British actor Harry H. Corbett is best remembered for the single role that dominated his career: Harold Steptoe in the BBC’s popular and successful sitcom Steptoe and Son. Corbett added the “H” to his stage name to distinguish himself from the children’s entertainer Harry Corbett (creator of Sooty). He did not display any particular leaning toward comedy in his early career, which consisted both of supporting and lead roles in film and television. His bulky frame made him a natural to play tough-guy roles. Corbett appeared regularly in ABC’s groundbreaking anthology drama series, Armchair Theatre, contributing at least two performances to each season between 1957 and 1961. Notable productions included the death row drama The Last Mile (1957), directed by Philip Saville, and Eugene O’Neill’s The Emperor Jones (1958).

When creating Steptoe and Son in 1962, writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson wanted to cast straight actors, rather than comedians, in the lead roles of Harold and Albert Steptoe. Wilfrid Brambell was cast as Albert, and Corbett given the role of his son Harold. Corbett was later to claim credit for altering Galton and Simpson’s original conception by lowering the ages of these characters, making Harold a man approaching his 40s (his own age).

Albert and Harold Steptoe run the business referred to by the show’s title. Albert is a widower and Harold does most of the work. But Harold has dreams of advancement; he wants to be sophisticated, to get out of the business he is in, marry, and, most of all, get away from his father. However, these remain dreams, and he knows that his life will not change, and the struggle with his father will go on. The pilot episode, “The Offer,” ends with Harold pitifully failing to drag his belongings away to a new life on the back of a cart, a heavily symbolic scene that set the tone for the series as a whole. Over the next four seasons of Steptoe and Son, Harold had all his dreams shattered by Albert, whether it was his cultural pursuits (classical music, antiques, and foreign films) or his romantic involvements.

Harry H. Corbett brought great dramatic pathos to the part of Harold, creating a character who struck a nerve in the audience. He had ambitions and pretensions beyond his abilities and social position and was often left bitterly disappointed, but he remained a decent and honest man. Corbett enriched Galton and Simpson’s scripts and gave them a character to develop further as the series progressed. His own comic timing also developed with his character, particularly his delivery of the predictable catchphrase “You dirty old man!” when his father displayed his more earthy characteristics.

Between series, and when Galton and Simpson brought Steptoe and Son to an end in 1965, both Corbett and Brambell were sought for movie roles because of their popularity, although Corbett’s starring roles in Ladies Who Do, The Bargee, and Rattle of a Simple Man are barely remembered today. Corbett also became a regular on the chat show scene, particularly as a frequent guest on the Eamonn Andrews Show. The audience expected him to be funny and he knew it, but his failure only pointed up the fact that Harold Steptoe was his career.

Fortunately, the BBC brought Steptoe and Son back for another four seasons, in color, between 1970 and 1974, and there were two Steptoe and Son movies as well. The new episodes simply took up where the series had left off and achieved the same level of popularity and quality as before.