Lionel Blair (born Henry Lionel Blair Ogus 12 December 1931, Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a British actor, choreographer, tap dancer and television presenter. He is the son of Myer Ogus and Deborah (Della) Greenbaum (Mother's name given as Brenner on FreeBMD). His father was a Russian barber; he changed the family name to Blair in his youth.

Early life[link]

Blair came to Britain when he was one year old. His first public performances were with his sister Joyce (born 1932) in London Underground Station air raid shelters during World War II. He attended the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford in 1944, followed by London's University of East London, where he majored in Ethnography. Blair eventually rekindled his passion for musical theatre and joined the West End. He gave up acting for dancing in 1947 although he subsequently appeared in the fringe production, "Out of the Blue" (Chichester) and "Who Killed Agatha' Christie" (national tour) amongst other acting credits.

Career[link]

Blair came to the fore in the 1960s, when, with his dance troupe, he appeared on television variety programmes. He also appeared in films A Hard Day's Night and Absolute Beginners, cameoed in an episode of The Persuaders! and in television comedy, including the short film, The Plank. In addition, he choreographed films such as Jazz Boat (1960) and The Magic Christian (1969).

Lionel Blair's handprints in Bath, UK

Blair is known for being one of the team captains on the gameshow Give Us a Clue from 1979 until the early 1990s and for being the second presenter of the British version of Name That Tune in the 1980s.

For six years, Blair was a team captain on the BBC2 daytime news based quiz Today's the Day. In 2005, he was one of the celebrities taking part in the Channel Five reality series, The Farm. Blair appeared in the 2007 Christmas special of the Ricky Gervais show Extras, as himself, portraying the end-stages of his showbiz career by trying to keep up his profile by appearing on Celebrity Big Brother alongside Lisa Scott-Lee and X Factor contestant Chico. In July 2010 Lionel Blair appeared in the "Great British Dog Walks" feature on ITV1's "This Morning" with his dog Lola. In 2010 he took part in BBC's The Young Ones, in which six celebrities in their 70s and 80s attempt to overcome some of the problems of ageing by harking back to the 1970s.^[2] In December 2010 he appeared briefly in a sketch with Ronnie Corbett and Rob Brydon in BBC1's The One Ronnie. Blair also appeared as the celebrity darter for charity on TV's Bullseye.

On the 24th December 2011 (Christmas Eve) he appeared on the ITV program TEXT SANTA with Ant & Dec.

In 2012 he was cast in the film version of Ray Cooney's farce Run For Your Wife.

Personal life[link]

He is the brother of the late British actress Joyce Blair, with whom he sometimes appeared.

He was in the news in 2006 when his pet dog Florence was apparently kidnapped in Surrey. The cross-breed collie disappeared when Blair's wife took her for a walk in a park in Ewell near the couple's home.^[1][3] On 21 September 2006, Blair and comedian Alan Carr helped save a man about to fall from a pier in Blackpool. The man was holding on by his fingers.^[4]

Blair and wife Susan celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in March 2007. They have three children and two grandchildren.

I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue[link]

Blair's camp public persona is regularly mocked in the introduction to the game Sound Charades on BBC Radio 4's comedy show I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, normally by double entendre during over-the-top accounts of Blair's skills on Give Us A Clue. In one episode the host, Humphrey Lyttelton, introduced the game: "The expert's expert was, of course, Lionel Blair. Who could ever forget opposing team captain, Una Stubbs, sitting open-mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes?".

On 29 January 2011, during the Radio 4 show "Saturday Live", hosted by Fi Glover, Blair said of the remarks on the show I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue that "My wife hates it" and that he had honestly never heard the remarks on the programme himself until "now with the internet". Referring to the presenter, (the recently deceased Humphrey Lyttelton), he added "People say you should always speak good of the dead. He's dead - good."^[5] Blair said in the same interview that he thought that double-entendres about his sexuality were no longer made on ISIHAC (i.e. since Lyttelton's death). In fact, new presenter Jack Dee carries on the tradition with gusto.

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Humphrey Lyttelton's Sound Charade introductions, which often feature Lionel Blair.
• Blair on Lyttelton, on Radio 4's Saturday Live (29 January 2011)
• Lionel Blair in the East End
• Lionel's appearance with dog Lola on ITV1's "This Morning" show

Look up Lionel in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Lionel may refer to:

as a male given name

• Lionel Atwill, English actor
• Lionel Barrymore, American actor
• Lionel Bart, British composer
• Lionel Blair, British dancer and actor
• Lionel Hampton, American jazz musician
• Lionel Jeffries, English actor
• Lionel Jospin, French politician
• Lionel Logue, Australian speech therapist and friend of King George VI
• Lionel Messi, Argentine footballer
• Lionel Richie, American singer
• Lionel Rose, Australian boxer
• Lionel Stander, American actor
• Lionel Shriver, female American author
• Lionel Trilling, American literary critic

other

• Lionel Corporation, an American manufacturer and retailer of toy trains and model railroads
• Lionel, LLC, an American designer and importer of toy trains and model railroads, owns the trademarks and most of the product rights associated with Lionel Corp., but is not directly related
• Lionel (bridge), a bridge defense against 1NT
• Lionel (radio personality), an American radio talk show host
• Sir Lionel, a knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend

as a placename

• Lionel, Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland

See also[link]

• For people and characters with the given name Lionel, see: All pages beginning with "Lionel"

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Sammy Davis Jr.
1986 portrait by Allan Warren
Born	Samuel George Davis, Jr. (1925-12-08)December 8, 1925 Harlem, New York, United States
Died	May 16, 1990(1990-05-16) (aged 64) Beverly Hills, California, United States Interred: Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California
Cause of death	Throat cancer
Occupation	Singer, tap dancer, actor, musician
Years active	1928–1990
Religion	Judaism
Spouse	Loray White (1958–1959) May Britt (1960–1968) Altovise Davis (1970–1990)
Children	Tracey (b. 1961) Mark (b. 1960) Jeff (b. 1964) Manny (b. 1988)
Parents	Sammy Davis, Sr. (father) Elvera Sanchez (mother)
Website
sammydavis-jr.com

Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities.

Primarily a dancer and singer, Davis started as a child vaudevillian who became known for his performances on Broadway and Las Vegas. He went on to become a world famous recording artist, television and film star. Davis was also a member of Frank Sinatra's "Rat Pack".

At the age of three Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father and "uncle" as the Will Mastin Trio, toured nationally, and after military service, returned to the trio. Davis became an overnight sensation following a nightclub performance at Ciro's after the 1951 Academy Awards. With the trio, he became a recording artist. In 1954, he lost his left eye in an automobile accident.

His film career began as a child in 1933. In 1960 he appeared in the first Rat Pack film, Ocean's 11. After a starring role on Broadway in 1956's Mr Wonderful, Davis returned to the stage in 1964's Golden Boy, and in 1966 had his own TV variety show, The Sammy Davis Jr. Show. Davis' career slowed in the late sixties, but he had a hit record with "The Candy Man", in 1972, and became a star in Las Vegas earning him the nickname Mister Show Business.

As an African American, Davis was the victim of racism throughout his life, and was a large financial supporter of civil rights causes. Davis had a complex relationship with the African-American community, and attracted criticism after physically embracing Richard Nixon in 1970. One day on a golf course with Jack Benny, he was asked what his handicap was. "Handicap?" he asked. "Talk about handicap—I'm a one-eyed Negro Jew."^[1][2] This was to become a signature comment, recounted in his autobiography, and in countless articles.^[3]

After reuniting with Sinatra and Dean Martin in 1987, Davis toured with them and Liza Minnelli internationally, before dying of throat cancer in 1990. He died in debt to the Internal Revenue Service, and his estate was the subject of legal battles.^{[citation needed]}

Davis was awarded the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP, and was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award for his television performances. He was the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 1987, and in 2001, he was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Early life[link]

Samuel George Davis, Jr. was born in New York City, to Sammy Davis, Sr. (1900–1988), an African-American entertainer, and Elvera Sanchez (1905–2000),^[4] a tap dancer. During his lifetime, Davis, Jr. stated that his mother was Puerto Rican and born in San Juan; however, in the 2003 biography In Black and White, author Wil Haygood writes that Davis, Jr.'s mother was born in New York City to Cuban American parents, and that Davis, Jr. claimed he was Puerto Rican because he feared anti-Cuban backlash would hurt his record sales.^[5][6][7]

Davis' parents were vaudeville dancers. As an infant, he was raised by his paternal grandmother. When he was three years old, his parents separated. His father, not wanting to lose custody of his son, took him on tour. Davis learned to dance from his father and his "uncle" Will Mastin, who led the dance troupe his father worked for. Davis joined the act as a child and they became the Will Mastin Trio. Throughout his career, Davis included the Will Mastin Trio in his billing. Mastin and his father shielded him from racism. Snubs were explained as jealousy, for instance. When Davis served in the United States Army during World War II, however, he was confronted by strong racial prejudice. He later said, "Overnight the world looked different. It wasn't one color any more. I could see the protection I'd gotten all my life from my father and Will. I appreciated their loving hope that I'd never need to know about prejudice and hate, but they were wrong. It was as if I'd walked through a swinging door for eighteen years, a door which they had always secretly held open."

Career[link]

Sammy Davis Jr. during the 1963 March on Washington

During service in WWII, the Army assigned Davis to an integrated entertainment Special Services unit and he found that the spotlight lessened the prejudice. Even prejudiced white men admired and respected his performances. "My talent was the weapon, the power, the way for me to fight. It was the one way I might hope to affect a man's thinking," he said.^[8]

After his discharge, Davis rejoined the family dance act, which played at clubs around Portland, Oregon. He began to achieve success on his own and was singled out for praise by critics, releasing several albums.^[9] This led to Davis being hired to sing the title track for the Universal Pictures film Six Bridges to Cross in 1954,^[10][11] and later to his appearance in the Broadway play Mr. Wonderful in 1956.

In 1959, Davis became a member of the famous "Rat Pack", led by his friend Frank Sinatra, which included fellow performers such as Dean Martin, Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford. Initially, Sinatra called the gathering "the Clan", but Sammy voiced his opposition, saying that it reminded people of the racist Ku Klux Klan. Sinatra renamed the group "the Summit", but the media referred to them as the Rat Pack.

Davis was a headliner at The Frontier Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, but he was required (as were all black performers in the 1950s) to lodge in a rooming house on the west side of the city, instead of in the hotels as his white colleagues did. No dressing rooms were provided for black performers, and they had to wait outside by the swimming pool between acts. Davis and other black artists could entertain, but could not stay at the hotels where they performed, gamble in the casinos, or dine or drink in the hotel restaurants and bars. Davis later refused to work at places which practiced racial segregation.^[12]

Sammy Davis Jr. (left) with Walter Reuther (center) and Roy Wilkins (right) at the 1963 March on Washington.

In 1964, Davis was starring in Golden Boy at night and shooting his own New York-based afternoon talk show during the day. When he could get a day off from the theater, he would be recording new songs in the studio, or performing live, often at charity benefits as far away as Miami, Chicago, and Las Vegas, or doing television variety specials in Los Angeles. Davis knew he was cheating his family of his company, but he could not help himself; as he later said, he was incapable of standing still.

Although he was still a draw in Las Vegas, Davis' musical career had sputtered by the latter 1960s, although he had a No. 11 hit (#1 on the Easy Listening singles chart) with "I've Gotta Be Me" in 1969. His effort to update his sound and reconnect with younger people resulted in some "hip" musical efforts with the Motown record label.^[13] But then, even as his career seemed at its nadir, Sammy had an unexpected hit with "Candy Man". Although he did not particularly care for the song and was chagrined that he was now best known for it, Davis made the most of his opportunity and revitalized his career. Although he enjoyed no more Top 40 hits, he did enjoy popularity with his 1976 performance of the theme song from the Baretta TV series, "Baretta's Theme (Keep Your Eye On The Sparrow)" (1975–1978), which was released as a single (20th century 2282). He occasionally landed television and film parts, including cameo visits to the television shows "I Dream of Jeannie", All in the Family (during which he famously kisses Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) on the cheek) and, with wife Altovise Davis, on Charlie's Angels. In the 1970s, he appeared in commercials in Japan for Suntory whiskey.

Davis performing in 1966.

On December 11, 1967, NBC broadcast a musical-variety special entitled Movin' With Nancy. In addition to the Emmy Award-winning musical performances, the show is notable for Nancy Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. greeting each other with a kiss, one of the first black-white kisses in U.S. television history.^[14]

It's been said^{[by whom?]} Davis had a friendship with Elvis Presley. Davis sang a cover-version of Presley's song "In The Ghetto" and made a cameo-appearance in Presley's concert-film Elvis: That's the Way It Is. One year later, he made a cameo appearance in a James Bond film, but the scene he appeared in was deleted.

In Japan, Davis appeared in television commercials for coffee, and in the U.S. he joined Sinatra and Martin in a radio commercial for a Chicago car dealership.

Davis was a fan of the daytime soap operas, particularly the shows produced by the American Broadcasting Company. This led to a cameo appearance on General Hospital and a recurring role as character Chip Warren on One Life to Live, for which he received a Daytime Emmy nomination in 1980. He was also a game show fan, appearing on the ABC version of Family Feud in 1979. He appeared on Tattletales with third wife Altovise Davis in the 1970s. He made a cameo during an episode of the NBC version of Card Sharks in 1981.

In addition to American soaps, he was also a huge fan of the Australian show Prisoner: Cell Block H. Davis wanted to make an appearance in Prisoner, but the show ended (in 1986) before this could be arranged.

Davis was an avid photographer who enjoyed shooting family and acquaintances. His body of work was detailed in a 2007 book by Burt Boyar. "Jerry [Lewis] gave me my first important camera, my first 35 millimeter, during the Ciro's period, early '50s", Boyar quotes Davis. "And he hooked me." Davis used a medium format camera later on to capture images. Again quoting Davis, "Nobody interrupts a man taking a picture to ask ... 'What's that nigger doin' here?'". His catalog includes rare photos of his father dancing onstage as part of the Will Mastin Trio and intimate snapshots of close friends Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, James Dean, Nat "King" Cole, and Marilyn Monroe. His political affiliations also were represented, in his images of Robert Kennedy, Jackie Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr. His most revealing work comes in photographs of wife May Britt and their three children, Tracey, Jeff and Mark.

Davis was an enthusiastic shooter and gun owner. He participated in fast-draw competitions—Johnny Cash recalled that Sammy was said to be capable of drawing and firing a Colt Single Action Army revolver in less than a quarter of a second.^[15] Davis was skilled at fast and fancy gunspinning, and appeared on TV variety shows showing off this skill. He appeared in Western films and as a guest star on several "Golden Age" T.V. Westerns.

Personal life[link]

Car accident and conversion to Judaism[link]

Davis nearly died in an automobile accident on November 19, 1954 in San Bernardino, California, as he was making a return trip from Las Vegas to Los Angeles.^[16] The accident occurred at a fork in U.S. Highway 66 at Cajon Boulevard and Kendall Drive (34°12′26″N 117°23′08″W / 34.2072°N 117.3855°W / 34.2072; -117.3855). Davis lost his left eye as a result. His friend, actor Jeff Chandler, offered one of his own eyes if it would keep Davis from total blindness. The offer was not needed.^[17] Davis wore an eye patch for at least six months following the accident.^[18][19] He appeared on What's My Line wearing the patch.^[20] Later, he was fitted for a glass eye, which he wore for the rest of his life.

While in the hospital, Davis' friend, performer Eddie Cantor, told him about the similarities between the Jewish and black cultures. Prompted by this conversation, Davis—who was born to a Catholic mother and Protestant father—began studying the history of Jews. He converted to Judaism several years later.^[1] One passage from his readings (from the book A History of The Jews by Abram L. Sachar), describing the endurance of the Jewish people, intrigued him in particular: "The Jews would not die. Three millennia of prophetic teaching had given them an unwavering spirit of resignation and had created in them a will to live which no disaster could crush".^[21] In many ways, the accident marked a turning point in Davis' career, taking him from a well-known entertainer to a national celebrity and icon.^[16]

Marriages[link]

In the mid-1950s, Sammy was involved with Kim Novak, a film star under contract to Columbia Studios. The head of the studio, Harry Cohn, was worried about the negative effect this would have on the studio because of the prevailing taboo against miscegenation. He called his friend, the mobster Johnny Roselli, who was asked to tell Davis that he had to stop the affair with Novak. Roselli arranged for Davis to be kidnapped for a few hours to throw a scare into him. His hastily arranged and soon-dissolved marriage to black dancer Loray White in 1958 was an attempt to quiet the controversy.^[22]

In 1960, Davis caused controversy again when he married white Swedish-born actress May Britt. Davis received hate mail while starring in the Broadway musical adaptation of Golden Boy from 1964–66 (for which he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor). At the time Davis appeared in the play, interracial marriages were forbidden by law in 31 US states, and only in 1967 were those laws ruled unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court.^[23] Davis and Britt had one daughter and adopted two sons. Davis performed almost continuously and spent little time with his wife. They divorced in 1968, after Davis admitted to having had an affair with singer Lola Falana. That year, Davis started dating Altovise Gore, a dancer in Golden Boy. They were married on May 11, 1970 by the Reverend Jesse Jackson. They adopted a child and remained married until Davis's death in 1990.

Political beliefs[link]

Sammy Davis, Jr. in the Yellow Oval Room of the White House with President Richard Nixon, March 4, 1973

Although Davis had been voting Democratic, he felt a lack of respect from the John F. Kennedy presidency. He had been removed from the list of performers for Kennedy's inaugural party (hosted by Davis' close friend Frank Sinatra) because of Davis' recent interracial marriage to May Britt on November 13, 1960, in order to quell any controversy.^[24]

In the early 1970s, Davis supported Republican President Richard M. Nixon (and gave the startled President a hug during a live television broadcast). The incident was controversial, and Davis was given a hostile reception by his peers. Previously Davis had won their respect with his performance as Joe Wellington Jr. in Golden Boy and his participation in the Civil Rights Movement. Nixon invited Davis to sleep in the White House in 1973, which is believed^{[by whom?]} to be the first time an African American was invited to do so.^{[citation needed]} Davis spent the night in the Queens' Bedroom.^[25] Unlike Sinatra, Davis voted Democratic for President again after the Nixon administration, supporting the campaigns of Rev. Jesse Jackson in 1984 and 1988.

Death[link]

Davis died in Beverly Hills, California on May 16, 1990, of complications from throat cancer. Earlier, when he was told that surgery (laryngectomy) offered him the best chance of survival, Davis replied he would rather keep his voice than have a part of his throat removed; he subsequently was treated with a combination of chemotherapy and radiation.^[26] However, a few weeks prior to his death his entire larynx was removed during surgery.^[27] He was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California next to his father and Will Mastin.

On May 18, 1990, two days after Davis' death, the neon lights of the Las Vegas Strip were darkened for ten minutes, as a tribute to him.

Portrayals[link]

Davis in 1989

Davis was portrayed by Don Cheadle in the HBO film The Rat Pack, a television film about the pack of entertainers. Cheadle won a Golden Globe award for his performance.

Eddie Griffin has made his impersonation of Davis a major part of his career, be it at stage or TV.

On Saturday Night Live, Davis has been portrayed by Garrett Morris, Eddie Murphy, Billy Crystal and Tim Meadows.

Davis was portrayed on the popular sketch comedy show In Living Color by Tommy Davidson, notably a parody of the film Ghost, in which the ghost of Davis enlists the help of Whoopi Goldberg to communicate with his wife.

David Raynr also portrayed Davis in the miniseries Sinatra, a television film about the life of Frank Sinatra.

Davis was portrayed by Keith Powell in an episode of 30 Rock entitled "Subway Hero".

In the 1993 film Wayne's World 2, Tim Meadows portrays Davis in the dream sequence with Michael A. Nickles as Jim Morrison.

He was portrayed by Paul Sharma in the 2003 West End production Rat Pack Confidential.^[28]

In September 2009, the musical Sammy: Once in a Lifetime premiered at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego with book, music and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, and additional songs by Bricusse and Anthony Newley. The title role was played by Broadway Tony Award nominee Obba Babatundé.

Davis was mentioned in British singer Amy Winehouse's album Back to Black on the song "Me and Mr. Jones". The lyrics are as follows: "Aside from Sammy you're my best black Jew."

A black and white portrait of Davis, drawn by Jim Blanchard, adorns the cover of avant-garde rock band Oxbow's second album King Of The Jews.

Midwest radio personality Kevin Matthews impersonated Sammy Davis, Jr. many times on his radio show.

Comedian Jim Carrey has portrayed Davis on stage in a stand up routine.

Discography[link]

Honors and awards[link]

Grammy Awards[link]

Emmy Awards[link]

Other honors[link]

Filmography[link]

Stage[link]

• Mr. Wonderful (1957), musical
• Golden Boy (1964), musical – Tony Nomination for Best Actor in a Musical
• Sammy (1974), special performance featuring Davis with the Nicholas Brothers
• Stop the World - I Want to Get Off (1978) musical revival

TV[link]

• The Rifleman – episode "Two Ounces of Tin (#4.21)" (February 19, 1962).
• Ben Casey – episode "Allie" (1963).
• The Patty Duke Show - episode "Will the Real Sammy Davis Please Hang Up?" (1965).
• Wild Wild West – episode "The Night of the Returning Dead" (October 14, 1966).
• I Dream of Jeannie – episode "The Greatest Entertainer in the World" (1967).
• The Name Of The Game - episode "I Love You, Billy Baker." (1970).
• All in the Family – episode "Sammy's Visit" (1972).
• Charlie's Angels - episode "Sammy Davis, Jr. Kidnap Caper" (1977).
• The Jeffersons episode "What Makes Sammy Run?" (1984).
• Gimme a Break – episode "The Lookalike" (1985).
• The Cosby Show – episode "No Way, Baby" (1989). (After Davis' death in 1990, Bill Cosby wore a black pin with Davis' initials printed in white for an entire season of the show.)

See also[link]

• Rat Pack
• Jews and Judaism in the African diaspora
• List of notable Hispanics from the United States

References[link]

Further reading[link]

Autobiographies[link]

• Yes, I Can (with Burt and Jane Boyar) (1965) ISBN 0-374-52268-5
• Why Me? (with Burt and Jane Boyar) (1980) ISBN 0-446-36025-2
• Sammy (with Burt and Jane Boyar) (2000) ISBN 0-374-29355-4; consolidates the two previous books and includes additional material
• Hollywood in a Suitcase (1980) ISBN 0-425-05091-2

Biographies[link]

• Haygood, Wil. (2003) In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr. Billboard Books. ISBN 978-0-8230-8395-4
• Birkbeck, Matt. (2008) Deconstructing Sammy. Amistad. ISBN 978-0-06-145066-2
• Silber, Jr., Arthur (2003) "Sammy Davis, Jr: Me and My Shadow, Samart Enterprises, ISBN 0-9655675-5-9

Other[link]

• Photo by Sammy Davis, Jr. (Burt Boyar) (2007) ISBN 0-06-114605-6

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sammy Davis, Jr.

• Sammy Davis, Jr. at AllRovi
• Sammy Davis, Jr. at Find a Grave
• Sammy Davis, Jr. at the Internet Broadway Database
• Sammy Davis, Jr. at the Internet Movie Database
• Discography of Sammy Davis, Jr.'s Recording Career
• Obituary, NY Times, May 17, 1990 Sammy Davis Jr. Dies at 64; Top Showman Broke Barriers
• Sammy Davis Jr. talks to draft dodgers in Canada, CBC Archives

The Jive Aces
The Jive Aces in concert
Background information
Origin	Billericay, Essex, England
Genres	Jive Swing
Years active	1989—present
Labels	Right Recordings
Website	www.jiveaces.com
Members
Ian Clarkson – vocals, trumpet, ukulele Ken Smith – double bass Vince Hurley – piano Peter Howell – drums John Fordham – saxophone Alex Douglas – trombone, washboard, bongos, blues harp, kazoo, spoons, vuvuzela

The Jive Aces, winners of BBC TV's Opportunity Knocks,^[1] formed in 1989.^[2] They are a six-piece UK based, high energy,^[3][4] jive and swing band, who have many albums and singles to their name,^[5] and have performed at many music festivals.^[6][7][8] They received an award from the Variety Club of Great Britain for their charity work,^[9] and the City of Derry International Music Award in 2006.^[10] The band performs both cover versions and original material.^[11]

The Jive Aces played at the Berkeley Dress Show Ball in April 2010, and were featured in Hello! magazine. They also played at another prestigious society event, The Berkeley Square Ball, in 2009 and were pictured in OK! magazine with singer Rhyddian.

On 9 July 2010, the Jive Aces headlined at the first ever swing dance at the Royal Albert Hall. They played to approximately 1,400 dancers on the 5,000-square-foot (460 m²) dance floor, along side the Back To Basie Orchestra and Top Shelf Jazz.^[12]

In late August 2010, the Jive Aces performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in a show tributing one of their musical heros, Louis Prima. They had special guests, Keely Smith and Toni Elizabeth Prima, perform with them (Louis Prima's ex-wife and daughter respectively) and gained a five star review from Edinburgh Spotlight.^[13]

The Jive Aces performed at the Cork Jazz Festival in October 2010 and were featured in five newspapers, including the front page of the national paper The Irish Examiner ^[14] and The Irish Times.^[15]

In Feb 2011 the Jive Aces toured the US again. They were in the LA area recording and performing in Hollywood, Pasadena and Cerritos also playing at the Macallum Center in Palm Dessert. In Cerritos they opened for the legendary Keely Smith, former wife and partner of the Las Vegas star Louis Prima followed by performances in the Washington DC area performing at the Dulles Hilton and the Spanish Ballroom in Glen Echo Park before a sold out show at the Metropolitan Room in New York City.^[16]

The Jive Aces self produced a music video for their cover of the well known Morecambe and Wise theme song Bring Me Sunshine in a Louis Prima, jive style. Initially released on {{YouTube]] on March 17th 2011, it had over 50,000 views in the first week and as of March 2012 it has over 1.8 million views, it went on to win several awards at film festivals. ^[17] for the video and this was presented to them on stage by DJ and face of Vintage TV Mike Read at the Twinwood Festival on Sunday the 28th August 2011.

On the 17th July 2011, The Jive Aces played at London's famous jazz venue Ronnie Scotts for the first time and it was sold out.^[18] They have since performed two more times to sold out crowds.

On the 7th August 2011 the Jive Aces held their annual charity swing festival called Summertime Swing featuring guests including Toni Prima, the daughter of Louis Prima and Si Cranstoun. The event raised £7000 for the Sussex Air Ambulance.

Britain's Got Talent 2012[link]

In January 2012 The Jive Aces auditioned for Britiain's Got Talent in front of celebrity judges Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams (Amanda being away on maternity leave). The audition aired on week 6 of BGT on Saturday 29th April, 2012.^[19] The band's version of the Jungle Book classic, I Wanna Be Like You, was pronounced "abolutely brilliant" by cartoon-loving head judge Simon Cowell, adding: "100 per cent yes. Those guys have put me in a good mood." Fellow judge David Walliams agreed the Jive Aces should go through to the next round, declaring: "101 per cent yes". Alesha Dixon's verdict: "A massive yes from me, guys. You are through to the next round." ^[20][21][22]

Performing for HM the Queen[link]

On Tuesday the 15th May 2012 the Jive Aces performed for HM the Queen on her visit to Bromley as part of her Diamond Jubilee celebrations. They played a song they wrote for the occasion called Diamond Jubilee with the wartime female vocal duo the Swingtime Sweethearts. The song caught on and had the catchy chorus including "Everyone say thank you Ma'am, its the Diamond Jubilee!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_9aTE_HHBA http://www.london24.com/news/jive_aces_from_busking_in_romford_to_singing_for_the_queen_1_1383950

Promotion of Scientology[link]

The band have been known to perform up to 300 times a year,^[23] often promoting Scientology^[24] (sometimes controversially)^[25] or presenting an anti-drugs message.^[26] They have been noted for their energetic and confident performances, which they attribute to "workable solutions found in Scientology religious principles".^[25] The Jive Aces have supported the Church of Scientology's Say No To Drugs campaign since 1996,^[27] performing to shoppers in city centres throughout the UK,^[28] to give a message to young people that it is "not cool to take drugs", and to collect signatures on a petition asking MPs for more effective drug education in UK schools.^[29] In April 2012, the band lent their support to the Multi-Marathon for a Drug-Free UK, a 130-mile run from London to Brighton and back to promote a healthy, drug-free lifestyle and introduce a drug education programme to towns and cities along the way, as it passed through Crawley, West Sussex.^[30]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• saynotodrugs.org.uk - Jive Aces Team up with Churches of Scientology to Say “NO” to Drugs

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