Which comic actor died on stage (literally) at the Sunderland Empire in April 1976?
"intended to remain open for a fortnight, the store remains open and has hosted live performances from acts including The Cribs, The Vaccines and The Charlatans. The Sunderland Empire Theatre opened in 1907 on High Street West in the city centre. It is the largest theatre in between Edinburgh and London, and completed a comprehensive refurbishment in 2004. Operated by international entertainment group Live Nation, the Empire is the only theatre between Glasgow and Leeds with sufficient capacity to accommodate large West End productions. It is infamous for playing host to the final performance of British comic actor Sid James"
"and kidney problems, died in July 2009 at Sunderland Royal Hospital. Bobby Knoxall Robert McKenna MBE (24 December 1933–20 July 2009) was an English comedian, better known by his stage name Bobby Knoxall. Knoxall was born in the East End of Sunderland in 1933 and attended St Patrick's School. Illiterate after being expelled from two schools by the age of 12, he obtained a job as a barrow boy selling fruit. Although he was mainly known in North East England, he also toured. He appeared with a group of rock 'n' roll dancers in London, before becoming a vocalist and"
"down a nearby alley and was never seen again. The Empire was known as a 'comic graveyard' - rather unfortunately given the above points - because of the partisan reception of the audiences of the time . Nowadays, the theatre regularly plays host to large-scale musicals, opera, ballet, dance showcases, amateur productions and one-night shows. Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren made her stage debut at the Sunderland Empire. The theatre was the regular venue for the University of Sunderland's graduation ceremonies until the theatre's refurbishment in 2004. Since this time, the graduation ceremonies have been held at Sunderland AFC's Stadium of"
"included Nat Gonella, Jimmy Young, Harry Secombe, Max Bygraves, Ken Dodd (who brought the house down), Eddie Cochran, Adam Faith, Cliff Richard, the Springfields and Frankie Vaughan before he headlined at the Alhambra Theatre. Welsh singer Dame Shirley Bassey made her debut at the theatre in 1959 and was initially given a hard time before asking the audience to give her a chance, whereupon the singer finished her set and was warmly applauded. The Empire was notorious within showbiz circles as """"The English comic's grave"""", if their act was slow or thin. Among those judged this way were Bob Monkhouse,"
"Oliver Wakefield Oliver Wakefield (born 29 May 1909, Mahlabitini, Zululand, South Africa; d. 30 June 1956, New York City), was a popular British actor and comedian active from the 1930s until his death in 1956. Often billed as ""The Voice of Inexperience"", Wakefield is best known for his idiosyncratic satirical monologues. Wakefield was educated in South Africa, then travelled to England, where he began acting with a Shakespearean repertory company. He then attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts for further study, where he developed his distinctive style of humorous monologue. Wakefield created the stage persona of a nervous upper"
"who died of a heart attack whilst on stage in 1976. The Royalty Theatre on Chester Road is the home to the amateur Royalty Theatre Group who also put on a number of low-budget productions throughout the year. Film producer David Parfitt belonged to this company before achieving worldwide fame and is now a patron of the theatre. The Sunniside area plays host to a number of smaller theatrical workshops and production houses, as well as the ""Theatre Restaurant"", which combines a dining experience with a rolling programme of musical theatre. Sunderland has two local newspapers: the daily evening tabloid"
"dog Jim in a cottage in Sundon, Bedfordshire, where he died on 20 February 2010 aged 38. Initial reports suggested he died in his sleep. He was survived by his father Brian, mother, and sister Ann. Jason Wood (comedian) Jason Robert Wood (21 January 1972 – 20 February 2010) was a British comedian. He was a regular performer at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, he was best known for his comic musical impersonations of performers including Cher and Morrissey. He frequently headlined comedy clubs. Wood was born in Luton, and attended Icknield High School. In 2004, he took part in the"
"a single locally. Problems with drink, finances and his health affected his career in the 1970s, but he remained a North East favourite, particularly on the club scene, until shortly before his death. Bobby died in hospital, after being taken there on 9 April 1988, suffering from breathing problems. He died a week later, whilst listening to songs from his childhood, such as ""Beautiful Dreamer"" and Sweet 16. Bobby Thompson (comedian) Robert Michael ""Bobby"" Thompson (18 November 1911 – 16 April 1988) was a stand-up comedian, actor and entertainer from Penshaw, Sunderland. Although he was raised in Penshaw, he also"
"New York home at 351 Park Avenue, aged 47. Oliver Wakefield Oliver Wakefield (born 29 May 1909, Mahlabitini, Zululand, South Africa; d. 30 June 1956, New York City), was a popular British actor and comedian active from the 1930s until his death in 1956. Often billed as ""The Voice of Inexperience"", Wakefield is best known for his idiosyncratic satirical monologues. Wakefield was educated in South Africa, then travelled to England, where he began acting with a Shakespearean repertory company. He then attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts for further study, where he developed his distinctive style of humorous monologue."
"Scott Sunderland (actor) Scott Sunderland (19 September 1883 – 1956) was an English actor. Principally working on the stage, his few film roles included Colonel Pickering in the 1938 film adaptation of Shaw's ""Pygmalion"" and Sir John Colley in the 1939 film adaptation of ""Goodbye, Mr. Chips"". Educated in England and Germany, his first professional theatrical appearance was with the F.R. Benson company at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1909 as Douglas in ""Henry IV, Part 2"", followed later that year with his London debut. Other roles he played during his stage career included Feste in ""Twelfth Night"", Ulysses S. Grant in ""Abraham"
"his fame until the events above were described by Peter Sellers on television in 1972. After this Hayward attempted a stage career, developing characters he called ""Bearded Schoolboy"", ""Woolly Wolfcub"", and ""Happy Sandboy"". He also made appearances at meetings of the Goon Show Preservation Society. He was an active member of the actors union Equity, subsection Variety. According to an article in ""The Guardian"", he was elected as a union representative at least once. The Goon Show Preservation Society website reported Ruxton's death in Charing Cross Hospital, London on 22 September 2011. Ruxton Hayward Ruxton Hayward was a British eccentric."
"69 and is buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery. Cecil Sheridan Cecil Sheridan (21 December 1910 – 4 January 1980) was an Irish comedian and actor who performed in variety shows and pantomimes in Ireland and Great Britain during a versatile career spanning over forty years. Born at 31 Queen's Square, Sheridan was the son of a Dublin upholsterer, also named Cecil, and his wife, Catherine (Kate) Buckley. His mother died of tuberculosis when he was six and he and his siblings were raised by his father. He was educated at Synge Street CBS. In a bid to cure a stammer"
"(1935), as well as an early television production of ""The Little Father of the Wilderness"" (1939). Wright died of a heart attack at the age of 72 in Bangor, Wales. Huntley Wright Huntley Wright (7 August 1868 – 10 July 1941) was an English stage and film actor, comedian, dancer and singer, best known for creating roles in many important Edwardian musical comedies. His career spanned more than half a century, beginning with performances in his family's touring theatre company. He then toured extensively in burlesque and other comedies and also appeared in London. In 1895, he toured in South"
"Selma to Montgomery marches and participated in a campaign for George McGovern before the 1972 presidential election. Dawson died at age 79 from complications of esophageal cancer in Los Angeles, California on 2 June 2012 at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. He was interred in Westwood Memorial Park, Los Angeles. On June 7, 2012, GSN aired a four-hour marathon of Dawson's greatest moments on ""Match Game"" and ""Family Feud"", including the first episode of Dawson's 1994 season. Richard Dawson Richard Dawson (born Colin Lionel Emm; 20 November 1932 – 2 June 2012) was a British-American actor, comedian, game show"
"of which after the death of George Vining he was the best exponent. His last impersonation was the outcast Bashford in ""The World"" at Drury Lane, 1880. He was an able, vigorous, and conscientious actor. From January 1880 he was the secretary of the National Dramatic Academy. On 18 October 1880 he, while rehearsing the character of Horatio at the Haymarket Theatre, fell into the scene dock at the back of the stage, inadvertently left open. He died of erysipelas on 28 October at the Charing Cross Hospital, and was buried at Highgate Cemetery on 2 November, leaving a widow"
"success of his career as Sir John in ""Me and My Girl"" (1937). Graves' health deteriorated in 1949, and he was admitted to Guy's Hospital in the London Borough of Southwark. He died the same year at the age of 73 and was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium. George Graves (actor) George Windsor Graves (1 January 1876 – 2 April 1949) was an English comic actor. Although he could neither sing nor dance, he became a leading comedian in musical comedies, adapting the French and Viennese ""opéra-bouffe"" style of light comic relief into a broader comedy popular with English audiences"
"Theatre in June 1977, celebrating the Queen's Silver Jubilee. The performance was called ""God Save the Queen!"" and had an all-star cast, including Ingrid Bergman, Wendy Hiller, Flora Robson and Diana Rigg. Hulbert died in 1978; Courtneidge died two years later, shortly after her 87th birthday, at a nursing home in Putney, survived by her only child, a daughter. Courtneidge was cremated at the Golders Green Crematorium. Items marked with an asterisk (*) featured both Courtneidge and Hulbert. Cicely Courtneidge Dame Esmerelda Cicely Courtneidge, (1 April 1893 – 26 April 1980) was an Australian-born British actress, comedian and singer. The"
"Bobby Knoxall Robert McKenna MBE (24 December 1933–20 July 2009) was an English comedian, better known by his stage name Bobby Knoxall. Knoxall was born in the East End of Sunderland in 1933 and attended St Patrick's School. Illiterate after being expelled from two schools by the age of 12, he obtained a job as a barrow boy selling fruit. Although he was mainly known in North East England, he also toured. He appeared with a group of rock 'n' roll dancers in London, before becoming a vocalist and turning his patter between songs into a comedy act. He became"
"Garden, Bill Oddie, and Jonathan Lynn. Buffery died in December 2015 at the age of 76. Tony Buffery Anthony Walter Harold Buffery (9 September 1939 – 26 December 2015) was a British actor, comedian, and writer who also had a career in academic psychology. Buffery got his start in the Cambridge Footlights, but his place in the London Footlights Revue was taken over by Graham Chapman (later of Monty Python) when Buffery chose an academic career over one in entertainment. I do remember that in one year – probably 1967 – Clive [James] did a two-man show with Tony Buffery..."
"extent molded on the English gentleman as personified by Noël Coward whom Frøland admired greatly from an early age, and as a 19-year-old he also met this idol at the Savoy Hotel in London. He was also an admirer and influenced by the Swedish revue artist Karl Gerhard. One of his best friends was veteran comedian Leif Juster, whom he also impersonated very frequently. He was also particularly close to Andreas Diesen, whom he knew from childhood. On 26 January 2010 Frøland died in his home on the famed Bygdøy allé in Oslo, aged 64. Dag Frøland Dag Frøland (16"
"on 17 May 2011. Kerr died in his family home in Perth, Western Australia, on 28 August 2014 at the age of 92. He was married three times. Bill Kerr William Henry Kerr (10 June 1922 – 28 August 2014) was a South African-born entertainer, who had a successful career in Britain and Australia as an actor, comedian and vaudevillian. Beginning as a child performer in Australia, he emigrated to Britain after the Second World War, and developed a career as a performer in comedy, especially gaining notice in the radio version of ""Hancock's Half Hour"". In 1979 Kerr returned"
"19 July 1904 from a brain haemorrhage. He was buried at Abney Park Cemetery, Stoke Newington, three days later. A commemorative Blue plaque was erected to Campbell on 25 November 2015 by The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America at 44 Lawford Road, Hackney. Herbert Campbell Herbert Campbell (22 December 1844 – 19 July 1904) born Herbert Edward Story was an English comedian and actor who appeared in music hall, Victorian burlesques and musical comedies during the Victorian era. He was famous for starring, for many years, in the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane's annual Christmas pantomimes, predominantly as"
"2012, aged 89, at his home in Hope Island, Queensland, Australia, after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Max Bygraves Walter William Bygraves (16 October 1922 – 31 August 2012), best known by the stage name Max Bygraves, was an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, sometimes performing comedy sketches between songs. He made twenty ""Royal Variety Performance"" appearances and presented numerous programmes, including ""Family Fortunes"". Bygraves was born to Henry and Lillian (née McDonnell) Bygraves (who wed in 1919) in Rotherhithe in London, where he grew up in poverty in a two-room"
"this was the first retraction ever to appear in that uniquely authoritative magazine. In disgrace, Tynan prepared a major apology, to appear prominently in the next issue. On the eve of publication, when the edition was printed and ready for delivery, Blore died. So next morning, the daily papers announced Blore’s death, while ""The New Yorker"" apologised for any insult to Mr. Blore’s feelings through their erroneous report of his demise. <nowiki>*</nowiki> - films featuring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Eric Blore Eric Blore (23 December 1887 – 2 March 1959) was an English comic actor who worked in the"
"who died not long afterwards. Evanion Henry Evans (c. 1832 – 17 June 1905) was a conjurer, ventriloquist and humorist, born in Kennington, South London, who used the stage name Evanion. Performances in front of members of the British Royal Family, including Queen Victoria at Sandringham, and the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) and Princess Alexandra at Marlborough House, enabled him to use the name ""The Royal Conjuror"" in his publicity. Evans had a successful career of over fifty years from 1849, performing in theatres and music halls in London and the English provinces and at private functions. He"
"John Junkin John Francis Junkin (29 January 1930 – 7 March 2006) was an English radio, television and film actor and scriptwriter. In 1960 Junkin joined Joan Littlewood's Stratford East Theatre Workshop and played the lead in the original production of ""Sparrers Can't Sing"". A few years later he joined the Royal Court Theatre company and was the foil to Tony Hancock in some of Hancock's last work for British television. He played a diverse range of roles on the small screen; however, he is best remembered for his comedy roles and his appearances as a television quiz master. Worldwide"
"Grahame Clifford ""For the film editor with a similar name, see Graeme Clifford."" Grahame Clifford (25 December 1905 – 26 January 1984), was an English singer and actor, known for comic parts in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas and in character roles for the Royal Opera Company, Covent Garden. In his early career Clifford played a wide range of roles in operas by composers from Handel to Vaughan Williams. He also acted in plays, produced theatre and taught. From 1939 to 1946 he was principal comedian of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company playing the comic leads in Gilbert and Sullivan's"
"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."
"Music"", a production that was also staged at Sadler's Wells. He performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company during the 1995-1996 season, appearing in that year's productions of ""The Taming of the Shrew"", ""Richard III"" and Ben Jonson's comedy ""The Devil is an Ass"". In 1982, Nedwell married PR agent Heather Inglis, although the couple later separated. They had one daughter, Amie. He had a brother, Dr. Jeremy Nedwell. Robin died at his doctor's surgery in Hedge End, Hampshire, England after suffering a heart attack. Robin Nedwell Robin Courteney Nedwell (27 September 1946 – 1 February 1999) was a British actor."
"Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries, (born 17 February 1934) is an Australian comedian, actor, satirist, artist, and author. He is best known for writing and playing his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He is also a film producer and script writer, a star of London's West End musical theatre, an award-winning writer, and an accomplished landscape painter. For his delivery of dadaist and absurdist humour to millions, biographer Anne Pender described Humphries in 2010 as not only ""the most significant theatrical figure of our time … [but] the most significant comedian to emerge"
"actress Anthea Askey (1933–1999). Askey carried on working on his comedy career until just before he was hospitalised in July 1982 due to poor circulation which resulted in gangrene and the amputation of both legs. He died in London's St Thomas's Hospital on 16 November 1982 and is buried in Putney Vale Cemetery. 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"
"was cremated in a private ceremony. A memorial service was held at St Martin-in-the-Fields during which Sybil Thorndike and Laurence Olivier both gave readings. Malleson's 1925 play, ""Conflict,"" has recently been revived by the Mint Theater Company off-Broadway in New York. Miles Malleson William Miles Malleson (25 May 1888 – 15 March 1969), generally known as Miles Malleson, was an English actor and dramatist, particularly remembered for his appearances in British comedy films of the 1930s to 1960s. Towards the end of his career he also appeared in cameo roles in several Hammer horror films, with a fairly large role"
"""Was He Anyone?"" was staged at the Union Theatre during November 2007 by Oblique House. A comprehensive season of Simpson's work for the screen – both silver and small – took place at BFI Southbank during May 2008. ""If So, Then Yes"" premiered at the Jermyn Street Theatre, London, running from 7 September to 2 October 2010. N. F. Simpson Norman Frederick ""N. F."" Simpson (29 January 1919 – 27 August 2011) was an English playwright closely associated with the Theatre of the Absurd. To his friends he was known as Wally Simpson, in comic reference to the abdication crisis"