PERFORMERS: ERIC MORECAMBE & ERNIE WISE(BIOGRAPHY by Peter Tatchell, from LAUGH MAGAZINE #2. Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise were the most successful and best- loved double act in the history of British comedy. In their peak years of the 1. Christmas special nearly half the country watched the two men who had become Royal favourites and national treasures. Eric (born John Eric Bartholomew in 1. Ernie (born Ernest Wiseman six months earlier, in 1. Visit the The Morecambe and Wise Show page to find out more about the show. The Morecambe & Wise Show: Watch full length episodes & video clips. Read the latest The Morecambe & Wise Show episode guides & recaps, fan reviews, news, and much more. The Morecambe and Wise's Christmas Show on BBC in 1977 scored one of the highest ever audiences in British television history with more than 20 million viewers. The Morecambe & Wise Show Cast: Ernie Wise, Eric Morecambe, Millicent Martin, Arthur Tolcher, Dick Mills, Janet Webb, Kenny Ball, Sid Green. From the 1971 Christmas Show, this is possibly the most popular Morecambe and Wise sketch of all. But too often it is shown incomplete, starting from the. Buy Morecambe & Wise - Christmas Specials . Free delivery on eligible orders. Morecambe and Wise, described as 'the most illustrious, and the best-loved, double act that Britain has ever produced', first achieved their phenomenal television. England. They first met as performers in the stage production Youth Takes A Bow in 1. Eric’s mother Sadie eventually taking charge of both youngsters and suggesting they form a double act. It lasted until Eric’s death over forty years later. Taking inspiration from their movie heroes Laurel and Hardy and the wordplays of the more recently successful Abbott and Costello, the duo was soon featured in the West End production Strike A New Note and were able to witness the nightly routines of the legendary Sid Field and his straight man Jerry Desmonde. Field’s “overnight success” with the show had taken years of hard work to achieve, and Morecambe and Wise would spend an equally long period climbing their way up the show business ladder. After a short break for war service (Ernie in the Merchant Marine and Eric down the mines) the pair struggled to secure dates with touring shows and in variety theatres but by the early 1. At the same time, the B. B. C. The future Till Death Us Do Part writer saw enormous potential in Eric and Ernie, and was probably the first to create material that concentrated on their characters. A year later they were back on B. B. C. Upon their return Eric and Ernie were shocked to note the change the coming of commercial television had caused to to the variety stage with theatres closing across the country as audiences stayed home to watch the electronic box in their living rooms. With their futures uncertain, they hired a new agent, Billy Marsh, whose drive and expertise soon had them booked for dozens of appearances on such shows as Star Time, Saturday Spectacular and Sunday Night At The London Palladium. The most tumultuous decade of their careers had begun and Morecambe And Wise were on the threshold of national stardom. Initial approaches to Lew Grade for a series at A. T. V. But in 1. 96. Grade suddenly changed his mind and agreed to sign them for a prime weekly timeslot. For their part, Eric and Ernie insisted the show engage the writers Sid Green and Dick Hills (who’d been recommended to them by Jimmy Jewell and Ben Warriss). The first episode of Two Of A Kind (in October 1. Fearing a repeat of the Running Wild failure, Morecambe And Wise decided to take a stand but, in a moment of serendipity, Actors Equity suddenly went out on strike. The result was a much less cluttered presentation with Eric and Ernie (who, as members of the Variety Artists’ Federation, were still able to appear) squarely in the spotlight. There was even a touch of irony with writers Sid and Dick forced to appear as bit players in some sketches. As the series progressed, audience figures increased and the two north country comics (after twenty years together) finally had a hit on their hands. Each half hour edition of Two Of A Kind had a strong variety flavour, including a band number and a vocal spot to separate a couple of lengthy comedy routines, with shorter pieces at the opening and closing. By the second season, the following June, the show was moved to a regular Saturday evening timeslot where it stayed for all but its last A. T. V. In February 1. Australian television screens, with the A. B. C. Thus began a strenuous period of transatlantic flights which would continue until May 1. Morecambe And Wise’s television popularity led to their 1. James Bond phenomenon, The Intelligence Men (also known as Spylarks). Written by Hills and Green (who could also be seen in brief walk- ons), it was an enjoyable if unexceptional outing that made enough money to be followed by That Riviera Touch a couple of years later and The Magnificent Two in 1. After five increasingly successful seasons on A. T. V., Lew Grade capitalized on Eric and Ernie’s ongoing exposure to the Americans (via The Ed Sullivan Show) by signing a deal with the U. S. ABC Network to screen their new season of one hour programmes which, as a result, would be made in colour. Rechristened Picadilly Palace there, they were scheduled as the summer replacement for the Hollywood Palace timeslot, and aired several months before the ten shows could finally seen by British viewers (where I. T. V. His recovery was slow and frustrating and for a time there was doubt whether the act would be able to continue. When doctors finally gave Eric the go ahead to return to work (to a great sigh of relief from Ernie and the B. B. C.) there was a further complication – contractual problems with scriptwriters Green and Hills had resulted in their signing an exclusive contract back at A. T. V. Their unlikely replacement, Eddie Braben, was best known for supplying one- liners in various Ken Dodd shows, but his contribution to the careers of Morecambe And Wise from that point on turned out to be monumental. Far from merely supplying jokes for the team, Braben reshaped their public personas, replacing the previous comic and straight man roles with humorous character roles for Ernie as well as Eric. The little man with the short, fat, hairy legs was now portrayed as miserly, pompous and childlike whenever the subject of sex. And he was now a writer of gramatically- incorrect plays . The addition of Braben and producer John Ammonds took Morecambe and Wise to the next level. To lessen Eric’s workload following the heart attack , the B. B. C. As before, the format included a traditional variety mix of guest vocalists, a regular offering by Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen, a handful of short blackouts (often involving the antics of a couple of monks) and lengthier pieces set in the living room or bedroom of the flat where they supposedly lived. The highlight of that first programme was a “play what Ernie wrote” about King Arthur, with movie great Peter Cushing taking the lead role, and launching an ongoing saga in pursuit of payment for the appearance. Subsequent participants in those early Ernest Wise theatrical offerings included Juliet Mills and Edward Woodward. Also seen at the end of each programme was the ample figure of Janet Webb who (for no apparent reason) suddenly burst forth on to centre stage waving and blowing kisses at the audience. The series was an enormous success and the only downside to the team’s comeback was that year’s festive special, which was almost abandoned with both Eric and Ernie laid low with flu, leaving producers to stitch together a handful of pre- recorded segments and musical items by guest stars. In subsequent years The Morecambe And Wise Christmas Show would become essential viewing for half the nation and a ratings goliath but that first venture was a travesty. Despite being screened by Britain’s third channel (which could not be received by large numbers of viewers), subsequent BBC1 repeats ensured Morecambe And Wise were not lost to those late- 1. A dozen new episodes were shown throughout 1. Fenella Fielding, Diane Cilento, Ian Carmichael and Richard Greene. There was also a special half hour edition entered for the prestigious Montreux festival and a Christmas offering. It was a remarkable turnaround. A heart attack and a change of writers had propelled Eric and Ernie to the top of British television. The golden era of Morecambe And Wise was underway. The fourteen editions produced throughout 1. Guests included Flora Robson, Arthur Lowe (and cameo walk ons from the Dad’s Army cast), Francis Matthews, Keith Michel, John Mills and Glenda Jackson as Cleopatra. And that Christmas saw Shirley Bassey in boots and Andre Previn conducting Grieg’s Piano Concerto. It was also the year Janet Webb began thanking everyone for watching her little show and loving us all. After twelve months out of the spotlight, the 1. Christmas special brought back some favourite guest stars and featured a throwaway jibe about their friend Des O’Connor during a World War 1 sketch. It was the start of a celebrated fued that would last to the end of their career and include a memorable retaliation by Des on their 1. Christmas Show. Throughout their A. T. V. By the 1. 97. Ernest Maxin was creating occasional production numbers which sprinkled humorous bits amongst the song and dance routines. Along with the historical sendups, famous guests and the sketches set in living room or bedroom of their flat, these musical offerings would soon become some of their most fondly remembered work. By the end of 1. 97. Maxin had replaced Ammonds as the show’s producer and the consequent increased musical content lead to the classic pieces where they prepared breakfast to The Stripper and parodied Singin’ In The Rain. Their Christmas editions of 1. The Liar Song (with Diana Rigg) and Elton John trying in vain to teach Eric how to sing Play A Simple Melody. Then, the incredibly popular festive edition of 1. B. B. C. A daring conclusion to the show featured the unexpected return of Elton John for a vocal after the end credits had rolled. Though unknown at the time, the careers of Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise had peaked with that final B. B. C. Weeks later, newspaper headlines announced the pair had signed with Thames Television and were headed back to I. T. V. A major factor in negotiations had been the desire by Eric and Ernie to return to the big screen, with Thames (unlike the B. B. C.) then producing movies as well as TV shows. But the fates began working against the team. Writer Eddie Braben was not willing to move across with them and the duo’s first two programmes (aired as one hour specials in late 1. Then, in early 1. Eric suffered more life threatening heart troubles and was out of action for the whole year, being barely able to take part in a predominantly talk programme with David Frost that Christmas.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
December 2016
Categories |