<P> Sandy Powell MBE (30 January 1900--26 June 1982) was an English comedian best known for his radio work of the 1930s and for his catchphrase Can You Hear Me, Mother? . He first said this in a theatre in Coventry . Fifty years later, deciding he needed a rest from the business (he planned a cruise around the world with his wife), he again said it in a Coventry theatre, for the last time . </P> <P> Born Albert Arthur Powell in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England in 1900, he attended White's school in Masbrough where he helped his mother (stage name of Lily le Maine) to put on a marionette show . At age nine, she put him in a velvet suit with a lace collar and he went on stage and sang . After he left school he became a music hall entertainer, often wearing a kilt in the guise of a Scottish comedian . During this part of his career he was associated with the singer Gracie Fields, and released several records where he collaborated with her . </P>

Whose catchphrase was can you hear me mother