British comedian Barry Cryer, who wrote for sketch shows including ‘The Two Ronnies’ and ‘Morecambe and Wise,’ died on Tuesday in London, his family have confirmed. He was 86.
No cause of death has been released.
Cryer was a veteran of British television and radio. Born in Yorkshire, he originally began his career as a variety performer.
According to the BBC, broadcaster Sir David Frost spotted him on stage and invited him to work on his shows, including “The Frost Report” alongside writers John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Marty Feldman.
He would eventually go on to work on a number of beloved television and radio programmes including “Hello, Cheeky!,” “The Two Ronnies” and “Morecambe and Wise.”
He also wrote for dozens of famous comedians such as Bob Hope, Joan Rivers and Tommy Cooper.
Last month, Cryer launched a podcast with his son Bob, an actor and writer, interviewing many of his well-known friends including Stephen Fry,...
No cause of death has been released.
Cryer was a veteran of British television and radio. Born in Yorkshire, he originally began his career as a variety performer.
According to the BBC, broadcaster Sir David Frost spotted him on stage and invited him to work on his shows, including “The Frost Report” alongside writers John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Marty Feldman.
He would eventually go on to work on a number of beloved television and radio programmes including “Hello, Cheeky!,” “The Two Ronnies” and “Morecambe and Wise.”
He also wrote for dozens of famous comedians such as Bob Hope, Joan Rivers and Tommy Cooper.
Last month, Cryer launched a podcast with his son Bob, an actor and writer, interviewing many of his well-known friends including Stephen Fry,...
- 1/27/2022
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Barry Cryer, the much loved British comedian and TV writer, has died at the age of 86.
Cryer was most known on UK shores for being a founding member and consistent panelist on long-running BBC Radio 4 surreal comedy show I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, first appearing when it launched in April 1972 (and briefly sharing hosting duties before Humphrey Lyttelton took that on full time), and last making a guest appearance in 2020.
Outside of Radio, Cryer was a noted writer for comedians, with the wide roster of performers he penned material for including the Two Ronnies, Morecame and Wise, Spike Milligan, Richard Pryor, Bob Hope, Bruce Forsyth and Rory Bremner.
He also wrote episodes for TV comedy series Doctor In The House, and wrote and appeared in further TV work.
Cryer married his wife Theresa in 1962 and the pair had four children and seven grandchildren.
Tributes this morning...
Cryer was most known on UK shores for being a founding member and consistent panelist on long-running BBC Radio 4 surreal comedy show I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, first appearing when it launched in April 1972 (and briefly sharing hosting duties before Humphrey Lyttelton took that on full time), and last making a guest appearance in 2020.
Outside of Radio, Cryer was a noted writer for comedians, with the wide roster of performers he penned material for including the Two Ronnies, Morecame and Wise, Spike Milligan, Richard Pryor, Bob Hope, Bruce Forsyth and Rory Bremner.
He also wrote episodes for TV comedy series Doctor In The House, and wrote and appeared in further TV work.
Cryer married his wife Theresa in 1962 and the pair had four children and seven grandchildren.
Tributes this morning...
- 1/27/2022
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly 50 years since the founding of the comedy troupe that gave us Silly Walks, Dead Parrots, Hell’s Grannies, the Argument Clinic and Sam Peckinpah’s Salad Days, to name only a few of the classic Monty Python sketches, but as with other great comedy artists, from Laurel and Hardy to Chaplin, Keaton, Abbott and Costello and Lewis and Martin, there’s something timeless about the truly ridiculous in the hands of the truly brilliant.
One of the founders of the Python troupe, Eric Idle, aided and abetted his colleagues, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam, in their wonderful five-year run on the BBC as well as in their classic films such as “Life of Brian,” “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” and “Meaning of Life.”
Idle has also carved his own spectacularly funny way through the world of show business,...
One of the founders of the Python troupe, Eric Idle, aided and abetted his colleagues, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam, in their wonderful five-year run on the BBC as well as in their classic films such as “Life of Brian,” “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” and “Meaning of Life.”
Idle has also carved his own spectacularly funny way through the world of show business,...
- 10/12/2018
- by Steven Gaydos
- Variety Film + TV
What made Ben Affleck feel sad, and why did people get naked on national television? Test your knowledge of this year’s film and TV with these questions
In a year heavy on sequels and remakes, which one stands as the UK’s top grosser of 2016?
Captain America: Civil War
Bridget Jones’s Baby
Finding Dory
The Jungle Book
A social media war over which film led to Twitter’s permanent suspension of alt-right poster boy Milo Yiannopoulos for racist trolling?
Suicide Squad
Central Intelligence
Moana
Ghostbusters
Dubbed “Sad Affleck” on the internet, a reaction shot from a Ben Affleck interview went viral in 2016. What had the interviewer been asking about at the time?
The reviews of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Reviews of The Accountant
His future as Batman in the DC Comics “extended universe”
His brother Casey’s Oscar buzz for Manchester By the Sea
Which film...
In a year heavy on sequels and remakes, which one stands as the UK’s top grosser of 2016?
Captain America: Civil War
Bridget Jones’s Baby
Finding Dory
The Jungle Book
A social media war over which film led to Twitter’s permanent suspension of alt-right poster boy Milo Yiannopoulos for racist trolling?
Suicide Squad
Central Intelligence
Moana
Ghostbusters
Dubbed “Sad Affleck” on the internet, a reaction shot from a Ben Affleck interview went viral in 2016. What had the interviewer been asking about at the time?
The reviews of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Reviews of The Accountant
His future as Batman in the DC Comics “extended universe”
His brother Casey’s Oscar buzz for Manchester By the Sea
Which film...
- 12/18/2016
- by Guy Lodge and Euan Ferguson
- The Guardian - Film News
Vicious is back - ITV's divisive sitcom returned tonight, over two years since it first split both critics and the public.
Launching to a solid 5.78m viewers in April 2013, the show experienced a drop-off in viewership across its six episodes - but levelled out at around the 2.5-2.8m mark.
Reaction from viewers was more volatile, however - comedian Barry Cryer even branded Vicious "positively homophobic".
Star Ian McKellen admitted there was some room for improvement, but defended the show from accusations of homophobia, while ITV's then-Commissioning Editor of Comedy, Myfanwy Moore described the first as a "learning curve" - but added that she was "really proud" of what it had achieved.
ITV aired a Christmas special and confirmed a second series in late 2013, while creator Gary Janetti has also been talking up a possible third run - but would you watch?
Digital Spy wants your thoughts on Vicious - is it tired and out-dated,...
Launching to a solid 5.78m viewers in April 2013, the show experienced a drop-off in viewership across its six episodes - but levelled out at around the 2.5-2.8m mark.
Reaction from viewers was more volatile, however - comedian Barry Cryer even branded Vicious "positively homophobic".
Star Ian McKellen admitted there was some room for improvement, but defended the show from accusations of homophobia, while ITV's then-Commissioning Editor of Comedy, Myfanwy Moore described the first as a "learning curve" - but added that she was "really proud" of what it had achieved.
ITV aired a Christmas special and confirmed a second series in late 2013, while creator Gary Janetti has also been talking up a possible third run - but would you watch?
Digital Spy wants your thoughts on Vicious - is it tired and out-dated,...
- 6/1/2015
- Digital Spy
Hadrian's wall, Culloden, the poll tax, Jacob Rees-Mogg: yes, England has inflicted an awful lot of angst and pain on Scotland down the centuries – but, look, we still don't want you to leave
1 Sorry for calling every last one of you "Jock". We now know it's offensive, especially if you're a woman.
2 So sorry for the years of heartless Conservative governments that you never voted for that ripped the heart out of the Scottish mining, steel and shipbuilding industries, butchered public services and imposed an unwonted, dismal neo-liberal ethos on a land to which such a callous political and economic philosophy was inimical.
3 And for making you guinea pigs for Margaret Thatcher's disastrous poll tax, inflicting it on you a year before England and Wales, and then – somehow! – forgetting to backdate the rebate for the tax when it was abolished in the early 90s.
4 Sorry for the 1746 Dress Act that banned tartan,...
1 Sorry for calling every last one of you "Jock". We now know it's offensive, especially if you're a woman.
2 So sorry for the years of heartless Conservative governments that you never voted for that ripped the heart out of the Scottish mining, steel and shipbuilding industries, butchered public services and imposed an unwonted, dismal neo-liberal ethos on a land to which such a callous political and economic philosophy was inimical.
3 And for making you guinea pigs for Margaret Thatcher's disastrous poll tax, inflicting it on you a year before England and Wales, and then – somehow! – forgetting to backdate the rebate for the tax when it was abolished in the early 90s.
4 Sorry for the 1746 Dress Act that banned tartan,...
- 2/20/2014
- by Stuart Jeffries
- The Guardian - Film News
Prolific comedy actor who worked with Peter Sellers, Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan and Hattie Jacques
The stony-faced, beaky comedy actor Graham Stark, who has died aged 91, is best remembered for his appearances alongside Peter Sellers, notably in the Pink Panther movies. His familiar face and voice, on television and radio, were part of the essential furniture in the sitting room of our popular culture for more than half a century. A stalwart in the national postwar comedy boom led by Sellers, Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Dick Emery, Eric Sykes and Benny Hill, he worked with them all in a sort of unofficial supporting repertory company that also included Hattie Jacques, Deryck Guyler, Patricia Hayes and Arthur Mullard. He was also a man of surprising and various parts: child actor, trained dancer, film-maker, occasional writer, and dedicated and critically acclaimed photographer.
Like Gypsy Rose Lee, he had a resourceful and determined...
The stony-faced, beaky comedy actor Graham Stark, who has died aged 91, is best remembered for his appearances alongside Peter Sellers, notably in the Pink Panther movies. His familiar face and voice, on television and radio, were part of the essential furniture in the sitting room of our popular culture for more than half a century. A stalwart in the national postwar comedy boom led by Sellers, Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Dick Emery, Eric Sykes and Benny Hill, he worked with them all in a sort of unofficial supporting repertory company that also included Hattie Jacques, Deryck Guyler, Patricia Hayes and Arthur Mullard. He was also a man of surprising and various parts: child actor, trained dancer, film-maker, occasional writer, and dedicated and critically acclaimed photographer.
Like Gypsy Rose Lee, he had a resourceful and determined...
- 11/1/2013
- by Michael Coveney
- The Guardian - Film News
Tabloid complaints about the BBC can descend into the absurd, such as moans about migrant birds featuring on Radio 4
✒The select committee that interviewed the chairman and director general of the BBC this week had trawled through all the tabloid allegations against Auntie over the past few months. It seems there is nothing the Beeb can get right. Some matters are serious, such as Jimmy Savile and the overpayment of departing staff. Others are incredibly trivial, such as the exact length of cleavage shown by female presenters.
But they all get full coverage in the anti-bbc press, including this week the allegation that some of the birds in the popular Tweet of the Day feature on Radio 4 are not actually British, but migrants who stop here on their way to somewhere else.
You can almost write the stories. They come over here, some of them from outside the EU, and...
✒The select committee that interviewed the chairman and director general of the BBC this week had trawled through all the tabloid allegations against Auntie over the past few months. It seems there is nothing the Beeb can get right. Some matters are serious, such as Jimmy Savile and the overpayment of departing staff. Others are incredibly trivial, such as the exact length of cleavage shown by female presenters.
But they all get full coverage in the anti-bbc press, including this week the allegation that some of the birds in the popular Tweet of the Day feature on Radio 4 are not actually British, but migrants who stop here on their way to somewhere else.
You can almost write the stories. They come over here, some of them from outside the EU, and...
- 10/25/2013
- by Simon Hoggart
- The Guardian - Film News
ITV has renewed Vicious and The Job Lot.
The Ian McKellen / Derek Jacobi sitcom will return for a second series, ITV's Director of Television Peter Fincham announced today (August 23) at the Edinburgh Television Festival.
Russell Tovey workplace comedy The Job Lot has also been recommissioned, but will move to ITV2 for its next series.
Vicious - which stars McKellen and Jacobi as a gay couple - was previously confirmed to be returning for a Christmas special.
Jacobi claimed back in May that a second series might not shoot until 2014, due to his co-star McKellen's busy film schedule.
ITV2's period sitcom Plebs has also been renewed, Fincham announced, confirming initial reports from June.
> Vicious is "positively homophobic", says comedian Barry Cryer
Watch a clip from Vicious below:...
The Ian McKellen / Derek Jacobi sitcom will return for a second series, ITV's Director of Television Peter Fincham announced today (August 23) at the Edinburgh Television Festival.
Russell Tovey workplace comedy The Job Lot has also been recommissioned, but will move to ITV2 for its next series.
Vicious - which stars McKellen and Jacobi as a gay couple - was previously confirmed to be returning for a Christmas special.
Jacobi claimed back in May that a second series might not shoot until 2014, due to his co-star McKellen's busy film schedule.
ITV2's period sitcom Plebs has also been renewed, Fincham announced, confirming initial reports from June.
> Vicious is "positively homophobic", says comedian Barry Cryer
Watch a clip from Vicious below:...
- 8/23/2013
- Digital Spy
Review Jake Laverde 11 Jul 2013 - 06:30
Already renewed for a second series, Jake checks out the first episode of Count Arthur Strong's television show...
This review contains spoilers.
1.1 Memory Man
Steve Delaney, in character as Count Arthur Strong, has been on the live circuit since the late nineties. He made the leap to radio in 2005 with, appropriately enough, Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show, picking up awards during its seven-series run. So why has it taken until 2013 for him to get onto TV?
The simple answer is that the studio sitcom is currently enjoying a welcome resurgence. Miranda, Citizen Khan, Not Going Out, Red Dwarf X and Vicious have all enjoyed great success showing there's plenty of life in the format. There's also Mrs Brown's Boys but let's put that aside for a moment. After The Office became a hit, there was a feeling that studio sitcoms were old-fashioned pantomime.
Already renewed for a second series, Jake checks out the first episode of Count Arthur Strong's television show...
This review contains spoilers.
1.1 Memory Man
Steve Delaney, in character as Count Arthur Strong, has been on the live circuit since the late nineties. He made the leap to radio in 2005 with, appropriately enough, Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show, picking up awards during its seven-series run. So why has it taken until 2013 for him to get onto TV?
The simple answer is that the studio sitcom is currently enjoying a welcome resurgence. Miranda, Citizen Khan, Not Going Out, Red Dwarf X and Vicious have all enjoyed great success showing there's plenty of life in the format. There's also Mrs Brown's Boys but let's put that aside for a moment. After The Office became a hit, there was a feeling that studio sitcoms were old-fashioned pantomime.
- 7/11/2013
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
ITV's Myfanwy Moore has described sitcoms Vicious and The Job Lot as a "learning curve".
The comedy commissioning editor claimed that ITV is "really proud" of both series, but added that no decision has been made on whether they will be recommissioned, Broadcast reports.
Moore added that in addition to their current Monday night comedy double-bill, the channel is looking for new hour-long shows to fill the Friday night "Benidorm slot".
"It's the white heat of primetime - we have to play things in punchy places, so we know there's nowhere to hide," said Moore.
Sir Derek Jacobi recently claimed that a second series of Vicious might not shoot until 2014, due to his co-star Sir Ian McKellen's busy film schedule.
"We've done a Christmas special to remind people that we're still around, because Ian, of course, is a movie star," Jacobi explained.
"He goes off and does the movies,...
The comedy commissioning editor claimed that ITV is "really proud" of both series, but added that no decision has been made on whether they will be recommissioned, Broadcast reports.
Moore added that in addition to their current Monday night comedy double-bill, the channel is looking for new hour-long shows to fill the Friday night "Benidorm slot".
"It's the white heat of primetime - we have to play things in punchy places, so we know there's nowhere to hide," said Moore.
Sir Derek Jacobi recently claimed that a second series of Vicious might not shoot until 2014, due to his co-star Sir Ian McKellen's busy film schedule.
"We've done a Christmas special to remind people that we're still around, because Ian, of course, is a movie star," Jacobi explained.
"He goes off and does the movies,...
- 6/27/2013
- Digital Spy
ITV sitcom Vicious has been branded "homophobic" by comedian Barry Cryer.
78-year-old Cryer criticised the comedy series - which stars Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi - in a piece written for the Radio Times.
"A sitcom with two old gays could be really good and moving," the comic wrote. "With two great actors in Sir Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi it should be fantastic.
"But it was insult, insult, insult every other line. You don't believe in them. You don't like them, for a start."
Cryer went on to call Vicious "positively homophobic", adding: "It made [Are You Being Served? star] John Inman look restrained."
Vicious is yet to be recommissioned by ITV, though a Christmas special will follow the first series, which concluded its run on June 10.
> Vicious review: McKellen, Jacobi can't save ITV's tired, lazy sitcom
Watch a clip from Vicious below:...
78-year-old Cryer criticised the comedy series - which stars Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi - in a piece written for the Radio Times.
"A sitcom with two old gays could be really good and moving," the comic wrote. "With two great actors in Sir Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi it should be fantastic.
"But it was insult, insult, insult every other line. You don't believe in them. You don't like them, for a start."
Cryer went on to call Vicious "positively homophobic", adding: "It made [Are You Being Served? star] John Inman look restrained."
Vicious is yet to be recommissioned by ITV, though a Christmas special will follow the first series, which concluded its run on June 10.
> Vicious review: McKellen, Jacobi can't save ITV's tired, lazy sitcom
Watch a clip from Vicious below:...
- 6/18/2013
- Digital Spy
Classic farces of the Feydeau, Aldwych and Whitehall kind have rarely worked in the cinema, and this widely performed stage play by Ray Cooney is no exception. The plot turns upon a bigamous London taxi driver (Danny Dyer) and accidental "have-a-go" hero having to explain his irregular lifestyle to the press, the police and the two wives. What we admire in great farce is the ingenuity and precision of the writing, the speed and virtuosity of the playing and the conviction that something serious is at stake for the characters. Run for Your Wife fulfils none of these conditions and is woefully dated in its misogyny and homophobia. Three-quarters of the British acting profession over the age of 60, all of them old chums of the author, appear in walk-on roles so we're constantly distracted by working out who's playing the bag lady (Judi Dench), the buskers (Rolf Harris, Cliff Richard,...
- 2/17/2013
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
BBC Four has confirmed the details of Goodbye Television Centre, a final 120-minute show bidding farewell to the broadcaster's iconic building.
David Attenborough, Jeremy Paxman and Noel Edmonds are among the talent who will join former BBC chairman Michael Grade at BBC's Studio One to talk about their favourite memories of TV Centre.
Airing in March, the show will celebrate the BBC's flagship studios, looking back at events such as the power cut on the launch night of BBC Two, and visiting the studios used for Monty Python's parrot sketch, Del Boy's living room, Miranda's shop and the corridors that Alan Partridge ran down with his stolen Stilton.
Other guests confirmed to join Grade on the sofa include Penelope Keith, Ronnie Corbett, David Mitchell, Michael Parkinson, Terry Wogan, Mark Lawson, Richard Briers, David Jason and Zoe Ball.
Completing the lineup are Phillip Schofield, Gary Lineker, Chris Hollins, Bob Harris and Fiona Bruce.
David Attenborough, Jeremy Paxman and Noel Edmonds are among the talent who will join former BBC chairman Michael Grade at BBC's Studio One to talk about their favourite memories of TV Centre.
Airing in March, the show will celebrate the BBC's flagship studios, looking back at events such as the power cut on the launch night of BBC Two, and visiting the studios used for Monty Python's parrot sketch, Del Boy's living room, Miranda's shop and the corridors that Alan Partridge ran down with his stolen Stilton.
Other guests confirmed to join Grade on the sofa include Penelope Keith, Ronnie Corbett, David Mitchell, Michael Parkinson, Terry Wogan, Mark Lawson, Richard Briers, David Jason and Zoe Ball.
Completing the lineup are Phillip Schofield, Gary Lineker, Chris Hollins, Bob Harris and Fiona Bruce.
- 2/13/2013
- Digital Spy
Jo Brand is to front a new chat show on Gold.
Jo Brand's Great Wall of Comedy will see the comedian joined by Barry Cryer and The Thick of It's Rebecca Front to uncover the stories and secrets behind the nation's greatest comedy treasures.
Across the five-part series, the trio will be joined by a selection of star guests as they delve into the archives to reveal obscure sitcom secrets.
"Jo Brand's Great Wall of Comedy is an innovative and bold format for Gold and embodies the type of original programming we want for the channel," said the channel's general manager Steve North.
"We are sure the combination of comedy talent headed by Jo, mixed with the fun of a chat show and filled with eye-opening anecdotes from a lineup of comedy stars, will make this a hit with viewers."
UKTV's commissioning editor Sarah Fraser added: "Between them,...
Jo Brand's Great Wall of Comedy will see the comedian joined by Barry Cryer and The Thick of It's Rebecca Front to uncover the stories and secrets behind the nation's greatest comedy treasures.
Across the five-part series, the trio will be joined by a selection of star guests as they delve into the archives to reveal obscure sitcom secrets.
"Jo Brand's Great Wall of Comedy is an innovative and bold format for Gold and embodies the type of original programming we want for the channel," said the channel's general manager Steve North.
"We are sure the combination of comedy talent headed by Jo, mixed with the fun of a chat show and filled with eye-opening anecdotes from a lineup of comedy stars, will make this a hit with viewers."
UKTV's commissioning editor Sarah Fraser added: "Between them,...
- 2/13/2013
- Digital Spy
London, Jan 2: Hollywood veteran Judi Dench is in line to play Sherlock Holmes' housekeeper in a new TV adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's classic stories.
The Oscar winner is in talks to portray the super snoop's loyal employee Mrs. Hudson in a new show based on her journals, called "A View From The Landing At 221B Baker Street".
The script has been penned by British comedy writer Barry Cryer and his son, Bob, and the pair is adamant the Bond actress is the perfect person for the job, reports dailymail.co.uk.
"It's all at a very early stage but it would be brilliant if Dame Judi were to play Mrs. Hudson. She would be.
The Oscar winner is in talks to portray the super snoop's loyal employee Mrs. Hudson in a new show based on her journals, called "A View From The Landing At 221B Baker Street".
The script has been penned by British comedy writer Barry Cryer and his son, Bob, and the pair is adamant the Bond actress is the perfect person for the job, reports dailymail.co.uk.
"It's all at a very early stage but it would be brilliant if Dame Judi were to play Mrs. Hudson. She would be.
- 1/1/2013
- by Leon David
- RealBollywood.com
David Mitchell married Victoria Coren at a ceremony in North London today (November 17). The Peep Show star married the newspaper columnist and professional poker player in Belsize Park. Chortle reports that guests included David Baddiel, Morwenna Banks, Jimmy Carr, Sandi Toksvig, Barry Cryer and Claudia Winkleman. Mitchell's best man was his Peep Show co-star and frequent comedy collaborator Robert Webb. Victoria was given away by brother Giles, after her father, the humourist Alan Coren, passed away in 2007. The 38-year-old said in his recent autobiography that Coren is "clever, funny, (more)...
- 11/17/2012
- by By Paul Martinovic
- Digital Spy
Monty Python's Flying Circus star Graham Chapman has been honoured with an unofficial blue plaque in London. Michael Palin and Terry Jones unveiled the plaque to honour the late actor, who died in 1989. The pair were joined by Chapman's former colleagues Barry Cryer and Carol Cleveland at the unveiling at the Angel Inn pub in Highgate. The plaque was organised by Chapman's friends and family members after English Heritage axed plans for an official memorial because of their budget cuts. Referring to Jones's classic line from Life of Brian, the plaque describes Chapman as a "very naughty boy" and that he "drank here often and copiously". (more)...
- 9/6/2012
- by By Tom Eames
- Digital Spy
Threatened by funding cuts, Bristol's Slapstick Festival is 'the most important celebration of this kind of comedy in the world'
Comedians including satirist Marcus Brigstocke and impressionist Rory Bremner are staging a benefit concert to save a festival dedicated to a brand of humour that is a century old – silent movie slapstick.
The one-night show aims to shore up the finances of Bristol's Slapstick Festival, after a cut in funding threatened to end the annual four-day extravaganza of silent comedy films. Also on the Stand Up For Slapstick bill on 24 June are Arthur Smith, Lucy Porter and veteran writer and performer Barry Cryer.
"The Slapstick Festival has grown during eight years to become perhaps the most important celebration of this kind of comedy anywhere in the world," said former Goodie and organiser Graeme Garden, a patron and director since 2007. "Silent comedy marks the start of modern humour. But, more importantly,...
Comedians including satirist Marcus Brigstocke and impressionist Rory Bremner are staging a benefit concert to save a festival dedicated to a brand of humour that is a century old – silent movie slapstick.
The one-night show aims to shore up the finances of Bristol's Slapstick Festival, after a cut in funding threatened to end the annual four-day extravaganza of silent comedy films. Also on the Stand Up For Slapstick bill on 24 June are Arthur Smith, Lucy Porter and veteran writer and performer Barry Cryer.
"The Slapstick Festival has grown during eight years to become perhaps the most important celebration of this kind of comedy anywhere in the world," said former Goodie and organiser Graeme Garden, a patron and director since 2007. "Silent comedy marks the start of modern humour. But, more importantly,...
- 6/17/2012
- by Christopher Stevens
- The Guardian - Film News
The spray-on kitsch is fairly hard to take, but even harder to take is that the organisers actually take it seriously
✒It's the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, the 57th. Wouldn't it be wonderful if it was the last? At least for us. BBC1 could put on reruns of Flog It!, or pro-celebrity badminton. The song contest would disappear on to one of those cable channels with audiences so small they can't be measured – Eurosport 3, perhaps.
Because it is so utterly, horribly grim. Acts which would not get a gig on Ladies' Night at the Baku Freemasons appear in front of millions singing like a cement mixer tackling Celine Dion's greatest hits, or, because they are always decades behind, doing punk in Finnish, or there's some preening poltroon in sky-blue vinyl who resembles a rapper as much as I sound like Jose Feliciano.
It was bearable when Terry Wogan...
✒It's the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, the 57th. Wouldn't it be wonderful if it was the last? At least for us. BBC1 could put on reruns of Flog It!, or pro-celebrity badminton. The song contest would disappear on to one of those cable channels with audiences so small they can't be measured – Eurosport 3, perhaps.
Because it is so utterly, horribly grim. Acts which would not get a gig on Ladies' Night at the Baku Freemasons appear in front of millions singing like a cement mixer tackling Celine Dion's greatest hits, or, because they are always decades behind, doing punk in Finnish, or there's some preening poltroon in sky-blue vinyl who resembles a rapper as much as I sound like Jose Feliciano.
It was bearable when Terry Wogan...
- 5/25/2012
- by Simon Hoggart
- The Guardian - Film News
The Goodies
Amazon.com Widgets
Kieran Kinsella
Click here to friend Best British TV on Facebook or here to follow us on Twitter. You can also find us on Google+ by clicking here.
Like most people born in the 1970s, I was a huge fan of the Goodies as a kid. My personal favorite was Graeme Garden who I regarded as “the sensible Goodie.” As I grew up, I began to realize that The Goodies was just one highlight in a distinguished career during which the Scotsman established himself as one of Britain’s top comedy performers. While he is a well known entertainer, many people do not realize that Graeme Garden is also a qualified physician. Recently, I had the opportunity to interview Graeme and I began by asking him how he made the transition from medical school graduate to TV funny man.
“I appeared in a couple of plays at school,...
Amazon.com Widgets
Kieran Kinsella
Click here to friend Best British TV on Facebook or here to follow us on Twitter. You can also find us on Google+ by clicking here.
Like most people born in the 1970s, I was a huge fan of the Goodies as a kid. My personal favorite was Graeme Garden who I regarded as “the sensible Goodie.” As I grew up, I began to realize that The Goodies was just one highlight in a distinguished career during which the Scotsman established himself as one of Britain’s top comedy performers. While he is a well known entertainer, many people do not realize that Graeme Garden is also a qualified physician. Recently, I had the opportunity to interview Graeme and I began by asking him how he made the transition from medical school graduate to TV funny man.
“I appeared in a couple of plays at school,...
- 1/17/2012
- by admin
In today's comedy scene, Norman Wisdom's influence is felt most keenly in the performances of Lee Evans
Wisdom's longevity was incredible. He was past his peak when the Carry On films were fresh. He was Charlie Chaplin's favourite clown, for goodness' sake. He even made Barry Cryer seem young.
And now he's gone. The absence won't be immediately noticeable, at least not to the younger generation, who are less familiar with his successes in films such as Trouble in Store in 1953, or A Stitch in Time in 1963, than they are tickled by his apparent godlike status in Albania, of all places.
In today's comedy scene, Norman Wisdom's influence is felt most keenly in the performances of Lee Evans, who disclaims any resemblance, but whose hapless dork persona and goofy physicality strongly recall Wisdom's signature style. "People will always find the sight of someone falling or someone spilling something funny,...
Wisdom's longevity was incredible. He was past his peak when the Carry On films were fresh. He was Charlie Chaplin's favourite clown, for goodness' sake. He even made Barry Cryer seem young.
And now he's gone. The absence won't be immediately noticeable, at least not to the younger generation, who are less familiar with his successes in films such as Trouble in Store in 1953, or A Stitch in Time in 1963, than they are tickled by his apparent godlike status in Albania, of all places.
In today's comedy scene, Norman Wisdom's influence is felt most keenly in the performances of Lee Evans, who disclaims any resemblance, but whose hapless dork persona and goofy physicality strongly recall Wisdom's signature style. "People will always find the sight of someone falling or someone spilling something funny,...
- 10/5/2010
- by Brian Logan
- The Guardian - Film News
Celebrities have joined friends and family to pay tribute to Danny La Rue at his funeral. Ronnie Corbett, Barbara Windsor, Barry Cryer and Joe Pasquale were among the stars who attended the private ceremony at the Catholic Church of the Transfiguration in Kensal Rise, London, the BBC reports. Windsor read a poem written for La Rue by his late manager and partner Jack Hanson, who passed (more)...
- 6/24/2009
- by By Mayer Nissim
- Digital Spy
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