''The Importance of Being Ernie'' was a documentary from the ''

40 Minutes ''40 Minutes'' was a BBC TV documentary strand broadcast on BBC Two between 1981 and 1994. Some documentaries in the original series were revisited and updated in a 2006 version, ''Forty Minutes On''. See also * Sixty Minutes (British TV prog ...

'' strand of programming on

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

and was made in 1993 following the career of the comedian

Ernie Wise Ernest Wiseman, (27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known by his stage name Ernie Wise, was an English comedian, best known as one half of the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise, who became a national institution on British television, especially ...

after the death in 1984 of his comedy partner Eric Morecambe. It charted the current work of the comedian who, since the death of his partner, had made West End appearances in '' The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' and concentrated largely on pantomime work. His autobiography, entitled '' Still On My Way To Hollywood'', is referenced throughout the programme. Despite having the full co-operation of the subject, the programme has been criticised for focussing on him in a negative way, portraying a somewhat tragic figure and, in one section, memorably sees him reminiscing with a view of Eric Morecambe from one of their television programmes in the background. Wise is known to have been unhappy with the outcome of the broadcast programme, and it is notable for being his last major televised work prior to his death in 1999 from heart problems. The title of the programme, an obvious parody of

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

's ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...

'', is in itself reminiscent of one of the plays "what he wrote" at the height of the pair's popularity at the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

in the 1970s.

References

Morecambe and Wise 1993 British television episodes Documentary films about comedy and comedians BBC One {{bio-documentary-stub