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The Comedians (1971 TV Series)
''The Comedians'' is a British television show of the 1970s (later reprised in the mid-1980s and early 1990s) produced by Johnnie Hamp of Granada Television. The show gave a stage to nightclub and working men's club comedians of the era, including Russ Abbot, Jim Bowen and Bernard Manning. Filmed before a live audience in Manchester, comics each performed 20-minute sets, which were then edited together into half-hour shows featuring up to ten stand-up comics. Working men's clubs were numerous in Britain, especially in the North of England and have been a useful training ground for artists, especially comedians. Most of these clubs are affiliated to the CIU (Working Men's Club and Institute Union) founded in 1862 by the Rev. Henry Solly. There are also political clubs, as well as Servicemen's Clubs affiliated to the Royal British Legion. ''The Comedians'' began as an experiment for Granada TV and was popular during the earlier series, with an LP recording of the show reachi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020) was an American actor, stand-up comedian, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned seven decades. He was the recipient of many awards and honors, including 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1999. During the early years of television comedy from 1950 to 1957, he acted on and contributed sketch material for '' Your Show of Shows'' and ''Caesar's Hour'', starring Sid Caesar, writing alongside Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, and Woody Allen. Reiner teamed up with Brooks and together they released several iconic comedy albums beginning with '' 2000 Years with Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks'' (1960). Reiner was best known as the creator and producer of, and a writer and actor on, ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' which ran from 1961 to 1966.Van Dyke, Dick (2012), ''My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business: A Memoir'', Three Rivers Press ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bobby Knutt
Robert Andrew Wass (25 November 1945 – 25 September 2017), known professionally as Bobby Knutt, was an English actor and comedian. He was known throughout his acting career for appearing as Albert Dingle in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' and in '' Coast to Coast'', a film with Lenny Henry, and in his final years for the role of Eddie Dawson in the ITV sitcom ''Benidorm''. Before making his name in British television, he had appeared in another ITV soap opera, ''Coronation Street'', from 1980 to 1983 portraying Ron Sykes. He was married to athlete Donna Hartley from 1986 until her death in 2013. He died on 25 September 2017 while holidaying in Southern France. His last appearance was in the tenth series of ''Benidorm''; this was the last episode of that programme. Early life Knutt was born in Sheffield. After passing the eleven-plus in 1957, he attended Abbeydale Grammar School in Sheffield. Still at school, he began to perform as a singer in a group called Bob Andre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ITV Granada
ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was its weekend counterpart. Granada's parent company Granada plc later bought several other regional ITV stations and, in 2004, merged with Carlton Communications to form ITV plc. Granada Television was particularly noted by critics for the distinctive northern and "social realism" character of many of its network programmes, as well as the high quality of its drama and documentaries. In its prime as an independent franchisee, prior to its parent company merging with Carlton Communications to form ITV plc, it was the largest Independent Television producer in the UK, accounting for 25% of the total broadcasting output of the ITV network. Granada Television was founded by Sidney Bernstein at Granada Studios on Quay Street in Manchester and i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Granada Studios
Old Granada Studios (known simply as Granada Studios and previously known as The Manchester Studios) is a television studio complex and events venue on Quay Street in Manchester with the facility to broadcast live and recorded television programmes. The studios were formerly the headquarters of Granada Television and later ITV Granada from 1956 to 2013. After a period of closure, five of the six studio spaces were reopened under the All Studios banner in 2018. The studios are the oldest operating purpose-built television studios in the United Kingdom pre-dating BBC Television Centre by five years. They were previously home to the world's longest-running serial drama, ''Coronation Street'', as well as other long-running shows such as the quiz show '' University Challenge'' and the current affairs documentary series ''World in Action''. As well as being the oldest television studios in the United Kingdom, the studios also held the Beatles' first television performance in 1962 and th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnnie Hamp
Johnnie Hamp (sometimes referred to as John Hamp, or Johnny Hamp) is a British television producer, now retired. He is responsible for the early British television appearances of such acts as the Beatles, Burt Bacharach, Cannon and Ball, Paul Daniels, comedian Woody Allen and singer Lisa Stansfield as Head of Light Entertainment with Granada Television. Biography Early life and 1960s television As a small boy he toured variety theatres as a stooge to his father, a magician known as the Great Hampo. In 1949 he won several talent contests with his own act, a Danny Kaye Tribute, and then toured with The Brian Michie Discoveries Show. In 1950 he was conscripted for two years service in the Royal Air Force. During the 1950s he trained as a Granada cinema manager in Kingston, moving to the group's flagship venue at Tooting to handle a 1953 Frank Sinatra concert. He presented many more, firstly with Johnnie Ray, Guy Mitchell and Frankie Laine, and later with Tommy Steele, Cliff Rich ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lee Wilson (comedian)
Lee Wilson (31 July 1938 – 3 June 2013) was an English comedian best known for his performances on the ITV Television show '' The Comedians''. He attended King's Hill School, Wednesbury and served in Malaya with the Cheshire Regiment of the British Army where he was in an entertainment troupe. After winning talent contests as a singer and forming a band called The Kingsford Four, he added comedy to his act. He then won ''New Faces ''New Faces'' is a British television talent show that aired in the 1970s and 1980s. It has been hosted by Leslie Crowther, Derek Hobson and Marti Caine. It was produced for the ITV network by ATV, and later by Central. Original series: 197 ...'' in 1976. Wilson later performed on cruise ships for P&O and became an after-dinner speaker. He died of pancreatic cancer on 3 June 2013, at the age of 74. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charlie Williams (comedian)
Charles Adolphus Williams, MBE (23 December 1927 – 2 September 2006) was an English professional footballer who was one of the first black players in British football after the Second World War, Bourne, Stephen,Obituary ''The Guardian'', 4 September 2006. and later became Britain's first well-known black stand-up comedian.Obituary '''', 4 September 2006. He became famous from his appearances on Granada Television's '' The Comedians'' and [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roy Walker (comedian)
Robert "Roy" Walker (born 31 July 1940) is a Northern Irish television personality and comedian, who worked for many years as both a television presenter and comedy actor. He is best known as the original host of the game show ''Catchphrase'' between 1986 and 1999, and as one of the stars of the comedy showcase '' The Comedians''. Early life Born in Belfast, as a teenager Walker performed in the Francis Longford Choir, then worked as a riveter in the Harland and Wolff shipyard. He was the Ireland champion hammer thrower for three years, and represented them internationally. He spent a short time as a comedy partner of James Young before serving seven years in the British Army. Walker first started work aged 12. By the end of the 1960s, he was running a pawn shop whilst working in the evenings as the compère at the Talk of the Town club in Belfast. The Troubles, a continuing threat of violence between political groups in Northern Ireland, was ongoing at this time. Though Wal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Shane
Paul Shane (born George Frederick Speight; 19 June 1940 – 16 May 2013) was a British actor and comedian. He was known for his television work, in particular playing Ted Bovis in ''Hi-de-Hi!'', a 1980s BBC sitcom. Early life Shane was born on 19 June 1940 in Thrybergh, near Rotherham, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. After leaving school in 1955, he was a miner at Silverwood Colliery until he suffered double herniated discs after slipping on soap in the pithead baths in 1967, being pensioned from the coal mines as a result. Two years later he became a professional entertainer. He already had ten years' experience as a part-time entertainer in pubs and clubs in south Yorkshire. Career Shane's first appearance, as a singer, was at the Grafton pub — now demolished — in St Ann's Road, Rotherham. His first club booking was at St Ann's Club in Rotherham, for 30 shillings. His transformation from singer to comedian was gradual, starting with his version of " Green, Green Grass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Roper
George Roper (15 May 1934 – 1 July 2003) was an English comedian, best known for his appearances in the long-running UK television series '' The Comedians''. Early history He was born George Francis Furnival in Liverpool to a working-class family of Irish descent, to parents who were staunchly Roman Catholic. In conversation with the writer Ken Irwin in 1972, he remarked that "the rough and ready upbringing of Catholics in Liverpool brings out the humour in a family": He's another comic who has known poverty. There were five children in the Roper family, three girls and two boys. Dad saw a lot of life – he was a window cleaner. 'Times were hard when I started at school, in the early war years,' says George. 'We never went without, but a jam butty was often a meal'. Two of Roper's great-uncles were popular stars of the British Music Hall: Johnnie Cullen of the comedy team Cullen and Carthy, and George Sanford of the dance act Sanford and Lyons. He was also a cousin t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Reid (actor)
Michael Reid (19 January 1940 – 29 July 2007) was an English comedian, actor, author and occasional television presenter. He played the role of Frank Butcher in the soap opera ''EastEnders'' and hosted the children's game show '' Runaround''. He was known for his gravelly voice and strong London accent. Personal life Michael Reid was born in Hackney in 1940, the son of Ellen Louvian ( Ives) and Sidney Reid. The Blitz caused his family to move to Tottenham where he attended Rowland Hill School. In 1958, he married his first wife, Sheila Axe, they had a son and a daughter together, their son died as an infant from a mouth infection. The couple divorced in 1967. Later he married his longtime live-in partner Shirley (née Allder) in 1971; they had twin sons Mark and Michael. In 1990 he suffered tragedy when his son Mark committed suicide by dousing himself with petrol after years of suffering with mental health problems. Just four months after Mark's death, Mark's daughter, di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom O'Connor (comedian)
Thomas Patrick O'Connor (31 October 1939 – 18 July 2021) was a British comedian, television presenter, and actor. Originally a comedian in working men's clubs, he progressed to hosting TV game shows such as '' Crosswits'', ''The Zodiac Game'', ''Name That Tune'', ''Password'' and ''Gambit''. Early life O'Connor was born in Bootle, and attended St Mary's College, Crosby, and Saint Mary's College, Twickenham. He became a mathematics and music teacher at the St Joan of Arc School, Bootle, and was also assistant headmaster. After work he appeared as a comedian in working men's clubs. Television career His television break came when he appeared on '' The Comedians''. During the 1970s and 1980s, he was one of the most popular faces on British TV. He was a subject of the television programme '' This Is Your Life'' in 1977 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews. He continued to host many shows including ''Name that Tune'', ''Wednesday at 8'', ''The Tom O'Connor Show'', ''Ga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
