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Quickest Fall From Fame

Started by Small Man Big Horse, April 08, 2015, 07:39:30 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

great_badir

Quote from: chand on April 10, 2015, 11:31:41 AM
Impressionists shouldn't have careers in this day and age anyway. We have about five impressionists already and that's easily five more than anyone ever needs.

Quite.  Especially when one of those is Jon Culshaw, who is brilliant at doing slightly different variations of his own voice.

I think the problem with JLC was that he completely gave up a reasonably decent stand-up career to be a TV personality, but since all that "business" blew his yolk with the TV bosses and he cut those stand-up ties, he hasn't really got anything to fall back on.  Had he stuck with doing stand-up on the side, he probably could have mined his experiences for plenty of self-deprecating material and clawed his way back to some form of national acceptance.

Incidentally, I talked about frequenting Jesters comedy club in Bristol in the 90s and 00s, and JLC was a regular fixture there.  I seem to remember him being genuinely quite funny, although a lot of his act was very locally biased, so lost on most people who weren't from or had lived in Bristol.

Jake Thingray

Quote from: Uncle TechTip on April 10, 2015, 10:52:58 AM
Matthew Kelly returned to theatre to much acclaim.


That is true, and his utterly atypical performance in the ITV drama Cold Blood was also well-received. He had started as an actor in any case, admitting falling into Game For A Laugh and all the subsequent Light Ent stuff because the money was so good.

Mention of Brian Conley in earlier posts brings to mind the pleasing fact that his (and Jim Davidson's) biggest supporter, Garry Bushell, is not much heard from, his attempts to become a TV star in his own right having thankfully ended over a decade ago, and no-one now reads his columns.


Jockice

Quote from: chand on April 10, 2015, 09:17:02 AM
He did have a reputation in Bristol for drawing attention to himself, like, if you were within 50ft of him you'd know about it.


Reminds me of a mate of mine tells me about going to a Brian Wilson concert in a seated venue a few years ago and five minutes into the show a latecomer turned up, forcing everyone in his row to move. Who should it be but Badly Drawn Boy? And how did people know it was Badly Drawn Boy. Because he was wearing that horrible hat, that's why. Prick. If it's true that is. If it's not he may not be a prick, but he's still crap and nowadays deservedly obscure.

mothman

Patrick Kielty. He was always crass and unfunny, then he went down the light entertainment route of being crass and unfunny hosting things Ant & Dec didn't want to do on ITV. And then he seemed to vanish without trace from his former ubiquitousness. I know he's still around, I heard him on a radio show recently, AND he's married to Cat Deeley, but it still feels to me like he's suffered a reversal of fortune somewhere along the line..?

Steven

Quote from: Jake Thingray on April 10, 2015, 06:39:05 PM
That is true, and his utterly atypical performance in the ITV drama Cold Blood was also well-received. He had started as an actor in any case

Not according to my Mum, who says he started doing the 'singing Bingo' in Rhyl Bingo Hall.. "Twenty twooo on the blueeee.."

MuteBanana


MrSerious

This thread is really fascinating btw, particularly when it comes to examples from before I was even born. I haven't been able to stop thinking about Roy Jay for several hours now.

There's a creepy mystery/sci-fi thriller that needs to be written about an island that these people disappear to (I don't mean Benidorm, Roy fans) and their inability to escape. Basically just a remake of The Prisoner starring Justin Lee Collins, (Little Miss) Jocelyn, and Richard Herring.

dr_christian_troy

Carol Lee Scott - aka Grotbags - got involved with Twitter[nb]Seriously, scroll to the bottom first and read upwards for the full, devastating impact.[/nb] for a while, but as indicated by her final Tweet, she was never seen again.

Quote from: dr_christian_troy on April 11, 2015, 12:10:39 AM
Carol Lee Scott - aka Grotbags - got involved with Twitter[nb]Seriously, scroll to the bottom first and read upwards for the full, devastating impact.[/nb] for a while, but as indicated by her final Tweet, she was never seen again.

When I lived in Shepherds Bush, way back when, she lived a road or so away from me - when she died, a LOT of people came out to pay their respects at the local community centre, as she was an active part of the community. I remember seeing her about and she always seemed "jolly"...

dr_christian_troy

Quote from: Eclectic Boogaloo on April 11, 2015, 12:14:35 AM
When I lived in Shepherds Bush, way back when, she lived a road or so away from me - when she died, a LOT of people came out to pay their respects at the local community centre, as she was an active part of the community. I remember seeing her about and she always seemed "jolly"...

She's dead?! When??


Jake Thingray

Sorry, am quite sure she's still alive. Regarding Matthew Kelly's having originally been a proper actor, have a butcher's at this;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12161591

and The Stage newspaper's archive's earliest credit for him appearing in the theatre is in 1970.

Quote from: dr_christian_troy on April 11, 2015, 12:19:27 AM
She's dead?! When??

I'm happy to stand corrected on this (no body wants to revel in that news!), but I definitely remember there was a notice put up in my local area about paying tribute to her after her death... talking about her work for charity and wotnot... Having done a quick online fact check, it all still seems to say "she has retired"...

So the mystery continues...

failing that... here is her belting out a tune in the 70s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEYaxZoQ188

dr_christian_troy

Well, she is a witch I guess, so we could be both right.

I wish she continued her Twitter feed though. Would have been great to hear about the outcome of her illicit New Year fuck with a trucker called Pete.

Quote from: dr_christian_troy on April 11, 2015, 12:39:32 AM
Well, she is a witch I guess, so we could be both right.

I wish she continued her Twitter feed though. Would have been great to hear about the outcome of her illicit New Year fuck with a trucker called Pete.

I'm guessing ANY story we could dream up would be, sadly, better than the actual story itself... My story already involved Rod Hull's fake arm and a pointy hat!

Frazer

"right .. off too morrisons.. get some treats!!"
Captain Oates

PS I hope she isn't dead.

koeman

I also hope she's still going strong, but she certainly fell from fame. Here's a news story about her (which I originally saw on here, I think) where it doesn't even bother mentioning that she was Grotbags:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/somerset/3819845.stm

And notice that she's pictured with a big, burly trucker called Clive. And we already know about Pete from her Twitter feed, of course. Basically, she's had more lorry drivers than Eddie Stobart.

Big Jack McBastard

I can't entertain the idea that Peter Andre actually got famous again by fucking Jordan. It doesn't count, there was the 'Ooohoohoohoohoohoohoo mysterious girl' shit then he tanked into obscurity and never got back. The knobbing Jordan 'vector to fame' doesn't register, it's not allowed, it's not proper fame, it's more infamy than anything.

Jason Donovan? Once the Technicolour Dreamcoat went on no-one gave fuck anymore even if he still hangs about in the periphery like an unusable prop.

Never-mind Pat Sharpe, what about The Twins off Fun House eh? Concerns for their whereabouts seem to have fallen right off.

Off topic: How tragic is it gonna be when a Chuckle Brother dies?... Oh there'll be jokes but they'll all have a nasty sting to them when we look upon the desolate face of Barry/Paul.

hedgehog90

Howard from the Halifax adverts.
Gone but not forgotten.

Rolf Lundgren

Quote from: MrSerious on April 11, 2015, 12:05:01 AM
This thread is really fascinating btw, particularly when it comes to examples from before I was even born. I haven't been able to stop thinking about Roy Jay for several hours now.

Same here. It's a fascinating act in as much as he seemingly tries to kill any momentum he has by dancing in between jokes. I didn't find it funny but it is strangely compelling. The repetition of 'Spook' and 'Slither' reminds me of Alonzo "Hamburger" Jones (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-gytvj1w2w). 

Googled Roy Jay, as did not recall him though a teen in 80s.  A catchphrase of his was ' 'kin 'ell!' I read, and he once exposed himself on stage in pique people weren't laughing.

Brundle-Fly

Dave Wolfe

The comedian (and Noel Edmonds/Jeff Lynne lookalike) who won 1979's Search For A Star on ITV.  One TV series in 1980 and then straight back to the coal face of cabaret and after dinner speaking. It's a tough business.



FFS, will somebody sort out these old comedian's websites? This is just terrifying.

http://www.davewolfe.co.uk/index.cfm?id=37314&fuseaction=browse&pageid=24

Brundle-Fly

and Fogwell Flax from the same era is now a Sting impersonator. No, really.

I like the picture with the caption Foggy as Sting . It's no different to his personal headshot.

http://www.fogwellflax.com/foggywebsite2011/WELCOME.html

#113
Quote from: Brundle-Fly on April 11, 2015, 01:46:01 PM
Dave Wolfe

The comedian (and Noel Edmonds/Jeff Lynne lookalike) who won 1979's Search For A Star on ITV.  One TV series in 1980 and then straight back to the coal face of cabaret and after dinner speaking. It's a tough business.



Looks rather like a 70s Ricky Gervais.

Rolf Lundgren

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on April 11, 2015, 01:50:54 PM
and Fogwell Flax from the same era is now a Sting impersonator. No, really.

I like the picture with the caption Foggy as Sting . It's no different to his personal headshot.

http://www.fogwellflax.com/foggywebsite2011/WELCOME.html

Nothing I enjoy more then looking at puffed-up biographies of the hinterland dwellers of celebrity.

The level of detail in the biography is forensic and can't be of any real interest to anyone besides Foggy and perhaps his mum. Of course he has "played most of the comedy character rôles in the major theatres of the land" even covering once for Lily Savage "who was poorly in bed". For a man who had his peak in the early 80s it shouldn't be a surprise that an appearance on an obscure Sky series in 1995 is referred to as "more recently". His hair colour is described as "Salt n Pepper/Charcoal". Here is a man determined not to use the word grey.

Dave Wolfe is another one who has appeared in "just about every major theatre in the country". But fucking hell sort out the picture on homepage would you? If you want to know what it's like to go eye-to-eye with Wolfie then wait the 10 minutes for that image to fully load.

koeman

I remember seeing Dave Wolfe when I was watching some old Blankety Blanks on Youtube. He did a joke about the emergency services in Wetherfield being slow, as someone had a heart attack at eight o'clock on the Monday night, and the ambulance didn't arrive until 7.30 on Wednesday.

Solid gag, but from the way he told it I suspected he hadn't written it himself. Apologies if I'm doing him an injustice.

There's a picture of him meeting Prince Andrew. I suspect Andy would be more embarrassed about that one than he would of that one where he's got his arm round that young bird.

Brundle-Fly

If you watch Wolfie's video, he's actually a perfectly serviceable old school stand up. Good opening gag, nice dead pan delivery, tailored material for the night.

You wouldn't want to cross him though.

Brundle-Fly

Quote from: Rolf Lundgren on April 11, 2015, 03:32:37 PM
Nothing I enjoy more then looking at puffed-up biographies of the hinterland dwellers of celebrity.

The level of detail in the biography is forensic and can't be of any real interest to anyone besides Foggy and perhaps his mum. .

It's interesting to read between the lines 

He lived in a beautiful country house on the gorgeous Mediterranean island of Mallorca for ten years but has recently returned full-time to the UK, basing himself by the river Itchen in Southampton. In what little spare time he has, he enjoys: playing guitar and piano; writing music, songs and poetry; drawing and painting; a keen interest in archaeology (e.g. the occupation of Britain by the Romans, especially their road-building skills*), and riding his Harley-Davidson Softail Heritage Custom motorcycle.

2015 in general
I am still busy with cruise work but have decided this year to make much more free time available to myself. I'm enjoying spending more time at home in Southampton.

*I wonder if Foggy is similarly interested in the Romans introducing irrigation to Britain? I'm going to be tossing and turning all night about this.

Remember when Fogwell Flax was a regular on  Tizwas, with Den Hegerty (Darts) and Frank Carson ('It's a cracker!')?

holyzombiejesus

David 'Not the real David Copperfield' Copperfield. According to wikipedia, he had a couple of series of his own but I don't remember them at all.