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Morecambe and Wise

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Television

   Morecambe and Wise were a famous British comic double act comprising
   Eric Morecambe OBE and Ernie Wise OBE. The act lasted four decades
   until Morecambe's death in 1984.

History

   Eric and Ernie first joined forces in 1941 when booked separately to
   appear in Jack Hylton's revue, Youth Takes a Bow. War service broke up
   the act but they reunited by chance in 1946 when they joined forces
   again. Initially appearing in music hall, they made their name in
   radio, transferring to television in 1954. Their show, Running Wild,
   was not well received and led to a damning newspaper review:
   "Definition of the week: TV set - the box in which they buried
   Morecambe and Wise." Eric apparently carried this review around with
   him ever after and from then on Eric and Ernie kept a tight control
   over their material. In 1956 they were offered a spot in the Winifred
   Atwell show with material written by Johnny Speight and this was a
   success.

   They had a series of shows over twenty years:
     * Two of a Kind ( ATV, 1961-1968. Writers: Dick Hills and Sid Green).
     * The Morecambe and Wise Show (BBC, 1968-1978. Writers: Hills and
       Green for one series and thereafter Eddie Braben).
     * The Morecambe and Wise Show ( Thames Television, 1978 until their
       final show together at Christmas 1983. Writers: themselves, Barry
       Cryer, John Junkin, and from 1980, Eddie Braben). The Thames shows
       were generally felt to be disappointing compared to what had come
       before.

   During the 1960s the pair starred in three feature films ( The
   Intelligence Men (1965), That Riviera Touch (1966), and The Magnificent
   Two (1967)) but these are not generally considered a great success.
   However, they also starred in Night Train To Murder in 1983.

   In 1976, they were both awarded OBEs.

Collaborators

   In the later and most successful part of their career, which spanned
   the 1970s, they were joined behind the scenes by Eddie Braben, a script
   writer who generated almost all their material (Morecambe and Wise were
   also sometimes credited as supplying "additional material") and defined
   what is now thought of as typical Morecambe and Wise humour. Together
   Morecambe, Wise and Braben were known as "The Golden Triangle".
   Morecambe and Wise are considered by many to be one of the UK's
   all-time favourite comedy acts.

   John Ammonds was also central to the duo's most successful period in
   the 1970s. As the producer of the BBC TV shows, it was his idea to
   involve celebrity guests. He also came up with the duo's familiar
   dance.

The show

   A typical Morecambe and Wise show, as scripted by Braben, was
   effectively a sketch show crossed with a sit-com, although shows could
   also include the duo appearing "as themselves" on a mock stage in front
   of curtains emblazoned with an M and W logo (this was usually to open
   the show). Braben gave the duo characterisations—Wise egotistical but
   naive, Morecambe child-like and cocky—although at other times they
   relied on their acting ability to appear as characters in sketches.
   Wise was essentially the 'straight man' of the duo, with Morecambe
   usually given the funnier lines, usually bouncing them off Wise. Wise's
   contribution to the humour is a subject of an ongoing debate (to the
   end of his life he would always reject interviewers' suggestions that
   he was 'the straight man', preferring to call himself 'the
   song-and-dance man'); but as the manager of the duo he worked hard to
   ensure their success.

   A central conceit was that the duo lived together as close, long-term
   friends (references to a childhood friendship were legion) who shared
   not merely a flat but also a bed -- although their relationship was
   innocently platonic and merely continued a tradition of comic partners
   sleeping in the same bed that started with Laurel and Hardy (Morecambe,
   one gathers, was initially uncomfortable with the bed-sharing sketches,
   but changed his mind upon being reminded of the Laurel-and-Hardy
   precedent. Even so, he still insisted on smoking his pipe in the bed
   scenes "for the masculinity"). The front room of the flat and also the
   bedroom were used frequently throughout the show episodes, although
   Braben would also transplant the duo into various external situations,
   such as a health-food shop or a bank.

   Another conceit of the shows during the 'Braben era' was Wise's utterly
   confident presentation of amateurishly inept plays. This allowed for
   another kind of sketch: the staged 'historical drama', which usually
   parodied genuine historical television plays or films (such as Stalag
   54, Antony and Cleopatra, or Napoleon and Josephine). Wise's character
   would write a play, complete with cheap props and appallingly clumsy
   writing ("the play what I wrote" became a catchphrase), which would
   then be acted out by Morecambe, Wise and the show's guest star. Guests
   who participated included many big names of the 1970s and 80s, such as
   Flora Robson, Penelope Keith, John Mills, Vanessa Redgrave, Eric
   Porter, Peter Cushing and Frank Finlay - as well as Glenda Jackson (as
   Cleopatra: "All men are fools. And what makes them so is having beauty
   like what I have got..."). Jackson had not previously been known as a
   comedienne and this appearance led to her Oscar winning role in A Touch
   of Class. Morecambe and Wise would often pretend not to have heard of
   their guest, or would appear to confuse them with someone else (former
   UK Prime Minister Harold Wilson returned the favour, when appearing as
   a guest at the duo's 'flat', by referring to Morecambe as
   'Mor-e-cam-by'). Also noteworthy was the occasion when the respected
   BBC newsreader Angela Rippon was induced to show her shapely legs in a
   dance-number, and when Richard Greene of Robin Hood fame played a lost
   aviator called 'Miles Behind'. Braben later said that a large amount of
   the duo's humour was based on irreverence.

   As a carry-over from their music hall days, Morecambe and Wise sang and
   danced at the end of each show (poignantly, this tradition was
   abandoned when Eric's heart condition prevented him dancing: the comic
   solution was to present him walking across the stage with coat and bag,
   ostensibly to 'wait for his bus', while Ernie danced by himself). Their
   peculiar skipping dance was an improvised form of the Groucho Marx walk
   that involved putting alternate hands behind the head. Their signature
   tune was Bring Me Sunshine. They either sang this at the end of each
   show or it was used as a theme tune during the credits (although in
   some of their earlier shows they used other songs as well, notably
   "Following You Around" and "Don't You Agree"). A standard gag at the
   end of each show was for a large lady (Janet Webb) to appear behind the
   pair, walk to the front of the stage and push them out of her way. She
   would then recite: "I’d like to thank you for watching me and my little
   show here tonight. If you’ve enjoyed it then it’s all been worthwhile.
   So until we meet again, goodnight, and I love you all!" Webb was never
   announced and never appeared in their shows in any other context.
   During a theatrical tribute to the duo, The Play What I Wrote, many
   members of the audience wept when the tune was played. This indicates
   the popularity and special place Morecambe and Wise hold in the hearts
   of many British people. In a list of the 100 Greatest British
   Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000,
   voted for by industry professionals, The Morecambe and Wise Show was
   placed 14th. In September 2006, they were voted by the general public
   as number 2 in a poll of TV's Greatest Stars.

Christmas specials

   The show had end-of-year Christmas specials, which became such an
   institution during the 1970s that few British families would dream of
   missing them. Braben would comment that people judged the quality of
   their Christmas experience on the quality of the Morecambe and Wise
   Christmas Special. From 1969 until 1980 the shows were always on
   Christmas Day. Classic sketches from such shows revolved around the
   guest stars, such as Andre Previn (referred to as "Andrew Preview", and
   leading to the classic line from Morecambe when Previn complained he
   was playing "all the wrong notes" on the piano: "I am playing all the
   right notes... but not necessarily in the right order.")

   The 1977 Christmas Show attracted 28 million viewers, around half of
   the total UK population. It was a record for a single light
   entertainment broadcast in Britain, and one which still stands.

Singin' in the Rain

   One of the famous Morecambe and Wise routines was their recreation of
   the scene from the film. " Singin' in the Rain", where Gene Kelly
   dances in the rain, and sings the song " Singin' in the Rain". This
   recreation featured Ernie exactly copying Gene Kelly's dance routine,
   on a set which exactly copied the set used in the movie, and Eric
   performed the role of the policeman. The difference from the original
   was that in the Morecambe and Wise version, there is no water, except
   for some downpours onto Eric's head (through a drain, or dumped out of
   a window, etc.). This lack of water was initially because of practical
   considerations (the floor of the studio had many electrical cables on
   it, and such quantities of water would be dangerous) — but Morecambe
   and Wise found a way to turn the lack of water into a comic asset.

Catchphrases and visual gags

   Some of the duo's catchphrases include:
     * "What do you think of it so far?" (said by Morecambe, who would use
       a prop—such as a statue or stuffed toy—to answer: "Rubbish!")
       Morecambe said later that whenever he was in the directors' box
       when Luton Town were playing away, and Luton were behind at
       half-time, the home fans would shout 'What do you think of it so
       far?'
     * "More tea, Ern?" (a pun on "tea urn", a vessel for serving hot
       drinks used in workplaces)
     * "[He's got] short fat hairy legs" (said by Morecambe of Wise)
     * "You can't see the join!" (said by Morecambe of Wise's alleged wig)
     * "The play what I wrote" (said by Wise of his literary works)
     * "Arsenal!" (said by Morecambe), dating from a Mastermind sketch in
       which Morecambe is an incompetent 'Mr Memory' unable to remember
       anything without unsubtle prompting from Wise. It developed into a
       running gag, so that whenever Wise coughed, Morecambe would shout
       'Arsenal!'
     * "He's not wrong, you know!" (said by Morecambe)
     * "Wahey!" (said by Morecambe after what he considers is a
       particularly good joke)
     * "He's still got it, you know" (said by Morecambe, referring to
       himself, after what he considers a particularly good joke)
     * "There's no answer to that!" (said by Morecambe after anything
       which could be construed as innuendo; he also said "Pardon?" in a
       similar way)
     * Making fun of the singer and entertainer Des O'Connor in various
       disparaging ways, e.g. "If you want me to be a goner, buy me a
       record by Des O'Connor"
     * "That's easy for you to say!" (Morecambe) if anyone fluffed their
       line.
     * Morecambe deliberately getting guest stars' names wrong, e.g. Andre
       Previn = Andrew Preview, Elton John = Elephant John

   Additionally, there were many repeated visual gags:
     * Morecambe dressed in an overcoat and cloth cap and carrying a
       shopping bag, walking across the back of the stage as Wise sings
       the duo's theme song, "Bring Me Sunshine"
     * Morecambe affectionately slapping the top of Wise's shoulders and
       then cheeks with both hands
     * Wise's hair supposedly being a wig (also the catchphase said by
       Morecambe: "You can't see the join")
     * Morecambe deliberately making his glasses wonky and/or upside down
     * Morecambe pretending to bully people, usually the star guest, by
       grabbing them by the collar and pulling them to his face
     * Morecambe reading The Beano, eating crisps, smoking a pipe etc
     * Wise appearing on stage and Morecambe joining him from behind the
       stage curtain but being unable to find the opening and then trying
       to fight his way out
     * The duo's dance at the end of each show, which would see them
       exiting the stage by skipping and putting alternate hands behind
       their heads and backs
     * Fake title sequences for Wise's plays which satirised current
       events or popular personalities of the time
     * Visual jokes about Luton Town F.C., a football club of which
       Morecambe was a director.
     * Eric's prop - be it a mop, cuffs, a cane or trousers - getting
       progressively longer during dance sequences. Often, it got so long
       it became ridiculous (more laughs!), such as when his cane had
       reached such a length, he knocked Glenda Jackson from the stage.
     * Eric would throw a pretend ball in the air and catch it in a real
       paper bag, watching the invisible ball during its supposed flight
       and making a sound as though the ball had landed in the bag.
     * Eric putting a paper cup over his mouth and nose and performing a
       brief impersonation of Jimmy Durante; 'Sitting at my pianna the
       udder day ...'

Famous guest stars

Guest stars who took part in comedy sketches

     * Michael Aspel, Richard Baker, Peter Barkworth, Shirley Bassey,
       Frank Bough, Peter Bowles, Patricia Brake, Bernard Bresslaw,
       Richard Briers, Richard Caldicot, Ian Carmichael, Roy Castle, Diane
       Cilento, Margaret Courtenay, Harry Corbett, Gemma Craven, Peter
       Cushing, Allan Cuthbertson, Suzanne Danielle, Anna Dawson, Robin
       Day, Judi Dench, David Dimbleby, Diana Dors, Michele Dotrice,
       Robert Dougall, Clive Dunn, Paul Eddington, Dick Emery, Trevor Eve,
       Fenella Fielding, Frank Finlay, Bruce Forsyth, Grazina Frame,
       William Franklyn, David Frost, Jill Gascoigne, Hannah Gordon, Anita
       Graham, Hughie Green, Richard Greene, Derek Griffiths, Alec
       Guinness, Deryck Guyler, Susan Hampshire, Robert Hardy, Anita
       Harris, George Harrison, Nigel Hawthorne, Denis Healey, Glenda
       Jackson, Gordon Jackson, Derek Jacobi, Philip Jenkinson, Diane
       Keen, Felicity Kendal, Ludovic Kennedy, Penelope Keith, Burt Kwouk,
       Bonnie Langford, John Laurie, Ian Lavender, John Lennon, Rula
       Lenska, Valerie Leon, Jenny Linden, Arthur Lowe, Joanna Lumley,
       Fulton Mackay, Magnus Magnusson, Francis Matthews, Paul McCartney,
       Yehudi Menuhin, Penny Meredith, John le Mesurier, Valerie Minifie,
       Keith Michell, John Mills, Juliet Mills, Royce Mills, Patrick
       Moore, Patrick Mower, Barbara Murray, Nanette Newman, Barry Norman,
       Rudolf Nureyev, Des O'Connor, Ian Ogilvy, Laurence Olivier, Kate
       O'Mara, Hugh Paddick, Michael Parkinson, Eric Porter, Andre Previn,
       David Prowse, Michael Redgrave, Vanessa Redgrave, Angharad Rees,
       Cliff Richard, Ralph Richardson, Arnold Ridley, Diana Rigg, Angela
       Rippon, Flora Robson, Leonard Rossiter, Leonard Sachs, Anthony
       Sharp, Isla St Clair, Donald Sinden, Wayne Sleep, Ringo Starr, John
       Thaw, Percy Thrower, Jackie Trent, Frankie Vaughan, Peter Vaughan,
       Richard Vernon, April Walker, Eddie Waring, Dennis Waterman, Dilys
       Watling, Colin Welland, June Whitfield, Richard Whitmore, Barbie
       Wilde, Harold Wilson, Terry Wogan, Edward Woodward, Susannah York,
       Jimmy Young, Robert Young, Lena Zavaroni

Guest stars - singers

     * The Beatles, The Small Faces, The Hollies, Tom Jones, Lulu, Elton
       John, Shirley Bassey, Cliff Richard and The Pattersons. Most of the
       singers also took part in sketches — (for instance, The Beatles
       acted in a comic version sketch of " Pyramus and Thisbe", as
       performed within the Shakespearean play " A Midsummer's Night
       Dream").

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