"in front of millions of television viewers on 15 April 1984. Tommy Cooper: Not Like That, Like This Tommy Cooper: Not Like That, Like This is a 2014 television film made by Left Bank Pictures. The film focuses on the life of the late Tommy Cooper, the popular British comedian, and the dilemma he faced when he fell in love with his assistant Mary Kay. At the time he was married to Gwen, whom he affectionately nicknamed ""Dove"". Tommy was unable to choose between the two women and embarked upon a dual relationship that would last for 17 years. Cooper"
"quickly degenerates into a playground-style quarrel with the professors exchanging childish insults. The humour lies largely in the juxtaposition of the professors' formal tone of voice with their puerile words. This sketch spawned perhaps the show's most popular catchphrase ""...That's you, that is"", spoken after they had described someone/something supposedly pathetic and/or disgusting. This sketch was later carried over into Newman and Baddiel's own show, ""Newman and Baddiel in Pieces"". Robert Smith (played by Rob Newman) A parody of the singer Robert Smith, front-man with the British rock band The Cure. This was prompted by Baddiel's observation that, although the"
"Cyril Fletcher Cyril Fletcher (25 June 1913 – 2 January 2005) was an English comedian, actor and businessman. His catchphrase was 'Pin back your lugholes'. He was best known for his ""Odd Odes"", which later formed a section of the television show ""That's Life!"". He first began performing the Odd Odes in 1937, long before they first appeared on television (though he did appear on pre-World War II television). Fletcher came up with the idea when he was short of material for a radio show. The first Odd Ode was a comic, yet sentimental, reading of Edgar Wallace's war poem"
"later. The couple had a daughter, Jill Fletcher, an actress and comedian. Cyril Fletcher Cyril Fletcher (25 June 1913 – 2 January 2005) was an English comedian, actor and businessman. His catchphrase was 'Pin back your lugholes'. He was best known for his ""Odd Odes"", which later formed a section of the television show ""That's Life!"". He first began performing the Odd Odes in 1937, long before they first appeared on television (though he did appear on pre-World War II television). Fletcher came up with the idea when he was short of material for a radio show. The first Odd"
"comedy from several comedians in each show, became a ratings hit in the United Kingdom and helped establish Carson's performing career. Granada Television's ""The Comedians"" led to similar shows, such as ""The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club"", which was an attempt to bring the northern English working man's club show to television. Carson was a regular on television for a number of years after ""The Comedians"", whilst also working as a stage entertainer and appearing before the Royal Family in shows. He is known for two catchphrases in live performances: ""It's a cracker!"" and ""It's the way I tell 'em!""."
"Satire boom The satire boom is a general term to describe the emergence of a generation of English satirical writers, journalists and performers at the end of the 1950s. The satire boom is often regarded as having begun with the first performance of ""Beyond the Fringe"" on 22 August 1960 and ending around December 1963 with the cancellation of the TV show ""That Was The Week That Was"". The figures most closely identified with it are Peter Cook, John Bird, John Fortune, David Frost, Bernard Levin and Richard Ingrams. Many of the figures who found initial celebrity through the satire"
"4 January 1955. His ashes lie in section 1-L of the Garden of Remembrance. Claude Dampier Claude Dampier (1879-1955) was an English film actor and popular character comedian in the early 20th century. He was born in Clapham, South London as Claud Conolly Cowan. He played largely comic roles, first appearing in music hall acts and then moving to both film and radio comedies. Dampier usually appeared as a dim-witted 'silly ass' type, often billed as 'The Professional Idiot'. He was best remembered for his post-war Jewel and Warriss radio shows, where he adopted the catch-phrase ""it's me-ee"". Dampier toured"
"but it was worse than he realised and he died of a heart attack on 26 June 1982. Sandy Powell (comedian) Albert Arthur Powell MBE (30 January 1900 – 26 June 1982), known as Sandy Powell, was an English comedian best known for his radio work of the 1930s and for his catchphrase ""Can you hear me, mother?"". He first said this in a theatre in Coventry. Fifty years later, deciding he needed a rest from the business (he planned a cruise around the world with his wife), he again said it in a Coventry theatre, for the last time."
"as a ""British Comic Pantomimist"". Cairoli was distinguished in his act by wearing a red nose and a Charlie Chaplin-style bowler hat, eyebrows, and costume, and a moustache slightly larger than Chaplin's. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom in the 1970s owing to his frequent television appearances, not least on his long-running children's show ""Right Charlie!"". He was possibly the best-known clown on British television at one time, and had a career that spanned well over forty years. He was the subject of ""This Is Your Life"" in 1970 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at London's"
"Kate Carney Kate Carney (1869 – 1 January 1950) was an English singer and comedian who played the music halls in London. She was born in Southwark, London, in 1869 as Catherine Mary Pattinson, and first appeared as Kate Carney in 1890 at the Albert Music Hall in Canning Town, singing Irish songs. She was, however, more famous for her Cockney songs, and became known as the ""Coster Comedienne"". Her act, a mixture of comedy and pathos, included such songs as ""Are We to Part Like This, Bill?"" She appeared in the Royal Variety Performance in 1935, and, following the"
"Charlie Williams (comedian) Charles Adolphus Williams, MBE (23 December 1927 – 2 September 2006) was an English professional footballer who was one of the first black players in British football after the Second World War, and later became Britain's first well-known black stand-up comedian. He became famous from his appearances on Granada Television's ""The Comedians"" and ATV's ""The Golden Shot"", delivering his catchphrase, ""me old flower"" in his broad Yorkshire accent. Williams was born in Royston, a small mining village near Barnsley, West Riding of Yorkshire. His father, also Charles, had come to Britain in 1914 from Barbados, and enlisted"
"Tommy Trinder Thomas Edward Trinder CBE (24 March 1909 – 10 July 1989), known as Tommy Trinder, was an English stage, screen and radio comedian of the pre- and post-war years whose catchphrase was 'You lucky people'. Born at 54 Wellfield Road, Streatham, South London, (a plaque from the Streatham Society marks the spot) on 24 March 1909, the son of Thomas Henry Trinder, a London tram driver from Shilton, Oxfordshire, and his wife Jennie Georgina Harriet Mills, Tommy Trinder was one of the best-loved comedians in Britain during the period from the late 1930s until the 1960s. He left"
"Sandy Powell (comedian) Albert Arthur Powell MBE (30 January 1900 – 26 June 1982), known as Sandy Powell, was an English comedian best known for his radio work of the 1930s and for his catchphrase ""Can you hear me, mother?"". He first said this in a theatre in Coventry. Fifty years later, deciding he needed a rest from the business (he planned a cruise around the world with his wife), he again said it in a Coventry theatre, for the last time. Born in Rotherham, West Riding of Yorkshire, now South Yorkshire, England in 1900, he attended White's school in"
"and puns, and always remarks, ""isn't he a panic"". This was one of the show's two catchphrases, the other being ""there will now be a short intermission"". There was usually a series of linked sketches through each episode, the intermission sketches providing a break. The fact that Douglas Adams had written for the show did not prevent his becoming a target for satire. He was parodied as Mister Different Adams whose catchphrase is ""I see comedy as a kind of..."". Adams's ""The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"" was also a target; the 1979 Christmas show (""Eric Pode of Croydon's Easter"
"embassy in London, when an immigration officer asked, ""Give me one good reason I should let you back in to insult my country,"" which the officer followed up with, ""Oh, I'm just kidding, I love the show."" Since then, he referred to Americans as ""us"" or ""you"" as each segment demanded. Oliver's philanthropy includes an on-air giveaway in which he forgave over $15,000,000 of medical debt owed by over 9,000 people. He purchased the debt for $60,000 and forgave it on his June 4 show in 2016. John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is an English comedian,"
"most programmes, and who also provides the show's only recurring catchphrase, opening each story with ""Well, since you ask me for..."". The only other recurring character between episodes is an interviewer played by Carrie Quinlan named Patsy Straightwoman. Many episodes include a comic song with words by Finnemore and music by Susannah Pearse. Some of these songs include a cello played by Sally Stairs. Sally also appears in the Stoppable sketch as a tram driver. Many episodes also include a recurring sketch that comes up 2 to 4 times in the episode. There are four sketches which parody the BBC"
"Malcolm Hardee Malcolm Hardee (5 January 1950 – 31 January 2005) was an English comedian, author, comedy club proprietor, compère, agent, manager and ""amateur sensationalist"". His high reputation among his peers rests on his outrageous publicity stunts and on the help and advice he gave to successful British alternative comedians early in their careers, acting as ""godfather to a generation of comic talent in the 1980s"". Fellow comic Rob Newman called him ""a hilarious, anarchic, living legend; a millennial Falstaff"", while Stewart Lee wrote that ""Malcolm Hardee is a natural clown who in any decent country would be a national"
"'That's funny, you don't look Japanese.' (referencing Yoko Ono); other famous victims included Mick Jagger, Warren Beatty, Charlton Heston, and Muhammad Ali. Perhaps Norman's most well known interview was with Keith Moon at Charlton stadium in 1976. Moon famously ended his brief encounter with Norman by tipping Vodka over his head and yelling ""Piss off, you Australian slag"". McDonald was one of the pioneers of the satirical ""ambush"" interview technique, which was founded on his considerable improvisational acting skills and precise comic timing. The ""Gunston Method"" relied on the fact that, especially in the early days of the series, the"
"Charlie Chester Charlie Chester, MBE (26 April 1914 – 26 June 1997), was an English comedian, radio and television presenter and writer, broadcasting almost continuously from the 1940s to the 1990s. His style was similar to that of Max Miller. Chester was born Cecil Victor Manser in Eastbourne, Sussex. His first job after leaving education was as a grocer's errand boy, but he won talent competitions for his musical instrument playing and singing. Working as a travelling salesman for an embroidery company, Chester realised he had the gift of the gab and decided to become a professional comedian. Known as"
"He was subsequently the subject of TV's ""This Is Your Life"" on 10 April 1980. Nat Jackley Nat Jackley (16 July 1909 – 17 September 1988) was an English comic actor starring in variety, film and pantomime from the 1920s to the mid-1980s whose trademark rubber-neck dance, skeletal frame and peculiar speech impediment made him a formidable and funny comedian and pantomime dame. His later years were spent as a character actor in films and television. A native of Sunderland, Nathaniel Tristram Jackley Hirsch was born into a theatrical family. His father George Jackley (1885–1950) was a comic actor who"
"Granada Television discovered Jones in a Walthamstow pub in 1970, recruiting him for their popular Saturday night show, ""The Comedians"". Jones' catchphrase 'Kin' ell' was a play on words, derived from footballer George Kinnell. In 1983, Jones was presented with what is reported to have been the first gold disc for a comedy album, after his ""Live from the Talk of East Anglia"" (1981) achieved 100,000 sales. He was the first stand-up comedian to release a video of his live shows, and in the early 1980s had three videos in the UK top ten. In 1994, ""The Independent"" newspaper reported"
"Arthur Askey Arthur Bowden Askey, CBE (6 June 190016 November 1982) was an English comedian and actor. Askey's humour owed much to the playfulness of the characters he portrayed, his improvisation, and his use of catchphrases, which included ""Hello playmates!"", ""I thank you"" (pronounced ""Ay-Thang-Yaw""), and ""Before your very eyes"". Askey was born at 29 Moses Street, Dingle, Liverpool, the eldest child and only son of Samuel Askey (d. 1958), secretary of the firm Sugar Products of Liverpool, and his wife, Betsy Bowden (d. 1949), of Knutsford, Cheshire. Six months after his birth the family moved to 90 Rosslyn Street,"
"Equity register already. John Sessions John Gibb Marshall (born 11 January 1953), better known by the stage name John Sessions, is a British actor and comedian. He is known for comedy improvisation in television shows such as ""Whose Line Is It Anyway?""; as a panellist on ""QI""; and as a character actor in numerous films, both in the UK and in Hollywood. Sessions was born in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. He has a twin sister, Maggie, and an older brother. Sessions was educated at Bedford Modern School, an independent school for boys (now co-educational), and Verulam School, St Albans, followed by"
"Jimmy Wheeler Jimmy Wheeler (16 September 1910 - 8 October 1973) was a British variety theatre comedian and pioneer of radio and television. Born Ernest Remnant in Battersea, he acquired the name Jimmy from George Formby (Senior), who introduced him on stage early in his career as 'Lucky Jim'. The Wheeler part of his name came from his father's double act 'Wheeler and Wilson', after he took over the role of Wheeler to his father's Wilson. A burly man with a moustache, he used a violin as part of his stage act in the style of Jack Benny. His catchphrase"
"Peter Cook Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English actor, satirist, writer and comedian. He is widely regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was closely associated with the anti-establishment comedy that emerged in the United Kingdom and United States in the late 1950s. Called ""the father of modern satire"" by ""The Guardian"", in 2005, Cook was ranked number one in the ""Comedians' Comedian"", a poll of more than 300 comics, comedy writers, producers, and directors throughout the English-speaking world. Cook was born at his parents' house,"
"viewers of the BBC's ""Football Focus"" programme. Williams suffered from Parkinson's Disease in his latter life, and died on 2 September 2006, aged 78. Charlie Williams (comedian) Charles Adolphus Williams, MBE (23 December 1927 – 2 September 2006) was an English professional footballer who was one of the first black players in British football after the Second World War, and later became Britain's first well-known black stand-up comedian. He became famous from his appearances on Granada Television's ""The Comedians"" and ATV's ""The Golden Shot"", delivering his catchphrase, ""me old flower"" in his broad Yorkshire accent. Williams was born in Royston,"
"performing all over the country, choosing the Embassy Theatre, Skegness as his first performance after over three years off stage. Norvelle had an ""In The Club"" DVD released in January 2006 by Boulevard Entertainment; and also appears on the ""Ricky Tomlinson Laughter Show Live"" DVD. The latter included a brief interview. Duncan Norvelle Duncan Norvelle (born 1958, Hoton, Loughborough, Leicestershire, England) is an English comedian in the variety tradition, who appeared on television from the early 1980s. He is probably most famous for his catch phrase ""Chase me!"", leading to his often being referred to as Duncan ""Chase me"" Norvelle."
"Lance Percival John Lancelot Blades Percival (26 July 1933 – 6 January 2015), known as Lance Percival, was an English actor, comedian and singer, best known for his appearances in satirical comedy television shows of the early 1960s and his ability to improvise comic calypsos about current news stories. He later became successful as an after-dinner speaker. He was born in Sevenoaks, Kent, and was educated at Sherborne School in Sherborne, Dorset, where he learnt to play the guitar. He then did national service with the Seaforth Highlanders as a lieutenant and was posted to Egypt. In 1955 he emigrated"
"Norman Collier Norman Collier (25 December 1925 – 14 March 2013) was a British comedian who achieved popularity following television appearances in the 1970s. He was best known for his 'faulty microphone' routine and for his chicken impressions. Collier was born in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, into the working-class family of Thomas and Mary (née Dowling) Collier on Christmas Day 1925 weighing 15 lb 4 oz. He grew up in the centre of Hull as the eldest of eight children. At age 17, Collier joined the Royal Navy and served as a gunner towards the end of the"
"to Be Ignorant"", and other memorable parodies were presented by such satirists as Spike Jones, Stoopnagle and Budd, Stan Freberg and Bob and Ray. British comedy reached American shores in a major assault when NBC carried ""The Goon Show"" in the mid-1950s. Some shows originated as stage productions: Clifford Goldsmith's play ""What a Life"" was reworked into NBC's popular, long-running ""The Aldrich Family"" (1939–1953) with the familiar catchphrases ""Henry! Henry Aldrich!,"" followed by Henry's answer, ""Coming, Mother!"" Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman's Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway hit, ""You Can't Take It with You"" (1936), became a weekly situation comedy heard"
"a joke based on the similar looks of the Corr sisters. This would take the form of a tacked-on ending for a different film each week, for example as extra final scene for ""Blues Brothers 2000"" which saw Dan Aykroyd and John Goodman laughing and urinating on the grave of John Belushi before driving off in the Bluesmobile. Another was made for ""Titanic"", in which Leonardo DiCaprio's character swims to the surface after Kate Winslet is rescued to celebrate finally escaping her clutches. A satirical version of a BBC series that explored the boom in alternative comedy in the 1970s"
"Gerry Connolly (comedian) Gerald William ""Gerry"" Connolly (born 15 November 1957) is an Australian comedian, actor, impressionist and pianist. He is best known for his satirical caricatures of public figures such as Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Margaret Thatcher, Joh Bjelke-Peterson, Bob Hawke, Paul Keating, Bill Collins and Dame Joan Sutherland, amongst many others. He has gained much notoriety in Australia and the UK, having much success at the Melbourne Comedy Festival and Adelaide Comedy Festival with his hit one-man shows, including ""Gerry Connolly - Alone Or With Others"" and ""ICONNOLLY"". In 1986, his live performances earned him the Wallace"
"John Wells (satirist) John Campbell Wells (17 November 1936 – 11 January 1998) was an English actor, writer and satirist. The son of a clergyman, Wells was born in Ashford, Kent in 1936. He was educated at Eastbourne College and St Edmund Hall, Oxford. Wells started in cabaret at Oxford and began his television career as a writer on ""That Was The Week That Was"", the 1960s weekly satire show that launched the careers of David Frost and Millicent Martin, among others, and also appeared in the television programme ""Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life"", as"