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The names of over 1000 comedians feature on the carpet. Over 80% of these comedians performed in the town and range from global stars such as Mae West, Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin through to contemporary performers such as Jo Brand and Johnny Vegas.
Gordon Young and Andy Altmann are indebted to the following people for their kind support: Barry Band, David Drummond, John Fisher and Graham McCann who helped with the research, and Mike Nicholson who wrote the biographies you can find below.
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TOMMY COOPER
(1921–1984)
Tommy was to be a true comedy giant, at six foot four inches– even without his fez!
As a sickly premature baby he was helped by a move from industrial South Wales to his mother’s native Devon, where he acquired his distinctive West Country burr. A fascination with magic started with the gift of a conjuring set when he was eight. Just like that. Called up from his shipwright’s job in 1940, he eventually joined a NAAFI party and entertained the troops in North Africa. There – where he supposedly borrowed his first fez from a passing waiter – began a deceptively clever act; a mix of comedy and magic.
Certainly his size – the height, the huge feet – and apparent confusion – getting the tricks chaotically wrong for effect (though he was later a respected member of the Magic Circle) – made for a unique and beloved stage persona. While Tommy worked hard through the twilight years of the post-war variety circuit, he really struck gold – despite the early scepticism of producers – as a star of the new medium of television, beginning in 1948 for the BBC talent show ‘New To You’.
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FRANKIE HOWERD
(1917–1992)
Frankie (born Francis) – throughout a career of spectacular ups and downs – perfected a masterful skill for the raisedeyebrow double-take, the scandalised digression and an intimate gossip with his audience (‘Oooh, Missus!’) whether through screen or in the theatre.
The son of a soldier, he may have been born in York (and in 1917, not 1922, as he later claimed – cheeky Francis!), but actually grew up in South London. Stage aspirations crushed after a failed RADA audition, he trod the boards anyway – in khaki – entertaining fellow troops in the Second World War.
Home once again, stage tours led to his burgeoning career on radio, starting with the BBC’s legendary ‘Variety Bandbox’ in 1946. His 1950s and 60s writers were a stellar roll-call in themselves: Galton and Simpson, Eric Sykes and Johnny Speight; and his parallel film career included a cameo in the classic Ealing Comedy ‘The Ladykillers’ as well as occasional membership of the ‘Carry On’ team.
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MORECAMBE AND WISE
ERIC (1926–1984), ERN (1925–1999)
For two Northern lads from either side of the Pennines, steeped in the wind and rain, Eric Bartholomew (born in Morecambe) and Ernie Wise (born in Leeds) brought sunshine to millions of fans during their long careers.
Future stardom on stage, radio, TV and big screen – their popularity crossing generations and classes, with OBEs awarded in 1976 – lay far ahead as they struggled through early years of showbiz graft as ‘Morecambe and Wise’. The big leap into TV proved particularly hard – their chemistry was ‘lost in translation’ to the new medium – but from the 1960s their presence became a constant, in ITV’s ‘Two of a Kind’ (writers Dick Hills and Sid Green) and then the BBC’s ‘The Morecambe and Wise Show’.
In fact, by the 1970s their legendary Christmas specials – scripted by the prolific Eddie Braben, produced by John Ammonds and choreographed by Ernest Maxin – defined the holiday mood of the country. The audience, numbering tens of millions, certainly made it clear what they thought of it so far. A debt to the long, hard years of variety – their roots in the boarding houses and small theatres – is clear in these shows: the ‘front-of-curtain’ banter, the chop-and-change roster of sketches and – often very, very famous – ‘guests’, elaborate film spoofs and musical numbers.
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LES DAWSON
(1931–1993)
Despite his supremely miserable expression, Les certainly knew how to make people laugh. From humble Manchester origins, National Service and door-to-door salesman jobs – which must at least have fed his future routines, if not his bank balance – he would become one of Britain’s favourite funnymen, though long years on the lively 1960s club circuit proved by no means a certain route to ‘the big time’.
Having stumbled upon a winning formula – an act based on depressed observations about life and a constant barrage of sarcasm directed at the audience – he finally stepped into the national spotlight through the talent show ‘Opportunity Knocks’ in 1967. We learned to love his deadpan words and elastic, expressive face. His was a very working-class and Northern humour, drawing from the seaside postcard cast-list: the hen-pecked husband, the bullying wife and the monstrous mother-in-law.
His memorable drag double-act with Roy Barraclough – as the grotesque gossips ‘Cissie and Ada’ – was an affectionate nod back to Norman Evans’s ‘Over the Garden Wall’ character, revealing another visibly Northern root. He was also an unusual comic in that he wrote so much of his own material, and his relish of language is as clear in his comedy performances as it is in his many novels and books.
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KEN DODD
(born 1927)
Ken began his long career with a teenage ventriloquist act at local events in his native Knotty Ash, Liverpool. Since a first professional performance in Nottingham in 1954 he has chalked up hundreds of thousands of miles on the road, testing the nation’s chuckle-muscles, and built a reputation as a peerless, tattifilarious gag-telling record-breaker. A 1965 (and to this day unbroken) house-record of 42 weeks in residence at the London Palladium is but one career milestone.
Like the Beatles, Ken was part of the 60s Mersey Revolution, sprinkling the salt and vinegar of the Northern working class on national culture, and he rapidly became a household name, and even – possessed of a fine singing voice – joined them many times in the charts. His song ‘Happiness’ (1964) became the theme tune for his one-man gag crusade.
On stage, ‘Doddy’ became an exotic mix of court jester, naughty schoolboy and comic strip character – theliving embodiment of the variety tradition stepping into people’s living rooms through the telly. In truth – flanked by his creations, the Diddy Men – he dressed to match his generous hair and extravagant teeth.
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CONTEMPORARY
Stephen K. Amos
Bill Bailey
Jo Brand
Arnold Brown
Alan Carr
Roy ‘Chubby’ Brown
Julian Clary
Steve Coogan
John Cooper Clarke
Jack Dee
Dick and Dom
Lee Evans
Ricky Gervais
Rhod Gilbert
Jeff Green
Hattie Hayridge
Harry Hill
Eddie Izzard
Peter Kay
Sean Lock
Lee Mack
Michael McIntyre
Paul Merton
Shazia Mirza
David Mitchell
Mooky the Clown
Ross Noble
Lily SavageAlexei Sayle
John Shuttleworth
Frank Skinner
Dave Spikey
Mark Thomas
Johnny Vegas
Tim Vine
View Contemporary on the Comedy Carpet
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TONY HANCOCK
(1924–1968)
Tony was yet another of that generation of performers and writers who returned from the Second World War, cutting their comedy teeth at Soho’s legendary Windmill Theatre. He became one of the brightest stars of the post-war comedy scene when, in 1954, he was given his own radio show –‘Hancock’s Half Hour’ – scripted by the prolific team of Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. Star-to-be Sid James and an ensemble cast of classic comedy faces (including Kenneth Williams) joined him in this ground-breaking situation comedy, and the series transferred to TV with equal success.
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BARRY HUMPHRIES
(born 1934)
Barry is a genuinely complex man – one of many faces and many roles. He honed his precociously intelligent writing and performing skills with ‘Dadaist’ pranks in his native Australia – hinting at a lifelong fascination with art that would see him both create and collect. Arriving in late 1950s London, he embedded himself in the newly subversive comedy world of the time, and his most enduring – and globally famous – creation, Dame Edna Everage, evolved in the decades that followed.
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PETER KAY
(born 1973)
Peter is as Lancashire as hotpot, and his national stardom was probably cemented by his best-selling live DVD in 2000 – recorded at Blackpool Tower. His exhaustive stand-up tours remain sell-outs, drawing from a rich Northern seam of family, friends, varied jobs and his hometown itself. His breakthrough TV series, ‘That Peter Kay Thing’, set a high standard for his abilities as a comic character actor – as did follow-up ‘Phoenix Nights’ (co-written with Dave Spikey and Neil Fitzmaurice) and in this he can be seen as the Ronnie Barker of his generation.
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TELEVISION 1
Alan Partridge
‘Allo ‘Allo
Birds of a Feather
Blackadder
Bottom
Bread
Citizen Smith
Coupling
Desmond’s
Dinnerladies
Drop The Dead Donkey
Extras
Father Ted
Fawlty Towers
Harry Enfield’s…
I Didn’t Know You Cared
It Ain’t Half Hot Mum
Just Good Friends
Keeping Up Appearances
Last of the Summer Wine
Lenny Henry
Little Britain
Look – Mike Yarwood
Max and Paddy’s…
Men Behaving Badly
Outnumbered
Porridge
Red DwarfRhubarb Rhubarb
Rising Damp
Roland Rat
Shameless
Spitting Image
Steptoe and Son
The Brittas Empire
The Fall and Rise of…
The Goodies
The Good Life
The Kumars at No. 42
The League of Gentlemen
The Liver Birds
The Royle Family
The Thin Blue Line
The Vicar of Dibley
The Wheeltappers…
Tracy Takes On…
Worzel Gummidge
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FILM
A Fish Called Wanda
A Stitch in Time
Ali G Indahouse
Borat
Calendar Girls
Carry On Abroad
Carry On Again, Doctor
Carry On Camping
Carry On Cleo
Carry On Columbus
Carry On At Your Convenience
Carry On Doctor
Carry On Emmannuelle
Carry On Matron
Carry On Screaming
Carry On Up The Jungle
Carry On Up The Khyber
Dr Strangelove
Fierce Creatures
Funny Bones
Gregory’s Girl
Guesthouse Paradiso
The History Boys
Hot Fuzz
I’m All Right Jack
Johnny English
Laurel and HardyLaxdale Hall
Life of Brian
Modern Times (theme)
Oh, Mr Porter!
Shaun of the Dead
The Belles of St Trinian’s
The Early Bird
The Full Monty
The Italian Job
The Pink Panther Strikes…
The Rebel
Those Magnificent Men…
We’re Going to be Rich
What’s New Pussycat?
Where’s That Fire?
Whiskey Galore!
Withnail & I
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RADIO
Band Wagon
Count Arthur Strong’s…
Educating Archie
Flanders and Swann
Hancock’s Half Hour
Mike Harding
John Henry
I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue
I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again
ITMA
Jimmy Logan
Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh
On The Hour
Ray’s a Laugh
Round The Horne
Sir Henry at Rawlinson End
Linda Smith
The Al Reed Show
The Burkiss Way
The Clitheroe Kid
The Glums
The Goons
The Hitchhiker’s Guide…
The Mighty Boosh
The Navy LarkThe News Huddlines
Up the Pole
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SPIKE MILLIGAN
(1918–2002)
Spike was very probably the most influential performer and writer of the generation of comics who returned from the Second World War. He shouldered the experimental radio mayhem of ‘The Goon Show’ (with Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe and Michael Bentine). It would set the surrealist, blackly-comic tone for decades of subsequent work on stage, TV and film, and in his many novels. Alongside this he inspired generations of children with his volumes of poetry and wrote a string of best-selling wartime memoirs. An innately sensitive man, he championed causes close to his heart throughout his long life.
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MONTY PYTHON
GRAHAM CHAPMAN (1941–1989), JOHN CLEESE (born 1939), TERRY GILLIAM (born 1940), ERIC IDLE (born 1943), TERRY JONES (born 1942), MICHAEL PALIN (born 1943)
'Python' – a truly international comedy export – has retained a distinctly British character, since the original television series (1969–74) evolved into films, records, books, live tours and, even now, a globally popular hit musical. Some characters and situations – the screeching old women, upper-class twits and leering spivs – may recall traditional comedy stereotypes from music hall and variety, yet there is something surreal, modern and fresh about all things Python.
Most of the group had written and performed in the rarefied atmosphere of 'Oxbridge' undergraduate comedy revues – a world away from variety theatre; and the flourishing post-war radio comedy generation – particularly ‘The Goon Show’ – offered early inspiration and fuelled an inclination to deconstruct tired comedy clichés like that of the final ‘punchline’.
All the Python members entered the comic fray in the boom television years of the 1960s, writing or performing for many influential shows of the period – some of them surprisingly mainstream. By the time they came together for ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’ they were hungry.
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THE TWO RONNIES
RONNIE B (1929–2005), RONNIE C (born 1930)
Another classic British double-act, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett appeared together in a BBC series bearing their name – and trademark glasses – from 1971. It showcased their differences while also allowing them to complement each other, their contrast in physical size immediately signposting the comedy potential ahead. There were sketches and elaborate musical numbers – tipping the hat to variety traditions and the saltiness of seaside postcards – allowing the pair to don a myriad of wigs and costumes and indulge in broad slapstick and bawdiness. Yet the use of complex word-play also suggested a more contemporary edge, often making fun of the establishment and those who represented it (played with relish by Ronnie B).
As well as contributions in this vein written by ‘Gerald Wiley’ (actually Barker himself) the roster of scriptwriters included comedy luminaries such as John Cleese and Michael Palin, David Renwick, Spike Milligan, Barry Cryer and David Nobbs. In some ways Ronnie C could be seen to be more commonly a ‘straight man’ to his colleague, but actually he maintained an equal share of the partnership, including delivering his weekly ‘monologue’ peppered with absurd digressions.
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DOUBLE-ACTS
Arthur Lucan and Kitty
Cannon and Bal
l Clapham and Dwyer
Dick and Dom
Flanagan and Allen
Flanders and Swann
Francie and Josie
French and Saunders
Fry and Laurie
George Burns and Gracie Allen
Gert and Daisy
Hale and Pace
Hatton and Manners
Hinge and Bracket
Laurel and Hardy
Little and Large
Mayall and Edmondson
Mike and Bernie Winters
Mitchell and Webb
Morecambe and Wise
Murray and Mooney
Naughton and Gold
Newman and Baddie
Peter Cook and Dudley Moore
Reeves and Mortimer
Smith and JonesThe Chuckle Brothers
The Krankies
The Mighty Boosh
The Two Ronnies
The Western Brothers
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HISTORY 1
Harry Bailey
Billy Bennett
Collinson and Breen
Norman Evans
Sid Field
Gracie Fields
George Formby, Junior
George Formby, Senior
Will Fyffe
Gert and Daisy
Stanley Holloway
Jimmy James
Horace Kenney
Joe King
Laurel and Hardy
Ted Lune
Max Miller
Donald McGill
Old Mother Riley…
Charles Penrose
Sandy Powell
The Western Brothers
Frank Randle
Billy Russell
Leslie Sarony
Nellie Wallace
Robb Wilton
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CATCHPHRASES 1
‘Allo ‘Allo
Dave Allen
Are You Being Served?
Hylda Baker
Jim Bowen
Basil Brush
Max Bygraves
Cannon and Ball
Brian Conley
Jim Davidson
Dinner For One
Charlie Drake
Harry Enfield
Arthur English
Jimmy Finlayson
Stu Francis
George Formby, Junior
Larry Grayson
Jimmy James
Jethro
Harry Korris
Little Britain
Marie Lloyd
Tommy Lorne
Bill Maynard
Albert ModleyMonty Python’s Flying Circus
Dave Morris
Alex Munro
Bob Nelson
Derek Nimmo
Only Fools and Horses
Sandy Powell
Frank Randle
Al Read
Reeves and Mortimer
George Robey
Billy Russell
Suzette Terry
The Chuckle Brothers
The Fast Show
The Krankies
The League of Gentlemen
‘Til Death Us Do Part
Stanley Unwin
Syd Walker
Charlie Williams
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TELEVISION 2
Absolutely Fabulous
Dave Allen
‘Allo ‘Allo
Are You Being Served?
Blackadder
Da Ali G Show
Dad’s Army
Father Ted
Fawlty Towers
George and Mildred
Gimme Gimme Gimme
Hi-de-Hi!
Harry Hill
I’m Alan Partridge
Keeping Up Appearances
Last of the Summer Wine
Little Britain
Minder
On The Buses
One Foot In The Grave
Only Fools and Horses
Open All Hours
Phoenix Nights
Porridge
Red Dwarf
Reeves and Mortimer
Rising Damp
The Dick Emery ShowThe Fast Show
The League of Gentlemen
The Likely Lads
The Mighty Boosh
The Mrs Merton Show
The Office
The Pub Landlord
The Royle Family
The Russ Abbot Show
The Young Ones
Trevor and Simon
Yes Minister -
CATCHPHRASES 2
Avril Angers
Arthur Askey
Raymond Bennett
Blackadder
Bernard Bresslaw
Frank Carson
Charlie Chuck
Collinson and Breen
Hutton Conyers
Jimmy Cricket
Dad’s Army
Freddie ‘Parrotface’ Davies
Reg Dixon
Dick Emery
Harry Enfield
Sid Field and Catherine Tate
Bruce Forsyth
Gavin and Stacey
Larry Grayson
Ken Goodwin
Robertson Hare
Harry Hill
I Didn’t Know You Cared
ITMA
Ron Jay
Danny La Rue
Little BritainTommy Lorne
Lex McLean
Morecambe and Wise
Harry Moreny
Ossie Morris
Mrs Mopp
Murray and Mooney
Duncan Norvelle
Alan Partridge
Leslie Phillips
Ken Platt
Please Sir!
Frank Randle
Red Dwarf
Reeves and Mortimer
Mike Reid
Round the Horne
Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em
Sorry
Steptoe and Son
Harry Tate
Terry Thomas
Tommy Trinder
Tubby Turner
The Catherine Tate Show
The Fall and Rise of Reginald...
The Fast ShowThe Navy Lark
The Royle Family
The Wheeltappers…
Roy Walker
George Williams
Arthur Worsley -
HISTORY 2
Russ Abbot
Pam Ayres
Hylda Baker
Jim Bowen
Jasper Carrott
Frank Carson
Bernie Clifton
Jimmy Clitheroe
Norman Collier
Jimmy Cricket
Colin Crompton
Barry Cryer
Ivor Cutler
Steve Faye
Marty Feldman
Ken Goodwin
Benny Hill
Bobby Knoxall
Bernard Manning
Bob Monkhouse
Chic Murray
Tom O’Connor
Bryn Phillips
Beryl Reid
Mrs Shufflewick
Linda Smith
Freddie Starr
Eric SykesJimmy Tarbuck
Stanley Unwin
Max Wall
Charlie Williams
Kenneth Williams
Norman Wisdom
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INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL
Stanley Baxter
Victor Borge
George Burns
Cicely Courtridge
Jimmy Durante
W.C. Fields
Francie and Josie
Jane Godley
Bob Hope
Jethro
Danny Kaye
Laurel and Hardy
Beatrice Lillie
Chico Marx
Chic Murray
Rab C. Nesbitt
Frank Randle
The Marx Brothers
Bobby Thompson
Mae West
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BILLY CONNOLLY
(born 1942)
Billy first swapped careers from 1960s Glasgow shipyard welder to folk musician in the Humblebums. By the early 1970s his solo records shifted focus to his crude but very clever on-stage comedy and observational storytelling. With his absurd black leotard and banana boots combo, he was known simply as ‘The Big Yin’ (The Big One). A key appearance on the 1975 ‘Parkinson’ talk show introduced him to a national – soon to be international – audience, and he went on to be the interviewer’s most regular guest. While now a respected straight actor, Comic Relief fund-raiser and travel presenter, he still tours internationally – the unofficial, taboo-busting godfather of modern stand-up.
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PETER COOK
(1937–1995)
Peter was a respected comedian and writer of devastating satirical bite. One of that 1960s generation who arrived from university revue and comedy troupes (he was President of the Cambridge Footlights) rather than the variety circuit, he took the ground-breaking satire ‘Beyond The Fringe’ as far as Broadway – alongside Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett and Jonathan Miller – and founded the anti-establishment club The Establishment. His double-act with Moore spanned TV, film, stage tours and recording success, and his significance to English satire was assured when he co-funded ‘Private Eye’ magazine through difficult times. After such early, stellar success his later work shone fitfully, but the wit and improvisational daring remained undimmed.
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VICTORIA WOOD
(born 1953)
Victoria, the recipient of both an OBE and a CBE – is a multi-talented playwright, seasoned stand-up and singer/ composer and actress. Alongside her cast of regular players, she masterminded memorable successes like ‘Victoria Wood As Seen On TV’ – including the scathing soap spoof ‘AcornAntiques’ – and continued a string of television specials to great acclaim. Her long-running association with Julie Walters has also benefited them both, including the classic ‘Pat and Margaret’ (1994). Her starring role as Eric’s mum, Sadie, in the award-winning TV drama ‘Eric and Ernie’ (2011) brought her right back to her Lancashire roots.
