a AFS fireman in The Bells Go Down (1943).

Bitter Springs (1950) has been described as Trinder's last significant film and features the comedian as a failing travelling conjuror who makes a new life as a stockman in the Australian Outback.

[30] Having offended the managing director of ATV, Val Parnell, and his deputy, Lew Grade, on multiple occasions, Trinder was dropped after the end of the series.

[1][26] He was replaced by Bruce Forsyth, a younger comedian widely considered similar to Trinder who had previously appeared as a guest on the show.

[37] Trinder never fully warmed to the medium of television, believing that the amount of daily rehearsal sapped performances of their spontaneity.

The Daily Mail sports columnist J. L. Manning described Trinder's move as "a bold, brave and sensible application of soccer’s New Deal".

[40] During his chairmanship, Trinder continued to perform in provincial theatres, pantomime and holiday camps[26] and jokes about Fulham became a regular part of his act.

[53] In later years, Trinder performed in pantomime, appeared in holiday camps and worked as a warm-up act for Tyne Tees Television in Newcastle.

[1][54] One notable latter-day television appearance was in a 1979 edition of The Old Boy Network (BBC2), with Trinder performing his act at Great Yarmouth's Windmill Theatre and presenting a condensed history of his life and career.

[6] The same year, he came out of stage retirement to make a final appearance at the London Palladium in a variety show celebrating the founding of BBC local radio.

Among the tributes, Ernie Wise described Trinder as "one of the best ad lib comedians we have ever produced – he was in the same class as Max Miller".

[1] After the couple split, Trinder married Gwyn (Toni) Lancelyn Green and moved to a large private estate, Burwood Park in Hersham, Surrey.

The campaign received support from fellow comics Tim Minchin, Alan Davies, Jason Manford and Viz co-founder Simon Donald.