My Comedy Heroes
A list of people who I have grown to absolutely love and adore because of one reason and one reason only...they make me laugh in stitches!
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Eric Morecambe was born on 14 May 1926 in Buxton Street, Morecambe, Lancashire, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for The Morecambe & Wise Show (1968), Night Train to Murder (1984) and The Intelligence Men (1965). He was married to Joan Morecambe. He died on 28 May 1984 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, UK.Along with Ernie Wise (Morecambe and Wise) they were two of the greatest comics that I grew to adore because of their close and wonderful comedic relationship. BBC shows were the best!!!- Actor
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Ronnie Barker's remarkable versatility as a performer can be traced back to his time in repertory theatre, where he was able to play a wide range of roles and develop his talent for accents, voices and verbal dexterity. It was during this time that he met Glenn Melvyn, who taught him how to stammer (something he would later use to great effect in the sitcom Open All Hours (1976)). Melvyn also gave Ronnie his break into television by offering him a role in I'm Not Bothered (1956). During the 1960s, Ronnie became well-established in radio, providing multiple voices for "The Navy Lark" and working with comedy great Jon Pertwee. He also became a regular face on television, appearing in The Frost Report (1966) (perhaps most memorably in a sketch about Britain's class system, with John Cleese and Ronnie Corbett) and playing character roles on The Saint (1962) and The Avengers (1961).
In 1971, Ronnie teamed up with Ronnie Corbett again, this time for a BBC sketch series called The Two Ronnies (1971). This series proved enormously popular, continuing until the late 1980s. In addition to "The Two Ronnies", Barker starred on the popular BBC sitcoms Porridge (1974) (as a cockney prisoner) and Open All Hours (1976) (as a stammering Northern shopkeeper). In fact, only Leonard Rossiter could be said to have rivaled him during this time for the crown of British television's most popular comedy star. In 1982, he revived silent comedy in By the Sea (1982). Despite his extrovert performances on television, Barker remained a quiet, retiring individual in his personal life, much preferring to spend time with his family rather than mix with the celebrity crowd. This humility, combined with memories of his extraordinary abilities, meant that he continued to be greatly respected by his fellow professionals. In a BAFTA special shown by the BBC in 2004, stars as diverse as Gene Wilder, Peter Kay and Peter Hall paid tribute to his contribution to comedy and British television in general. Ronnie Barker died on 3 October 2005 after suffering from heart problems.The greatest comedy character actor that ever existed in the UK! His performances in The Two Ronnies, Open All Hours and in particular, Porridge were so believable and at the same time very VERY funny!- Actor
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Mel Blanc, known as "The Man of Thousand Voices" is regarded as the most prolific actor to ever work in Hollywood with over a thousand screen credits. He developed and performed nearly 400 distinct character voices with precision and a uniquely expressive vocal range. The legendary specialist from radio programs, television series, cartoon shorts and movie was rarely seen by his audience but his voice characterizations were famous around the world.
Blanc under exclusive contract until 1960 to Warner Brothers voiced virtually every major character in the Warner Brothers' Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies cartoon pantheon. Characters including Porky Pig, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Tweety Bird, Sylvester the Cat, Wile E. Coyote,The Roadrunner, Yosemite Sam, Sam the Sheepdog, Taz the Tazmanian Devil, Speedy Gonzales, Marvin the Martian, Foghorn Leghorn, Pepé la Pew, Charlie the Dog, Blacque Jacque Shellacque, Pussyfoot, Private Snafu among others were voiced by Blanc.
After 1960, Blanc continued to work for Warner Brothers but began to work for other companies once his exclusive contract ended. He worked for Hanna-Barbera voicing characters including Barney Rubble, Dino the Dinosaur, Cosmo Spacely, Secret Squirrel, Captain Caveman, Speed Buggy, Wally Gator among others. He provided vocal effects for Tom & Jerry in the mid 1960's working with fellow Warner Bros. alum, Chuck Jones at what would become MGM Animation. In the mid 1960's, Blanc originated and voiced Toucan Sam for the Kellogg's Fruit Loops commercials. He would later go to originate and voice Twiki for Buck Rogers and Heathcliff in the late 1970's and early 1980's.To me a childhood favourite, because mainly of his amazing voices for some of my favourite cartoon characters of all time. Including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester and Tweety, Yosemite Sam and Barney Gumble!- Writer
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Ken Dodd was born on 8 November 1927 in Knotty Ash, Liverpool, England, UK. He was a writer and actor, known for Hamlet (1996), Cruella (2021) and The Ken Dodd Laughter Show (1979). He was married to Anne Dodd. He died on 11 March 2018 in Knotty Ash, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK.My favourite stand-up comic and I was thrilled when I shook this man's hand, I felt honoured that I shook hands with one of the funniest and outragoues stand-ups of the country.- Actor
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The Goodies is known for Timeshift (2002), Britain's Favourite Christmas Songs (2011) and Shang-a-Lang (1975).Three of the funniest sitcom/sketch performers I think I've seen. Due to their cartoony performances which are all equally funny and brilliantly shown.- Actor
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Jerome "Curly" Howard, the rotund, bald Stooge with the high voice was the most popular member of The Three Stooges. His first stage experience was as a comedic conductor for the Orville Knapp Band in 1928. Curly joined The Three Stooges in 1932, replacing his brother Shemp Howard. He made more than 100 film appearances with the team before a massive stroke on the set of Half-Wits Holiday (1947) forced him to retire. He recuperated enough to appear in Hold That Lion! (1947) and hoped to eventually return to the team. But another series of strokes deteriorated his health until he died at the age of 48.My personal favourite out of the three stooges, because he was stupidest and most innocent of the group which is what I found absolutely hilarious about him"- Actor
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The tale of Freddie Starr is a long twisting turning plot of "rags to riches" fame, ending in near destitution and self destruction.
In the end his immense success led to absolute failure. If things had developed a little more slowly for him this unique talent could have been one of the true heroes of British comedy...
By far the most outrageous mainstream UK comedian of his generation Fredie Starr was (and to a degree still is) a unique comedy talent of unequalled popularity.
Reknowned for being a loose canon, audiences could never predict what madcap stunt Starr would pull off next. Invariably audiences were the target of his trademark uncouth or simply outrageous stunts.
But while some comedians would have been heckled or derided for such stunts Starr always got away with it. And that was part of his appeal, he was a good looking, charming, lovable rogue with a twinkle in his eyes and audiences loved him!
The story starts in the 1970s when Starr began his short-lived television career on the ITV show Who Do You Do (1972) as an impressionist. At this time he was also a highly popular stand up comedian and variety act on the comedy club circuit. His TV exposure meant more and more people got to know about him and naturally this lead to larger audiences buying tickets to see his variety shows.
The variety acts he performed showcased his stand-up prowess, and no-one could touch him. He had that rare ability to just walk on stage and make people laugh without even saying a word.
Variety was his forte and as well as great stand-up, he was a highly accomplished singer. A most animated and energetic man, Starr was both a visual spectacle and a skillful wordsmith.
By the mid 1970s Freddie became a Superstar in the UK. His handsome good looks coupled with an amazing singing voice won him the adoration of thousands of loyal fans. His popularity acquired him a small fortune and he found himself working flat out 50 weeks of the year to sell-out audiences.
During the mid to late seventies he continued working hard, keeping to punishing and relentless performance schedules. His popularity never wavered, but his enthusiasm did. His workload had taken its toll - he wasn't used to all the fame and fortune and he quickly grew tired and fatigued. His personal life began to suffer, too, and this is where his career took a dramatic downward turn.
By the early eighties he had lost that certain spark he once had. Television work started to become less frequent because his outrageous stunts concerned many television producers who thought he was just too much of a loose cannon to show to a British family audience.
Luckily his popularity never dwindled on the comedy circuit and his loyal fan base continued to pack out theaters and clubs around the UK to support him despite his 'lack of of sparkle'.
But it wasn't over yet. By the mid-eighties Freddie made a great comeback! A clever publicity stunt which received masses of media attention helped to kick him back into he public eye.
On 13 March 1986, The Sun tabloid newspaper published one of its most famous front-page headlines "Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster". Lea La Salle, a model, claimed that he had put her live hamster (called "Supersonic") in between two pieces of bread and eaten it after he arrived home and asked her to cook him supper. This was, of course, a complete fallacy, concocted by publicist Max Clifford to promote Starr's forthcoming tour, but nevertheless it caused outrage - something Freddie does best - and amazingly instead of decreasing his popularity it raised his profile and he was soon guesting on talk show after talk show and more and more people packed into clubs and theaters to watch him perform on stage. In his autobiography Unwrapped (2001) he denied the hamster incident, pointing out that he had been vegetarian since he was a child.
Freddie was then once again offered his own TV show, another great chance to get back into the limelight but alas his antics were again just too much for TV producers and after one series he was axed.
In the 90s he was offered the chance to do An Audience with Freddie Starr (1996) on ITV. And what a good move it was - Freddie turned in an amazing 'tour de force' performance - 12 million viewers tuned in to watch. Critics loved it. In fact, it was so popular that ITV asked him to do another "Audience With" which he duly accepted.
But his second show was very poor, after halfway through the show he abandoned his script written by top comedians especially for him and just regurgitated old material he'd been doing years before. As a result the audience cringed with embarrassment. He just wasn't funny!
In 1996 Starr was again given his own TV show, but it just wasn't modern enough. The material featured just didn't appeal to a now younger audience and after one series the programme was axed.
TV work since dried up but he was still a very popular comedian on the comedy circuit. He divided his time between the UK and Spain where he owned a large villa.
With an internal self-destruct button which seems to be pressed just when things are going great, Starr always seems to somehow close the door on good opportunities that come his way and that's a terrible shame.
His comic genius was brilliant but it could have been legendary, and perhaps if things were different he could have been something much much greater than he is today. Then again the brightest "stars" shine for the shortest time and who knows maybe just maybe he will make a comeback!
He was found dead in his Spanish house on 9 May 2019.Although I felt he wasn't as good in his sketch shows, I thought when he did his impressions or came on as himself (Des O'Connor's shows in particular) I nearly DIED laughing!- Leonard Rossiter was born on October 21st, 1926 in Liverpool. Unable to afford to go to university, he worked in an insurance office until he was 27, when he joined Preston repertory company and made his professional stage debut in "The Gay Dog". After Preston, he starred in productions at Wolverhampton, Salisbury and The Old Vic Company at Bristol's Theatre Royal. In 1962, he made his first big-screen appearance in A Kind of Loving (1962), followed by other films throughout the 1960s, including Billy Liar (1963) and TV appearances such as Z Cars (1962), The Avengers (1961) and Steptoe and Son (1962). His portrayal of "Adolf Hitler" in the 1969 play, "The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui", made him a West End star. His roles as "Rigsby" in Rising Damp (1974) and the title role in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1976) made him a household name, and his Cinzano commercials with Joan Collins were comic masterpieces. A keen sportsman, he excelled in squash, tennis and football. He was also a connoisseur of fine wines. His busy career came to a tragically premature end on October 5th 1984, just sixteen days short of his 58th birthday. During a performance of Joe Orton's play "Loot", Leonard suffered a heart attack in his dressing room. He was married to actress Gillian Raine and had a daughter, Camilla.One of Britain's finest character actors. His Rigsby, Reggie Perrin and other amazing characters made me respect him highly as a great, superb actor and very very funny as well.
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After leaving the army Tommy Cooper took up show business in 1947 and so started his long career of comedy derived around visual humour, magic tricks that didn't work and his trademark red fez, a prop that started from his days in the army. The BBC described him as an "Unattractive young man with an extremely unfortunate appearance" in an audition for new talent.
While making a series of 28 shows for ITV over a period of eight years, he suffered his first heart attack which forced him to give up his love for cigars. Tommy collapsed on the stage of Her Majesty's Theatre in April 1984, live on air. Ten minutes later he had died. He was later cremated and ashes scattered at Mortlake Crematorium, London.Eric Morecambe said "he made you laugh before he opened his mouth" and that is very very true. In fact, all he had to do was say one word and you were in hysteria immediately. That's how great he was!- Writer
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Les Dawson was born on 2 February 1931 in Manchester, England, UK. He was a writer and actor, known for Demob (1993), The Loner (1975) and Sounds Like Les Dawson (1974). He was married to Tracy Dawson and Meg Dawson. He died on 10 June 1993 in Manchester, England, UK.A giant in TV Comedy. Famous for his classic sketches with Roy Barrowclough, the piano and the mother-in-law gags! Truly one of the country's late, great heroes of comedy!