Buried in Artists Corner of Streatham Cemetery, South London, amongst hundreds of music hall stars.
Father of Will Hay Jr..
He kept a launch on Oslo Fjord in Norway.
His love of astronomy since boyhood led to his discovery on August 3rd 1933 of a spot on Saturn which attracted widespread attention at the time. He was a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) and a member of the British Astronomy Association. An old friend, Dr. W.H. Steavenson represented the RAS at his funeral.
In 1918 he joined the Fred Karno comedy troupe. Will Hay played Nosey Parker in the Karno revue Nosey Knows which toured Britain until the end of 1918. Will Hay then starred in the Karno revue Moonstruck which toured Britian from December 1918 to March 1920.Other former members of the Karno troupe include Stan Laurel and Charles Chaplin, both of whom left the company in 1913.
In 1942 he became a sub-lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR), Special Branch, as an instructor on navigation and astronomy to the Sea Cadets Corps. He was awarded a star for his work. He also made the short Go to Blazes (1942) in which he showed how to deal with incendiary bombs.
Off stage he had a great interest in flying and was one of the first private aircraft owners in the United Kingdom.
Will and his wife separated in 1935 after 27 years of marriage, but never divorced because she was a Roman Catholic.