Johnny Beattie leads the singing at the Gaiety Theatre, Ayr, where he was a favourite entertainer over many years - like other well-known names, especially at the festive season.
The theatre has been home to panto stars, including Sydney Devine (Cinderella, 1985), Frank Carson and Dean Park (Mother Goose, 1984), and Una McLean (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1994).
But Beattie made the theatre his own three Christmases in a row in Dick Whittington (1988), Mother Goose (1989) and Cinderella (1990), 30 years into a career that began in amateur dramatics and stand-up comedy. It included roles in much-loved TV series such as Johnny Beattie's Saturday Night Show, A Grand Tour, Scotch and Wry and Rab C Nesbitt, with his final part being in soap River City. The versatile performer retired in 2015 after 60 years in showbusiness.
The Gaiety Theatre's festive star this year, Sleeping Beauty, has been forced into a longer-than-expected snooze, but the show is due to awake in time for next year's panto season when it is hoped the times will be more like normal.
The ingenuity of producers and performers has been much praised this year, with pantomimes filmed in back gardens and singers serenading their audience on doorsteps to keep the theatre alive in some form. Those involved in the performing arts have been greatly tested by the times, but they have been well taught by their predecessors.
Glasgow-born Beattie died in July, aged 93, though his work will live long in the memory along with the traditions and ethos he helped pass on to the next generations to tread the boards. Beattie and his colleagues provided the firm foundations on which theatre, including pantomime, will rebuild once the current crisis is over.
Until then, all that can be done is to marvel at the resilience of the theatre and performers, support them as best we can and look forward to when we can again take our seats as the lights dim and the curtain goes up to reveal entertainers safely back where they belong.
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