‘Trinder's the Name’: Tommy Trinder and the Art of Self-Promotion

Abstract

One would not expect someone who proposed to write an autobiography with the title The Man I Love to be backwards in coming forward. Indeed, such was Tommy Trinder’s knack for self-promotion that in 1951 John Bull magazine noted, with a degree of admiration, that ‘if Trinder were asked his two favourite words, he would almost certainly say “Tommy’’ and “Trinder’’’ (Ellis 1951: 12). As a highlyregarded comedian, variety performer and film actor, Trinder spent much of his working life ensuring that his name remained in the public consciousness, not just as the star of a particular film or stage show, but as a brand that stood apart from, and in turn underpinned, his live and cinematic performances. While others have noted Trinder’s interest in self-promotion – John Fisher, for example, identifies his ‘unabashed flair for publicity’ (1973: 178), this article will explore in greater depth Trinder’s efforts to maintain a high profile during the Second World War, a period in which he reached the height of his fame and cemented his reputation as one of Britain’s most recognisable comedians. However, this was also a time when Trinder’s rampant egocentricity might be understood to be at odds with the spirit of communality and consensus commonly suggested to have dominated many elements of British culture. Looking in particular at his role as the eponymous gastronome in the Ministry of Information (MoI) short Eating Out with Tommy Trinder (1941), and the advertising hoardings he paid to have designed and displayed, I will investigate the nature of Trinder’s relentless