Tribute to 'Cheeky Chappie' Miller

A life-size bronze statue of music hall legend Max Miller is to be erected in his home town of Brighton.

Councillors have given permission for the £30,000 memorial to the ‘Cheeky Chappie’ comic in the Pavilion Gardens opposite the Theatre Royal.

Money for the statue, due to be unveiled on May 1, has been raised by the city’s Max Miller Appreciation Society, whose president is comic Roy Hudd.

Hudd, an expert on music hall performers, has said: "It is absolutely right that there should be a statue to Max. Max was Brighton's greatest export. He created the image of Brighton being a racy place where blokes could take their birds for a weekend.”

Celebrities who have donated to the fund include Engelbert Humperdinck, Bruce Forsyth, Paul Merton, Eddie Izzard and June Whitfield.

Miller, the biggest entertainer of his day, famed for reading jokes out of his ‘blue book’, was born in Brighton in 1894 and lived there until his death in 1963.

>> Max Miller Appreciation Society

Published: 7 Dec 2004