Ronnie Corbett CBE
Ronnie Corbett arriving at the premiere of Burke and Hare, Chelsea, London, United Kingdom
Born	Ronald Balfour Corbett (1930-12-04) 4 December 1930 (age 81) Edinburgh, Scotland
Nationality	Scottish
Occupation	Actor, Comedian, Broadcaster, Writer
Years active	1952–present
Spouse	Anne Hart (1965–present)

Ronald Balfour "Ronnie" Corbett, CBE (born 4 December 1930) is a Scottish actor and comedian who had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the television comedy series The Two Ronnies. He achieved prominence in Sir David Frost's 1960s satirical comedy programme, The Frost Report and later starred in the sitcoms Sorry! and No - That's Me Over Here!

Early life and career[link]

Corbett was born in Edinburgh in 1930, the son of London-born Annie Elizabeth (Main) and William Balfour Corbett, master baker.^[1] He has a brother about six years younger, and a sister about ten years younger than himself.^[2] Corbett was educated at the Royal High School in the city, but did not attend university. After leaving school, he decided he wanted to be an actor while performing in amateur theatricals at a church youth club. However, his first job was with the Ministry of Agriculture. He then did national service with the RAF,^[3] during which he was the shortest commissioned officer in the British Forces.^[4] After National Service he moved to London to act, and started his career by playing schoolboy roles in films. At 5 ft 1 in (1.55 m) tall, Corbett was suited to playing younger than his years. References to his height frequently crop up in his self-deprecating humour.

He has worked in film, television, and on stage since the 1950s. In his first stage co-starring appearance he was billed as Ronald Corbett at Cromer, Norfolk, in "Take it easy" in 1956, co-starring with Graham Stark. He appeared in Crackerjack as a regular in its early days, one episode with Winifred Atwell. He had a walk-on in an early episode of the 1960s series The Saint (credited as 'Ronald Corbett') and appeared in films including Rockets Galore! (1957), Casino Royale (1967), Some Will, Some Won't (1970) and the film version of the farce No Sex Please, We're British (1973).

Corbett starred in the first London production of the musical The Boys from Syracuse (as Dromio of Syracuse) in 1963 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, alongside Bob Monkhouse.^[5] In 1965 he was in cabaret at Winston's, Danny La Rue's Mayfair nightclub. David Frost saw him and asked him to appear in The Frost Report. Corbett was in the West End, playing Will Scarlett in Lionel Bart's Robin Hood musical Twang!. It failed, leaving Corbett free to accept.^[6]

Rise to fame[link]

It was in The Frost Report (1966–67) that Corbett first worked with Ronnie Barker. The writers and cast were mostly Oxbridge graduates from the Footlights tradition. Corbett said he and Barker were drawn together as two grammar school boys who had not gone to university. The show was a mixture of satirical monologues, sketches and music. Corbett and Barker were beginning to be thought of as a pair. They appeared with John Cleese in one of the most repeated comedy sketches in British television, the Class sketch, in which Corbett got the pay-off line: "I get a pain in the back of my neck."

Continuing under Frost, Corbett starred in No - That's Me Over Here!, a sitcom written by Frost Report writers Barry Cryer, Graham Chapman and Eric Idle (ITV 1967-70). Cryer and Chapman wrote two follow-ups: Now Look Here (BBC 1971-73) and The Prince of Denmark (BBC 1974). Corbett also appeared in Frost on Sunday (ITV 1968) and hosted The Corbett Follies (ITV 1969).

[edit] The Two Ronnies

His BBC television comedy show with Ronnie Barker, The Two Ronnies, lasted from 1971 to 1987. Barker and Corbett performed sketches and musical numbers. Corbett presented a monologue. Sitting in a large easy chair (emphasising his small size), and usually wearing a Lyle & Scott golfing V-neck sweater, he would tell a simple joke over several minutes, often allowing himself to appear to lose his train of thought.

Recent life[link]

His best known role away from The Two Ronnies is as the 40-something Timothy Lumsden, dominated by his mother, in the sitcom Sorry! (1981-1988). In 1996, he appeared on the première of the short-lived BBC game show, Full Swing, hosted by Jimmy Tarbuck. In 1997, Corbett played Reggie Sea Lions in the film Fierce Creatures, which also starred his former comedy teammate John Cleese.

He also hosted the game show Small Talk and has played minor parts occasionally since its end – notably Griselda in a television production of Cinderella in 2000, and reviving his armchair monologue routines for a weekly appearance in a stand-up show hosted by Ben Elton.

In 2003 he appeared in advertisements for the Sky+ digital television service alongside Alice Cooper. The premise was a running gag about their being happy housemates. In December 2004, Corbett appeared on the BBC news quiz, Have I Got News For You.

In 2005 Corbett teamed up again with Ronnie Barker for The Two Ronnies Sketchbook, comedy sketches from their original series with original linking material. Also in 2005 Corbett appeared with comedian Peter Kay, in the spoof music video for the number 1 single Is This the Way to Amarillo?, mimed to the song by Tony Christie. Corbett is remembered for accidentally falling over in the video, however he found the fall funny when played back, and it was kept in the final version.

He performed in Children's Party at the Palace as Mr Tibbs, the Queen's butler.

In 2006, he played a hyper-realised version of himself in Extras, caught taking drugs at the BAFTA Awards. He also starred as himself in Little Britain Abroad, in which Bubbles DeVere tried successfully to seduce him. He opened the centre in Cromer, North Norfolk, to Henry Blogg, "the greatest lifeboatman of all time" . He opened Cromer's high school swimming pool in the 1970s.

Corbett was the "castaway" in the BBC Radio 4 show, Desert Island Discs on 21 October 2007. He featured as a Slitheen in a Sarah Jane Adventures episode for Red Nose Day 2009.

He had a television interview about his life on 7 November 2009 for Piers Morgan's Life Stories. On 14 November 2009 he hosted Strictly Come Dancing alongside Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman. Regular host Bruce Forsyth had flu.

In February 2010 he was in the John Landis thriller comedy, Burke and Hare.^[7] In August 2010 he was a panelist in the BBC 1 comedy show Would I Lie to You?.

In August 2010 he was the star of the Good Food HD programme, Ronnie Corbett's Supper Club, with Rob Brydon, and Rob's good friend Steve Speirs. The show's premise was, the main guest of the programme has to choose a meal as if it were their last, and Ronnie would cook it for him/her and his other guest, whilst they chatted about the guest's past and their current/future projects. In December of the same year he starred in a one off special: The One Ronnie.

In 2010 - 2011 he starred in two series of the BBC4 radio sitcom When The Dog Dies. The series reunited Corbett with Ian Davidson and Peter Vincent, the writers of Sorry!

Already Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to entertainment and charity.^[8][9] Ronnie will guest present This Morning on Friday 24th February with Coleen Nolan as Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes take their holiday.

Personal life[link]

Corbett married actress and dancer Anne Hart in 1965; they have two daughters, actresses Emma and Sophie Corbett. Their first child, Andrew, had a heart defect and died, six weeks old, at St Thomas' Hospital.^[2]

He has lived in Shirley, Croydon, London, for many years. He also has a home in Gullane, East Lothian, in Scotland. He is a beekeeper and keeps hives at his second home in East Lothian.^[10]

Corbett is a golfer and appears in celebrity and pro–am events; in 2009 he made a documentary with Colin Montgomerie in which they played at Gleneagles.^[11] He is also a past president of the Lord's Taverners (1982 and 1987).^[12]

He also supports his local football club, Crystal Palace as well as his hometown club Heart of Midlothian.^{[citation needed]}

Television roles[link]

Selected filmography[link]

• Fun at St. Fanny's (1956)
• Rockets Galore! (1957)
• Operation Snatch (1962)
• Casino Royale (1967)
• Some Will, Some Won't (1970)
• The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970)
• No Sex Please, We're British (1973)
• Fierce Creatures (1997)
• Burke and Hare (2010)

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Corbett, Ronnie; Nobbs, David (2006). And It's Goodnight From Him .... Michael Joseph, Penguin. ISBN 0-7181-4964-5. 

External links[link]

• Ronnie Corbett at the Internet Movie Database
• Ronnie Corbett's Supper Club

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2009)

Graham Norton
Norton in May 2010
Birth name	Graham William Walker
Born	(1963-04-04) 4 April 1963 (age 49) Clondalkin, Dublin, Ireland
Medium	Television, radio, stand-up
Nationality	Irish
Years active	1992–present
Genres	Observational comedy
Subject(s)	Everyday life, pop culture, current events, celebrities, sex
Notable works and roles	So Graham Norton V Graham Norton The Graham Norton Effect Graham Norton's Bigger Picture The Graham Norton Show

Graham William Walker, known by his stage name Graham Norton, (born 4 April 1963)^[1] is an Irish actor, comedian, television presenter and columnist. He is the host of comedy chat programme The Graham Norton Show on BBC One in the UK and BBC America in the US. Hot Press has described him as "the 21st century's answer to Terry Wogan", with both men sharing an Irish background and the common link of being a BBC Radio 2 presenter and the BBC television commentator of the Eurovision Song Contest.^[2] Norton has won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Entertainment Performance on five occassions.

Early life and career[link]

Norton was born in Clondalkin, a suburb of Dublin, but grew up in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland to a Protestant family. He was educated at Bandon Grammar School, in County Cork and then University College Cork but did not complete his studies.

In 1992 his stand-up comedy drag act in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as a tea-towel clad Mother Teresa of Calcutta made the press when Scottish Television's religious affairs department mistakenly thought he represented the real Mother Teresa.^[3]

His first appearances in broadcasting were in his spot as a regular comedian and panellist on the BBC Radio 4 show Loose Ends, when the show ran on Saturday mornings, in the early 1990s. His rise to fame began as one of the early successes of Channel 5, when he won an award for his performance as the stand-in host of a late-night TV talk show usually presented by Jack Docherty.^[4][5] This was followed by a comic quiz show on Channel 5 called Bring Me the Head of Light Entertainment, which was not well received as a programme, but did further enhance Norton's individual reputation as a comic and TV host. In 1996, Norton co-hosted the late-night quiz show Carnal Knowledge on ITV with Maria McErlane.

In 1996, Norton played the part of Father Noel Furlong in three episodes ("Hell", "Flight Into Terror", "The Mainland") of the Channel 4 series Father Ted. Father Noel Furlong was often seen taking charge of a small youth folk-group.

Channel 4[link]

After this early success, Norton moved to Channel 4 to host his own chat shows including So Graham Norton and V Graham Norton. As a performer who is not only openly gay,^[6] but also camp and flamboyant, it was here that Norton's act was fully honed as a cheeky, innuendo-laden joker.

In 2003, he was the subject of controversy when, on his show on Channel 4, he made a comedic reference to the recent death of Bee Gees singer Maurice Gibb. The Independent Television Commission investigated after complaints about this insensitivity were forwarded to it and eventually Channel 4 had to make two apologies: one in the form of a caption slide before the show, another from Norton in person.

Also in 2003, he was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. (Though Norton is Irish, the bulk of his television career has been in the UK.)

In the summer of 2004, Norton moved across the Atlantic to start a new venture in American television. The Graham Norton Effect debuted on 24 June 2004 on Comedy Central, and was also broadcast in the UK on BBC Three. In the midst of controversy surrounding Janet Jackson's Super Bowl performance, Norton was wary of moving into the market.^[7]

BBC[link]

Norton at 2009 BAFTA awards

In 2005, Norton moved to the BBC and began hosting the Saturday evening reality TV series Strictly Dance Fever on BBC One, as well as a new comedy chat show, Graham Norton's Bigger Picture. He also read stories some nights on the BBC children's channel CBeebies as part of Bedtime Hour.

In 2006, Norton hosted the BBC One series How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? in which Andrew Lloyd Webber tried to find a lead actress for his West End version of The Sound of Music. Norton has subsequently presented the 3 follow-up series: Any Dream Will Do in 2007, in which a group of males competed to win the role of Joseph in the West End production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; I'd Do Anything in 2008, in which Andrew Lloyd Webber seeks to find the part of Nancy and Oliver for Sir Cameron Mackintosh's production of Lionel Bart's Oliver!; and Over the Rainbow in 2010, following a similar format to find a new Dorothy for a Wizard of Oz West end Production.

Norton hosted various other shows for the BBC during this time, including When Will I Be Famous? (2007), The One and Only (2008) and Totally Saturday (2009). Since 2007, Norton has also been a regular host of The British Academy Television Awards. On 7 July 2007, Norton presented at Live Earth and undertook a trip to Ethiopia with the Born Free Foundation to highlight the plight of the Ethiopian wolf – the rarest canid in the world. In the same year, he was the subject of an episode of the BBC1 genealogy documentary Who Do You Think You Are?.

Norton's chat show, The Graham Norton Show, began on 22 February 2007 on BBC Two. Although in a format that he had not been involved in for 4 years, it is very similar to his previous Channel 4 shows. On 6 October 2009, the show moved to BBC One, in a new one-hour format.

In May 2010, he stood in for Chris Evans' breakfast show on BBC Radio 2. Later that month, it was confirmed that he would be replacing Jonathan Ross's Saturday morning slot on the same station.

In December 2011, the panel show Would You Rather...? with Graham Norton premiered on BBC America in the time slot immediately following The Graham Norton Show. Recorded in New York, it is one of BBC America's earliest efforts at producing original programming, and is also the first panel game the channel has shown, either of British or American origin.

In January 2012, he called on listeners to his Radio 2 show to help find his car hours after it was stolen. He called it "The Great Car Hunt" and told listeners to “Keep your eyes out for it. It was filthy by the way."

Eurovision[link]

Norton with Josh Dubovie at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010

Norton hosted the first annual Eurovision Dance Contest alongside Claudia Winkleman which was held on 1 September 2007 in London, England. The format was based on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing and the EBU's Eurovision Song Contest. Norton and Winkleman also hosted the 2008 Contest in Glasgow, Scotland.

In October 2008, it was confirmed by the BBC that Norton would replace Terry Wogan as the BBC's presenter for the UK heats of the Eurovision Song Contest, in a show to be called Your Country Needs You.

On 5 December 2008 it was announced that Norton would also take over from Wogan as the presenter of the main Eurovision Song Contest.^[8] The 54th Eurovision Song Contest was held in the Olimpiyskiy (Olympic) Stadium, Moscow on 16 May 2009.

Norton's jokes during his debut received some positive reviews from the British media. The Guardian noted his comments on Iceland's entry, which finished in second place, had "rooted around in a cupboard and found an old bridesmaid dress from 1987" and the Armenian singers, who finished in tenth place, were sporting traditional dress, "which would be true if you come from the village where Liberace is the mayor."^[9] The Times noted his highlighting of the arrest of thirty gay rights protesters in Moscow – "heavy-handed policing has really marred what has been a fantastic Eurovision."^[9]

His comment “The bad news is you’re about to watch Albania. She’s only 17 so please bear that in mind. Where was her mother? Why didn’t she step in and say no?” which was made just before Albanian singer Kejsi Tola was set to take the stage dubbed an insult by many, sent ripples of outrage through not only Albania, but also the Albanian population in Britain. He then announced that Albania should get no points and that he didn't care what anybody else thought. There was a petition circling the net calling for a formal apology from Norton. The petition, which called his comment “very rude and insulting,” had drawn over 1,000 signatures. He never responded.^[10]

In 2011, he snarked that if Jedward's entry into the competition that year won, the twins would never sleep again. In the end, they were eighth. Earlier in that year's televote, he joked "Quick, someone take a picture", when The British entry that year went temporarily in the lead early on after high votes from Russia(4), Bulgaria(12) and Italy(10). In the end, the song dropped down the 11th, earning 100 points. Very annoyed, Norton claimed 'We were better than Jedward'.

In 2012, Norton joked about the Spanish singer Pastora Soler and the economic situation of Spain. This statements unleashed many bad reviews on the internet. Norton joked about Rona Nishliu (the singer of Albania) too. He said that Rona was a singer that "she shout a lot".

Other[link]

In July 2000 Graham was one of three judges of the Miss Lesbian Beauty Contest 2000 held at The Talk of London, Drury Lane. The contest was won by 42 year old Carol Hutchins who wowed the audience with her sit-down comedy routine from a wheelchair. Graham described Carol as a "very bright, funny lady."

Graham Norton played Mr. Puckov in the 2006 American comedy spoof film Another Gay Movie. In 2007, Norton played Taylor in the romantic comedy film I Could Never Be Your Woman.

Norton was involved in a high-publicity advertising campaign for the UK National Lottery as an animated unicorn, the stooge to a character based on Lady Luck (played by Fay Ripley). He has also advertised McVitie's biscuits.

In 2007, Norton featured in Girls Aloud and Sugababes' Comic Relief video for the single "Walk This Way."

In January 2009, Norton made his West End stage debut in a revival of La Cage Aux Folles at the Playhouse Theatre.

Since 2009, Norton has been the host of the comedy game-show Most Popular on US cable television channel WE tv.^[11]

Norton currently writes an advice column in The Daily Telegraph newspaper. In October 2010, these columns were made into a book entitled Ask Graham, published by John Blake Publishing.

Personal life[link]

Norton with a dog in 2006, supporting Crusaid.

Norton has stated that he felt "out of place" growing up in Ireland; his family are Protestant yet the Republic of Ireland is overwhelmingly Catholic. Norton took part in the TV programme, Who Do You Think You Are?, to trace his ancestry. It was discovered that his family were originally planters sent over from England to take over Irish land. Some members of his family had fought for the British Monarchy during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and taken part in a massacre of Catholics in Carnew Castle. Another member of his family was later killed in battle by the United Irishmen. Norton said he was comforted to find out that his family had resided in Ireland for generations.^[12]

In 1989 while living in London, Norton was mugged, beaten and stabbed by a group of attackers on the street. He says he lost half his blood and nearly died, and he was hospitalised for two and a half weeks.^[13][14]

Norton is openly gay.^[6][15][16]

Norton owns a holiday home in Ahakista, County Cork, which is near to where he grew up, in Bandon. The house has a private beach and overlooks Dunmanus Bay.

TV appearances[link]

Main presenting credits[link]

• Carnal Knowledge (TV series, co-presenter) (1996, 27 one hour shows)
• Bring Me the Head of Light Entertainment
• So Graham Norton (1998–2002)
• V Graham Norton (2002–2003)
• NY Graham Norton (2004)
• The Graham Norton Effect (2004–2005)
• Graham Norton's Bigger Picture (2005–2006)
• Strictly Dance Fever (2005–2006)
• BBC/Andrew Lloyd Webber musical theater talent searches (2006–present)
  • How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? (2006)
  • Any Dream Will Do (2007)
  • I'd Do Anything (2008)
  • Over the Rainbow (2010)
• The Big Finish (2006–)
• When Will I Be Famous? (2007)
• The Graham Norton Show (2007–present)
• The British Academy Television Awards (2007)
• Live Earth (2007)
• Eurovision Dance Contest (2007)
• The One and Only (2008)
• Eurovision Dance Contest (2008)
• Eurovision: Your Country Needs You (2009–present)
• Eurovision Song Contest (UK commentator, 2009–present)
• Totally Saturday (2009)
• Most Popular (2009–present)
• Would You Rather...? with Graham Norton (BBC America, 2011–present)

Other television credits[link]

Radio[link]

• Just a Minute

Sitting in for Steve Wright August 2009 BBC Radio 2

Sitting in for Chris Evans May /July 2010 BBC Radio 2

On 2 October 2010, he began his weekly BBC Radio 2 Saturday show taking over from Jonathan Ross. The show airs from 10.00am-1.00pm and combines a mixture of music, chat and celebrity guests.

2011/12 Radio 2 Saturday mornings

Filmography[link]

Stand-Up videos[link]

• Live At The Roundhouse (19 November 2001)

Awards[link]

• 1999 : Gaytime Award for Gay Entertainer of the Year
• 2000 : BAFTA Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance – So Graham Norton
• 2001 : BAFTA Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance - So Graham Norton
• 2001 : RTS Television Award for Best Presenter – So Graham Norton
• 2001 : TRIC Award TV Personality of the Year
• 2002 : BAFTA Television Award for Best Entertainment Perfromance - So Graham Norton
• 2011 : BAFTA Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance – The Graham Norton Show ^[17]
• 2012 : BAFTA Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance - The Graham Norton Show

References[link]

External links[link]

• Graham Norton Radio 2 at BBC Programmes
• The Graham Norton Show at BBC Programmes
• Graham Norton at the Internet Movie Database
• Graham Norton at the British Film Institute's Screenonline

Stubby Kaye
Kaye with Shirley Bonne, 1960.
Born	Bernard Kotzin (1918-11-11)November 11, 1918 New York City, New York U.S.
Died	December 14, 1997(1997-12-14) (aged 79) Rancho Mirage, California U.S.
Spouse	Jeanne Watson (1960-1961) Angela Bracewell (?-1997)

Stubby Kaye (November 11, 1918 – December 14, 1997) was an American comic actor. He was born Bernard Kotzin in New York City on the last day of the First World War, at West 114th Street in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan to first generation Jewish-Americans originally from Russia and Austria. He was raised in the Far Rockaway section of Queens and in The Bronx.

Career[link]

Directors viewed Kaye as a master of the Broadway idiom during the last phase of the musical comedy era. This was evidenced by his introduction of three of the greatest show-stopping numbers of the era: “Fugue for Tinhorns” and “Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat” from Guys and Dolls (1950) and “Jubilation T. Cornpone” from Li'l Abner (1956). in 1953 he played in a remake of It Happened One Night, You Can't Run Away From It. Kaye is best known for defining the role of Nicely-Nicely Johnson in Guys and Dolls, first on Broadway and then in the film version. He also played Marryin' Sam in Li'l Abner, again on both stage and screen. In 1962, he played the Mikado in Michael Winner's The Cool Mikado.

In 1965, he played alongside Nat King Cole as a travelling musician in the western/comedy Cat Ballou, starring Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin. He also made a guest appearance in "Delta And The Bannermen", a story in the British science fiction series, Doctor Who in 1987. His last featured role was as Marvin Acme in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

In the mid 1950s, Kaye guest starred on NBC's The Martha Raye Show. In 1958, he appeared on the short-lived NBC variety show, The Gisele MacKenzie Show. About this time, he also appeared on ABC's The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom. In the 1959–1960 television season, Kaye co-starred with William Demarest, Jeanne Bal, and Murray Hamilton in the NBC 18-week sitcom Love and Marriage. Demarest played William Harris, the owner of a failing music company who refuses to handle popular rock and roll music, which presumably might save the firm from bankruptcy. Kaye played the promotion agent.^[1]

In the 1960-1961 season, Kaye appeared as Marty, the agent of aspiring actress Eileen Sherwood, in the CBS sitcom My Sister Eileen, starring Shirley Bonne, with Elaine Stritch as Eileen's older sister, magazine writer Ruth Sherwood.

During the 1960s, Kaye became well known as host of a weekly children's talent show, Stubby's Silver Star Show. During the 1962–1963 season, he was a regular on Stump the Stars. On April 14, 1963, he guest starred as "Tubby Mason" in NBC's Ensign O'Toole comedy series, starring Dean Jones. Kaye portrayed an obese sailor going on a crash diet to avoid expulsion from the United States Navy because of his weight.

From 1964–65 he hosted the Saturday morning children's game show Shenanigans on ABC. He also appeared in the 1974 Broadway revival of Good News. Other stage productions included Man of Magic in London (with Stuart Damon as Harry Houdini), and his final Broadway show Grind co-starring Ben Vereen in 1985 .

Personal life[link]

His first wife was Jeanne Watson from Chicago, who was a clerical worker at the movie studios in the late 1950s. They were married in 1960 as the series Love and Marriage ended, but the couple divorced because of personal differences within a year of their marriage.

Kaye's second wife, Angela Bracewell, was a former dancer at the London Palladium whom he met while living in Great Britain. She was the hostess of the British version of the Beat the Clock game show, a segment of Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium. They remained married until his death.

Death[link]

Kaye died of lung cancer on December 14, 1997 in Rancho Mirage, California.

Partial filmography[link]

• Guys and Dolls (1955)
• Li'l Abner (1959)
• The Cool Mikado (1962)
• Sex and the Single Girl (1964)
• Cat Ballou (1965)
• The Way West (1967)
• Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? (1969)
• Sweet Charity (1969)
• Six Pack Annie (1975)
• Ellis Island (1984) TV Miniseries
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

References[link]

Notes

External links[link]

Biography portal

• Stubby Kaye at the Internet Movie Database
• Stubby Kaye at the TCM Movie Database
• Stubby Kaye at the Internet Broadway Database

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2012)

Thomas Frederick "Tommy" Cooper (19 March 1921 – 15 April 1984) was a popular Welsh prop comedian and magician from Caerphilly, South Wales.

Cooper was a member of The Magic Circle, and respected by traditional magicians. Famed for his red fez, his appearance was large and lumbering at 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) and more than 15 stone (210 lb; 95 kg) in weight.^[5]

On 15 April 1984, Cooper collapsed and soon after died from a heart attack in front of millions of television viewers, midway through his act on the London Weekend Television variety show Live From Her Majesty's, transmitted live from Her Majesty's Theatre. His stage persona required that his act intentionally went wrong for comic purposes, leading to some initial uncertainty about whether this collapse was real.

Biography[link]

Born in Caerphilly, South Wales, at 19 Llwyn Onn Street, Trecenydd, Cooper was delivered by the woman who owned the house in which the family was lodging. His parents were Welsh-born army recruiting sergeant father Thomas H. (Tom) Cooper, and his English-born wife Gertrude (née Gertrude C. Wright) from Crediton, Devon.^[6][7] In light of the heavily polluted air and the offer of a job for his father, the family moved to Exeter, Devon, when Cooper was three and gained the West Country accent that was part of his act.^[8]

The family lived in the back of Haven Banks, where Cooper attended Mount Radford School for Boys, and helped his parents run their ice cream van, which attended fairs on the weekend. At the age of eight an aunt bought Cooper a magic set and he spent hours perfecting the tricks.^[9]

Magic ran in his family—his brother David (born 1930)^[10] opened a magic shop in the 1960s in Slough High Street (then Buckinghamshire now Berkshire) called D. & Z. Cooper's Magic Shop.^[11]

World War II[link]

After school, Cooper became a shipwright in Hythe, Hampshire, and in 1940 was called up as a trooper in the Royal Horse Guards regiment of the British Army in World War II. He served initially in Montgomery's Desert Rats in Egypt. Cooper became part of the NAAFI entertainment party and developed an act around his magic tricks interspersed with comedy. One evening in Cairo, during a sketch in which he was supposed to be in a costume which required a pith helmet, having forgotten the prop, Cooper reached out and borrowed the fez from a passing waiter which got huge laughs.^[12] It was from this incident that stemmed two of the attributes that were a hallmark of his later act: the ever-present fez hat and his aptitude for slapstick comedy.

Act development[link]

When he was demobbed after seven years of military service, Cooper took up show business on Christmas Eve, 1947—he would later add a popular monologue about his military experience as "Cooper the Trooper". Cooper worked in variety theatres around the country and at London's Windmill Theatre, where he performed 52 shows per week.^[12]

Cooper had developed his conjuring skills and was a member of The Magic Circle, but there are various versions as to where he developed his act delivery of "failed" magic tricks:^[12]

• Performing to his shipbuilding colleagues when everything went wrong. Devastated, Cooper still noted that the failed tricks got laughs.
• During his British Army career.
• At a post-war audition, at which his tricks went wrong, but which the panel thoroughly enjoyed.

To keep the audience on their toes, Cooper threw in the occasional trick that worked when it was least expected.

Career[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

In 1947 Cooper got his big break with Miff Ferrie, at that time trombonist in a band called The Jackdaws, who booked him to appear as the second spot comedian in a show starring sand dance act "Marqueeze and the Dance of the Seven Veils". Cooper then began a two-year period of arduous performing. Ir included a tour of Europe and a stintin pantomime, playing one of Cinderella's ugly sisters. The period culminated in a season long booking at the Windmill Theatre where he doubled up doing cabarets, one week performing in 52 shows. Ferrie would remain Cooper's sole agent for the next 37 years, until Cooper's death in 1984.

Cooper rapidly became a top-liner in variety with his turn as the conjurer whose tricks never succeeded, but it was his television work which raised him to national prominence. After his debut on the BBC talent show New to You in March 1948, he soon started starring in his own shows, and was popular with audiences for four decades, most notably through his work with London Weekend Television from 1968 to 1972 and with Thames Television from 1973 to 1980. Thanks to his many television shows during the mid 70s he was one of the biggest and most recognizable comedians in the world.

Cooper was a heavy drinker and smoker, and experienced a decline in health during the late 1970s, suffering a heart attack in 1977 while in Rome, where he was performing a show. Three months later he was back on television in Night Out at the London Casino. By 1980, though, his drinking meant that Thames Television would not give him another starring series, and Cooper's Half Hour was his last. He did continue to guest on other television shows, however, and worked with Eric Sykes on two Thames productions in 1982:

John Fisher writes in Cooper's biography, "Everyone agrees that he was mean. Quite simply he was acknowledged as the tightest man in show business, with a pathological dread of reaching into his pocket." One of Cooper's stunts was to pay the exact taxi fare and when leaving the cab to slip something into the taxi driver's pocket saying, "Have a drink on me." That something would turn out to be a tea bag.^[13]

By the mid-1970s, alcohol had started to erode Cooper's professionalism and club owners complained that he turned up late or rushed through his show in five minutes. In addition, he suffered chronic indigestion, lumbago, sciatica, bronchitis and severe circulation problems in his legs. When Cooper realised the extent of his injuries he cut down on his drinking and the energy and sparkle returned to his act and some of his later television performances were a revelation. However, he never stopped drinking and could be fallible: on an otherwise triumphant appearance with Parkinson he forgot to set the safety catch on the guillotine illusion into which he had cajoled Parkinson. Only a last-minute intervention by the floor manager saved Parkinson from serious injury or worse.^[14]

Death on a live television show[link]

On 15 April 1984, Cooper collapsed from a heart attack in front of millions of television viewers, midway through his act on the London Weekend Television variety show Live From Her Majesty's, transmitted live from Her Majesty's Theatre—not, as is often reported, the London Palladium.

An assistant had helped him put on a cloak for his sketch, while Jimmy Tarbuck, the host, was hiding behind the curtain waiting to pass him different props which he would then appear to pull from inside his gown.^[15] The assistant smiled at him as he collapsed, believing that it was a joke.^[16] Likewise, the audience laughed as he fell, until it became apparent he was seriously ill.^[15] At this point the show's director, Alasdair MacMillan, cued the orchestra to play music for an unscripted commercial break (noticeable by several seconds of blank screen while LWT's master control contacted regional stations to start transmitting advertisements)^[15] and Jimmy Tarbuck's manager tried to pull Cooper back through the curtains. It was decided to continue with the show. Dustin Gee and Les Dennis were the act that had to follow Tommy Cooper, and other stars proceeded to present their acts in the limited space in front of the stage. For a long time, a rumour circulated that the size 13 feet from his 6' 4" frame protruded underneath the curtains. While the show continued, efforts were being made backstage to revive Cooper, not made easier by the darkness. It was not until a second commercial break that ambulancemen were able to move his body to Westminster Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. His death wasn't officially reported until the next morning, although the incident was the lead item on the news programme that followed the show.

The video of Tommy Cooper suffering a heart attack on stage has been uploaded to numerous video sharing websites. YouTube was heavily criticised by the press when footage of the incident was posted on their website in May 2009.^[16] On 28 December 2011, segments of the Live From Her Majesty's clip, including Cooper collapsing on stage, were screened on Channel 4 in the UK, on a programme titled "The Untold Tommy Cooper".

Cooper was cremated at Mortlake Crematorium in London.^[17] He was survived by his wife, Gwen (whom he called 'Dove'), and two children, Thomas and Vicky, and a two-year-old grandchild, Tam. Cooper's son Thomas, who was an actor in his own right, changed his name for stage to Thomas Henty (his mother's maiden name). Henty said in interviews that, though he loved his dad, he needed his own identity to make a career on stage, and told very few who his famed father was, to further his dramatic acting career. Eventually son Tom travelled on the road as manager to his father. He also acted as occasional stage manager to his father, and was backstage with his father on the night he died. But like his father, son Thomas was a heavy drinker, and he died in August 1988 at Charing Cross Hospital in Fulham, London, aged 32. He died of haematemesis, following complications caused by liver failure. Doctors had attempted to pump seventy pints of new blood into his body, but the blood failed to clot, and after three days his mother took the decision to have his life support machine switched off. Thomas Henty left a son, Tam Henty.

Legacy[link]

Statue of Tommy Cooper, near the castle, in Caerphilly

A statue of Cooper was unveiled in his hometown of Caerphilly, Wales, in 2008 by fellow entertainer Sir Anthony Hopkins, who is patron of The Tommy Cooper Society. The statue was sculpted by James Done.^[18] In 2009 for Red Nose Day, a charity Red Nose was put on the statue, but the nose was stolen.^[18]

In a 2005 poll The Comedians' Comedian, Cooper was voted the sixth greatest comedy act ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. He is commonly cited as one of the best comedians of all time, with several polls placing him at number one.^{[citation needed]}

Jerome Flynn has toured with his own tribute show to Cooper called Just Like That. In February 2007, The Independent reported that Andy Harries, a producer of The Queen, was working on a dramatization about the last week of Tommy Cooper's life.^[19] Harries described Cooper's death as "extraordinary" in that the whole thing was broadcast live on national television.^[20]

dan le sac vs Scroobius Pip wrote a song entitled 'Tommy C—about Cooper's career and death—which appears on their 2008 album Angles.

Recordings[link]

• "Don't Jump Off the Roof Dad" (1961), words and muisc by Cy Coben, single, Palette Records (PG 9019) (a chart hit)
• "Country Dreaming" - 12” LP
• "Ginger" - 7” single
• "Happy Tommy"- 7" single
• "Just Like That" 7” single
• "Masters of Comedy"- CD
• "My Name Is Tommy" - 12” LP
• "No Arms Will Ever Hold You" - 7” single
• "Sweet Words Of Love" - 7" single
• "Tommy Cooper Very Best Of" - CD, DVD
• "Walkin' Home From School" - 7" single
• "We'll Meet Again" - 7" single

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Tommy Cooper Society

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (September 2010)

Dame Thora Hird
Hird in 1974
Born	(1911-05-28)28 May 1911 Morecambe, Lancashire, England
Died	15 March 2003(2003-03-15) (aged 91) Brinsworth House, Twickenham, Greater London, England
Nationality	British
Ethnicity	English
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1940–2003
Notable work(s)	See here and here
Television	Last of the Summer Wine, In Loving Memory, Hallelujah!
Spouse	James Scott (m. 1937–1994) «start: (1937)–end+1: (1995)»"Marriage: James Scott to Thora Hird" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Thora_Hird)[1] (his death)
Children	1 daughter

Dame Thora Hird DBE (28 May 1911 – 15 March 2003) was an English actress.

Early life and career[link]

Hird was born in the Lancashire seaside town of Morecambe. She first appeared on stage at the age of two months in a play her father was managing. Her family background was largely theatrical: her mother, Marie Mayor, had been an actress, while her father managed a number of entertainment venues in Morecambe, including the Royalty Theatre where she made her first appearance, and the Central Pier. Thora often described her father as her sternest critic and attributed much of her talent as an actress and comedienne to his guidance. Although Hird left Morecambe in the late 1940s, she retained her affection for the town, referring to herself as a "sand grown'un", the colloquial term for anyone born in Morecambe.

Initially she made regular appearances in films, including the wartime propaganda film Went the Day Well? (1942, known as 48 Hours in the USA), in which she is shown wielding a rifle to defend a house from German paratroopers. She worked with the British film comedian Will Hay, and featured in The Entertainer (1960), which starred Laurence Olivier, and in A Kind of Loving (1962), with Alan Bates.

Thora Hird gained her highest profile in television comedy, notably the sitcoms Meet the Wife (1963–66), In Loving Memory (1979–86), Hallelujah! 1983-1984), and for nearly two decades in Last of the Summer Wine (1986–2003). However, she played a variety of roles, including the nurse in Romeo and Juliet, and won BAFTA Best Actress awards for her roles in two of Alan Bennett's Talking Heads monologues. She starred as Captain Emily Ridley in the sitcom Hallelujah! (1981–84) about the Salvation Army, a movement for which she had a soft spot throughout her life. Hird also portrayed Mrs Speck, the housekeeper of the Mayor of Gloucester in The Tailor of Gloucester (1989). She played the screen mother of Deric Longden in Wide Eyed and Legless (aka the Wedding Gift) and Lost for Words which won her a BAFTA for Best Actress.

Hird was a committed Christian, hosting the religious programme Praise Be!, a spin-off from Songs of Praise on the BBC. Her work for charity and on television in spite of old age and ill health made her an institution. Her advertisements for Churchill stairlifts (often misidentified as Stannah) also maintained her in the public eye.

She was created an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in 1983, and raised to Dame Commander (DBE) in 1993. She received an honorary D.Litt. from Lancaster University in 1989.

In December 1998, already using a wheelchair, Dame Thora played a brief but energetic cameo role as the mother of Dolly on Dinnerladies, a character sarcastic and particularly bitter towards her daughter.

Death[link]

She died, aged 91, in March 2003, having suffered a stroke. Hird's energy and resilience were such that, even following the news that she had suffered a stroke, BBC bosses were still hoping that she would recover in order to appear in the next series of Last of the Summer Wine.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life[link]

Hird married James Scott in 1937, they had a daughter, actress Janette Scott, born in 1938, Hird was widowed in 1994.^{[citation needed]}

Television roles[link]

Selected filmography[link]

• The Black Sheep of Whitehall (1942)
• Went the Day Well? (1942)
• Two Thousand Women (1944)
• Maytime in Mayfair (1949)
• Madness of the Heart (1949)
• Conspirator (1949)
• Once a Sinner (1950)
• The Magnet (1950)
• Emergency Call (1952)
• Time Gentlemen, Please! (1952)
• The Long Memory (1952)
• Turn the Key Softly (1953)
• Street Corner (1953)
• Background (1953)
• For Better, for Worse (1954)
• One Good Turn (1955)
• The Quatermass Experiment (1955)
• Simon and Laura (1955)
• Lost (1956)
• Women Without Men (1956)
• Sailor Beware! (1956)
• These Dangerous Years (1957)
• Further Up the Creek (1958)
• The Entertainer (1960)
• Over the Odds (1961)
• A Kind of Loving (1962)
• Term of Trial (1962)
• Bitter Harvest (1963)
• Rattle of a Simple Man (1964)
• Some Will, Some Won't (1970)
• Lost for Words (1999)

References[link]

• Dame Thora Hird's autobiography, Scene And Hird (1976)

Thora Hird played Dirk Borgarde's mother in the 1949 film "Once A Jolly Swagman" (also known as "Maniacs On Wheels").

External links[link]

• Thora Hird at the Internet Movie Database
• Thora Hird at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
• Thora Hird Britmovie British movie community
• "Actress Dame Thora Hird dies" - BBC News article, last updated March 15, 2003
• "Obituary: Dame Thora Hird" - BBC News obituary, last updated March 15, 2003
• Dame Thora Hird - obituary from The Guardian, by Veronica Horwell, dated March 17, 2003