Will Hay

William Thomson Hay was an English comedian best known for playing authority figures with comic failings in several films, most notably as a schoolmaster. His film Oh, Mr Porter! (1937), made by Gainsborough Pictures, is often cited as the supreme British-produced film-comedy, and in 1938 he was the third highest-grossing star in the UK. Many comedians have acknowledged him as a major influence. Hay was also a keen amateur astronomer.