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March 29, 2024, 07:00:43 AM

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Sad Ernie Wise

Started by Menu, March 04, 2022, 11:05:02 AM

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Menu

Quote from: FredNurke on March 04, 2022, 02:07:37 PMI remember Ernie being on Rainbow in the mid to late 80s, teaching Zippy how to tell jokes.

Also, I have the lfbarfe book and enjoyed it.

Thanks for the recommendation on the book - and I've just seen there's an audible version so I might spend my next credit on that. Looking forward to it.

Brundle-Fly

This old BBC2 40 Minutes doc might fill a few gaps. I haven't seen it since it went out but I remember tearing up at the end titles at the time but also thinking it was a bit 'cheap'.


Menu

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on March 04, 2022, 02:19:15 PMThis old Forty Minutes doc might feel a few gaps. I haven't seen it since it went out but I remember tearing up at the end titles but also thinking it was a bit 'cheap'.


Great stuff, thank you. Will give that a watch.

poodlefaker

A harrowing performance of Krapp's Last Tape at the Huddersfield Boilerhouse in 1987

KennyMonster

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on March 04, 2022, 01:30:48 PMApparently, some time after Eric's death, Ernie approached their old friend Eric Sykes to ask if he wanted to team up for a 'new Eric & Ernie' double act. Sykes calmly told him that nobody could fill that man's shoes and it would be a bad career move for both of them.



It can't be that everyone in that photo is called Mary Evans can it?

I think some of them have been mis-labelled.

daf

#35
Quote from: gilbertharding on March 04, 2022, 12:54:47 PMEd Sullivan must have been quite a fan of English comedy. I remember seeing a clip of Joyce Grenfell on there (the same show on which Elvis Presley made his debut).

Joyce Grenfell's Diary entry, 28th October 1956 :
QuoteElvis is a pasty-faced plump boy of twenty one. At rehearsal he wore a navy blue sweater with red stripes round the yoke. His hair isn't long and his sideburns arn't that long either. For the show he wore a Kelly green jacket, grey pants and white buckskin desert boots. When he was introduced to me he said, as he looked away 'Nice to know you honey'. I asked him if all the adulation was very trying.

He called me ma'am and said. 'I don't want to brag, but I'm kinda used to it now. It's been goin' on a year' I thought he was pleasant, a bit of a roly-poly boy, but a good singer of his sort of hillbilly songs. We were photographed together. He put his arm round my neck and breathed down my ear-hole.



paruses

I remember really enjoying Ernie Wise's Desert Island Discs (Disks?) appearance - if you haven't heard it. It was in their Archive section if that still exists Pre-BBC Sounds.

Should warn you I also really enjoyed Enoch Powell's - just so you have and idea of my tastes.

Menu

Quote from: daf on March 05, 2022, 07:06:10 AMJoyce Grenfell's Diary entry, 28th October 1956 :



Great stuff, Daf! His hillbilly songs.

Menu

Quote from: paruses on March 05, 2022, 07:56:14 AMI remember really enjoying Ernie Wise's Desert Island Discs (Disks?) appearance - if you haven't heard it. It was in their Archive section if that still exists Pre-BBC Sounds.

Should warn you I also really enjoyed Enoch Powell's - just so you have and idea of my tastes.

Great heads up, thank you! I'll check it out.

I bought the audio version of Louis Barfe's book. Looking forward to it. He still pops up here every now and then doesn't he?

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Strange that Grenfell describes Elvis as a roly-poly boy. He wasn't chubby in those days, as you can see from the photographs and footage.

Great quotes, though, daf. Ta for sharing.

IsavedLatin

Just wanted to second the recommendation for Barfe's book; I read it over Christmas and it was a tonic -- enjoyable as well as very informative.

Menu

Quote from: IsavedLatin on March 06, 2022, 12:32:39 AMJust wanted to second the recommendation for Barfe's book; I read it over Christmas and it was a tonic -- enjoyable as well as very informative.

Definitely looking forward to it. I have a vague memory of Louis on here after its release talking about the relationship between the two wives. I can't remember whether he said they did get on or they didn't. Is that covered in the book? I hope there's tuff about the Ed Sullivan days too. And Night Train to Murder.

daf

Quote from: Ballad of Ballard Berkley on March 06, 2022, 12:12:21 AMStrange that Grenfell describes Elvis as a roly-poly boy. He wasn't chubby in those days, as you can see from the photographs and footage.

Great quotes, though, daf. Ta for sharing.

"Elvis . . . Don't do that!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Here's the page I cribbed that from - The Ed Sullivan Show Dress Rehearsals | October 28, 1956.
(They actually quote Grenfell as saying 'roly-ploy' - which I assumed was a typing mistake)





poodlefaker

Quote from: paruses on March 05, 2022, 07:56:14 AMI remember really enjoying Ernie Wise's Desert Island Discs (Disks?) appearance

Desert Island Disks was a short-lived Radio 4 series from the 1980s in which celebrities chose the seven downloaded datasets they would like to be cast away with.

IsavedLatin

#44
Quote from: Menu on March 06, 2022, 01:10:06 AMDefinitely looking forward to it. I have a vague memory of Louis on here after its release talking about the relationship between the two wives. I can't remember whether he said they did get on or they didn't. Is that covered in the book? I hope there's tuff about the Ed Sullivan days too. And Night Train to Murder.

The wives didn't get on, and it's actually one of the very, very few sad notes to the book. Otherwise it's just a litany of M&W's hard work and talent making the most of every opportunity, and eventually running into great collaborators who helped make the most of them (I think I had recently watched the Peter Jackson Get Back films and was thinking about the similarities between M&W and the Beatles on this front, the excellence of their collaborators not just creatively but as people too).

But then, IIRC, even the wives not getting along is spun as a positive: they spent every minute of their working lives with each other, but the situation between the wives meant that M&W weren't absolutely glued together 24/7, and this possibly enabled the relationship to last so long as it did.

Menu

Quote from: IsavedLatin on March 06, 2022, 03:54:06 PMThe wives didn't get on, and it's actually one of the very, very few sad notes to the book. Otherwise it's just a litany of M&W's hard work and talent making the most of every opportunity, and eventually running into great collaborators who helped make the most of them (I think I had recently watched the Peter Jackson Get Back films and was thinking about the similarities between M&W and the Beatles on this front, the excellence of their collaborators not just creatively but as people too).

But then, IIRC, even the wives not getting along is spun as a positive: they spent every minute of their working lives with each other, but the situation between the wives meant that M&W weren't absolutely glued together 24/7, and this possibly enabled the relationship to last so long as it did.

Interesting. Thanks for that.

gilbertharding

#46
Quote from: Ballad of Ballard Berkley on March 06, 2022, 12:12:21 AMStrange that Grenfell describes Elvis as a roly-poly boy. He wasn't chubby in those days, as you can see from the photographs and footage.

Great quotes, though, daf. Ta for sharing.

Not as fat as he became, certainly, but he has quite a well-upholstered face. It's all relative - perhaps Americans have *always* appeared tubby to English people.

Mind you - I remember reading an autobiography of Elvis Presley lookalike Cliff Richards's autobiography about 35 years ago, where he remembered being pricked into losing weight when he was referred to by Ena Sharples in an episode of Coronation Street as 'that tubby boy...'

*awaits dafposter finding the actual quote*

#edit# Minnie Caldwell, not Ena Sharples - and apparently this anecdote was 'news' in the Mirror in 2018 and the Express in 2020.

Autopsy Turvey

Joyce Grenfell was painfully stick-thin though, as I suppose most of Britain must have been after 15 years of rationing, so anyone who looked like they enjoyed the odd burger must have seemed like Mr Creosote in those days.

Quote from: gilbertharding on March 08, 2022, 10:40:09 AMMind you - I remember reading an autobiography of Elvis Presley lookalike Cliff Richards's autobiography about 35 years ago, where he remembered being pricked into losing weight when he was referred to by Ena Sharples in an episode of Coronation Street as 'that tubby boy...'

!!

Pot, kettle, fat.

holyzombiejesus

I remember seeing Ernie on some chat show, practically begging some TV bosses to give him a sitcom. He suggested someone write one where he had a punk for a son.

Autopsy Turvey

Quote from: holyzombiejesus on March 08, 2022, 11:02:34 AMI remember seeing Ernie on some chat show, practically begging some TV bosses to give him a sitcom. He suggested someone write one where he had a punk for a son.

I've only ever seen this referred to on this forum, I'd be very interested to pin this down. British comedy didn't seem to notice punk rockers until about 1987 (even Vyv was more a metalhead, what self-respecting punk rocker wore Kiss, Saxon, Whitesnake and Rush t-shirts?).

gilbertharding


Brundle-Fly

Quote from: Autopsy Turvey on March 08, 2022, 11:48:02 AMI've only ever seen this referred to on this forum, I'd be very interested to pin this down. British comedy didn't seem to notice punk rockers until about 1987 (even Vyv was more a metalhead, what self-respecting punk rocker wore Kiss, Saxon, Whitesnake and Rush t-shirts?).

Don't forget 'Gob On You' from Not The Nine O'Clock News in 1980. The era when punks put on a leather dog collar and dressed up like Meat Loaf.

I wonder what Eric & Ernie made of NTNON? It must've seemed very abrasive to them (or more likely, intermittently boring, lewd and unprofessional?)

Yennefer

I read their wives didn't get along and that they never socialized outside of their onscreen partnership because of this. Ernie's wife thought he was the star, not Eric, and was quite nasty about him. She never had children so she could go on tour with Ernie and be sure he never strayed as she was giving him sex. To be honest she sounds very odd

daf

#53
Quote from: gilbertharding on March 08, 2022, 10:40:09 AMMind you - I remember reading an autobiography of Elvis Presley lookalike Cliff Richards's autobiography about 35 years ago, where he remembered being pricked into losing weight when he was referred to by Ena Sharples in an episode of Coronation Street as 'that tubby boy...'

*awaits dafposter finding the actual quote*

Gauntlet accepted!

Coronation Street Episode 142 : 23rd April 1962
QuoteIt's Easter Monday and Harry polishes his car prior to the Walkers and the Hewitts going off to Lyme Park for a picnic in it. David Barlow is in the area as his London team is playing Weatherfield County FC.

Florrie causes surprise when she announces she's going out with two men that night. Annie likes the idea of Jack taking up golf as she thinks the social scene around it is nice. Florrie invites Elsie along with her to a dinner dance at Belle Vue with Lawrence, her biscuit sales rep, and a friend of his. Annie isn't pleased that Len is joining them on the picnic. Elsie reluctantly agrees to go with Florrie.

The picnic party arrive at their destination and park near a lake. Martha and Minnie take Ena out in Amy Carlton's old bath chair to the park. Concepta returns to the car for her mac and watches aghast as it rolls away into the lake!! (End of Part 1)



The ladies enjoy the brass band in the park, particularly when it plays The Hallelujah Chorus.

Minnie Caldwell : "Isn't Cliff Richard a lovely chubby lad."



The menfolk push the car out of the lake. Elsie isn't pleased to hear that her date for the night has gold teeth and is surprised that Florrie's is married, though his wife has spent over a year in hospital and knows of their friendship. Frank takes a bored Ken along to watch the football match. Minnie and Martha leave Ena to go to a tea shop. While they're in there a storm breaks out and Ena gets drenched.



Rain also interrupts the picnic. Florrie gets tiddly while Elsie's partner treads on her feet when they dance. The picnic party leave Lyme Park and on the way to a country pub that Annie knows the car breaks down near Chapel-en-le-Frith. They are all forced to walk for help.

gilbertharding

I meant the quote from the Cliff autobiog, but nevermind!!

QuoteConcepta returns to the car for her mac and watches aghast as it rolls away into the lake!!

Hmmm... they like to recycle plot points: I remember Fred Gee's Rover 2000 rolling into a lake during a picnic in 1983.

Autopsy Turvey

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on March 08, 2022, 12:05:04 PMDon't forget 'Gob On You' from Not The Nine O'Clock News in 1980. The era when punks put on a leather dog collar and dressed up like Meat Loaf.

And when punk songs had chamber orchestral mid-sections! Inevitably Chaos UK dropped the string quartet from their dead straight cover version, first song on an otherwise fairly staid covers album. They should have ended with All-Out Superpower Confrontation, if not Baronet Oswald Ernald Mosley.

QuoteI wonder what Eric & Ernie made of NTNON? It must've seemed very abrasive to them (or more likely, intermittently boring, lewd and unprofessional?)

If Python wasn't much to Eric's taste, NT9 must have seemed utterly bewildering. Did they get a sly kick out of the Two Ninnies, I wonder? There would be the odd sketch that rang true, like the one where Mel is trying to buy a gramophone, and the trade union negotiations ("Mr Hawkins' daughter to be phased in by 1991").

daf

Quote from: gilbertharding on March 08, 2022, 12:52:05 PMI meant the quote from the Cliff autobiog, but nevermind!!

Oops!

Cliff Richard : "I looked in the mirror and I thought, 'Yes'. I decided it was not for me and so I went on a diet."

Andy147

Quote from: Autopsy Turvey on March 08, 2022, 01:42:34 PMIf Python wasn't much to Eric's taste, NT9 must have seemed utterly bewildering.

He liked Rowan Atkinson, though: in "Funny Man" (by Eric's son Gary), he quotes Eric as talking about some of those who had reached "the next level" in showbusiness (Tommy Steele, Mike Yarwood, John Cleese, Tommy Cooper, Dick Emery, Spike Milligan, Jimmy Tarbuck, Roy Castle, Des O'Connor, The Two Ronnies, Morecambe and Wise...) and adds "Rowan Atkinson is going that way. He is another of the up-and-coming who may well be at the top for as long as he is working".
Think I've read elsewhere that Rowan asked Eric if he thought Rowan should keep trying at comedy, and Eric told him he should definitely give it a go, otherwise he'd always regret it.

Quote from: Autopsy Turvey on March 08, 2022, 11:48:02 AMI've only ever seen this referred to on this forum, I'd be very interested to pin this down. British comedy didn't seem to notice punk rockers until about 1987 (even Vyv was more a metalhead, what self-respecting punk rocker wore Kiss, Saxon, Whitesnake and Rush t-shirts?).

I think it was on some daytime chat or magazine show. Maybe more afternoon than evening.

It was actually a punk daughter that Ernie suggested having in the putative sitcom.

Quote from: Andy147 on March 08, 2022, 09:04:28 PMHe liked Rowan Atkinson, though: in "Funny Man" (by Eric's son Gary), he quotes Eric as talking about some of those who had reached "the next level" in showbusiness (Tommy Steele, Mike Yarwood, John Cleese, Tommy Cooper, Dick Emery, Spike Milligan, Jimmy Tarbuck, Roy Castle, Des O'Connor, The Two Ronnies, Morecambe and Wise...) and adds "Rowan Atkinson is going that way. He is another of the up-and-coming who may well be at the top for as long as he is working".
Think I've read elsewhere that Rowan asked Eric if he thought Rowan should keep trying at comedy, and Eric told him he should definitely give it a go, otherwise he'd always regret it.

Rowan Atkinson became quite friendly with Eric Morecambe, I believe, even visiting him at home on at least one occasion.

The Bumlord

I did Eric's paper bag trick while selecting my cheese twist from Sainsbury's this morning. Nobody saw, but still.