Eli Woods (born John Casey; 11 January 1923 – 1 May 2014) was an English comedian and comic actor, born in

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in County Durham, England, with a population of 84,815 at the 2021 UK census. It gives its name to and is the largest settlement in the wider Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. It is part of Teesside and the Tees Val ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, possibly best known for his work with stage comedian Jimmy James (in reality his uncle), and particularly for his part in the famous 'elephant-in-the-box' routine. He made his first professional appearance on the stage of the Hippodrome Theatre in

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. Jimmy James developed his famous act over many years, but from the first it required two 'stooges'. One was John "Jack" Casey—tall and stick-thin, with a bony face and a stammering delivery—who originally appeared as "Bretton Woods" (named after the

location In geography, location or place is used to denote a region (point, line, or area) on Earth's surface. The term ''location'' generally implies a higher degree of certainty than ''place'', the latter often indicating an entity with an ambiguous bou ...

of the famous 1944 United Nations monetary and financial Conference), and only later redubbed as "Eli" Woods (often "Our Eli"). The other stooge, 'Hutton Conyers' would be played either by members of the Casey family - including, on occasion, James Casey - or (from 1956 to 1959) by

Roy Castle Roy Castle (31 August 1932 – 2 September 1994) was an English dancer, singer, comedian, actor, television presenter and musician. An accomplished jazz trumpet player, he could also play many other instruments. In a career as a versatile perfo ...

. Much later, Woods was in the support cast of ''Castles in the Air'', a comedy series on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

. During the late ''1970s'' and early 1980s, Woods featured in three

Eddie Braben Edwin Charles Braben (31 October 1930 – 21 May 2013) was an English comedy writer and performer best known for providing material for Morecambe and Wise. He also worked for David Frost, Ronnie Corbett and Ken Dodd. Life and career Braben ...

scripted comedy shows'': The Worst Show on the Wireless'' (20 episodes, 1973 -75) ''The Show With Ten Legs'' (26 episodes, 1978–80) and ''The Show with No Name'' (13 episodes, 1982–84). Both shows harked back to the

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

tradition. As a performer, Woods turned his lifelong stutter to his advantage, using it to comic effect in many contexts. For many years active as a stage and radio performer, Woods also appeared in a number of television comedies, as well as playing small parts in a variety of films including ''

A Private Function ''A Private Function'' is a 1984 British comedy film starring Michael Palin and Maggie Smith. The film was predominantly filmed in Ilkley and Ben Rhydding in West Yorkshire. The film was also screened in the section of Un Certain Regard at the ...

'' released in 1984. The apex of his career (in terms of recognition) was appearing in a comedy sketch (the elephant in a box routine) with James Casey and

in the 1982

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal ...

in which they also sing

Kisses Sweeter than Wine "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" is a popular song, with lyrics written and music adapted in 1950 by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays of the Weavers. It became a US hit in a version recorded by the Weavers in 1951, and an even bigger hit in 1957 when rec ...

. Although Woods's birth name was John Casey, he was better known to his family as Jack. He died at home in Stockton-on-Tees in the early hours of Thursday 1 May 2014, aged 91.

Selected filmography

* ''

Over the Garden Wall ''Over the Garden Wall'' is an American animated dark fantasy television miniseries created by Patrick McHale for Cartoon Network. The series centers on two half-brothers who travel through a mysterious forest to find their way home, encount ...

'' (1950)

References

External links

*

A fan's page including a recent photograph of Eli Woods * The 'shoebox' or 'elephant-in-the-box' routine - an early version appears on . Not currently (May '14) available because of copyright. A later Roy Castle version also appears on {{DEFAULTSORT:Woods, Eli 1923 births 2014 deaths Male actors from County Durham Actors from Stockton-on-Tees English male comedians