Which British comedian had a top 40 novelty hit in 1961 with 'Don't Jump off the Roof Dad'?
"their version of ""Sweet Violets"", which charted for Dinah Shore and Jane Turzy in 1951. Coben wrote ""Nobody's Child"" with Mel Foree; Hank Snow recorded it in 1949. Lonnie Donegan later brought it to the United Kingdom, and the Beatles recorded it during their early days playing in Hamburg, Germany. Coben wrote many novelty songs; one of his biggest novelty hits was ""The Old Piano Roll Blues"" (1950). He also wrote for Homer and Jethro - ""The Billboard Song"" became a much-recorded favorite, and ""Don't Jump Off the Roof, Dad"" was later a hit for British comedian Tommy Cooper. Coben"
"on stand-up comedy; the fourth featured domestic routines (with Diane Hart as Ted Ray's wife and Kenneth Connor as ""that interfering brother-in-law""); the fifth and six—with new writers—concentrated on sketch comedy and were branded 'New Edition' and '1959 Edition' to underline the difference. Ted Ray (comedian) Ted Ray (born Charles Olden; 21 November 1905 – 8 November 1977) was an English comedian of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, on radio and television. His BBC radio show ""Ray's a Laugh"" ran for 12 years. Ray was born Charles Olden in Wigan, Lancashire, England. His parents moved to Liverpool within days of"
"Ted Ray (comedian) Ted Ray (born Charles Olden; 21 November 1905 – 8 November 1977) was an English comedian of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, on radio and television. His BBC radio show ""Ray's a Laugh"" ran for 12 years. Ray was born Charles Olden in Wigan, Lancashire, England. His parents moved to Liverpool within days of his birth, and Liverpudlians regard him as a local. While he was a boy his parents changed their name to Olden. As a comedian of the 1940s and 1950s he demonstrated his ad-libbing skills in his weekly radio show ""Ray's A Laugh"" from"
"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,"
"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"
"era, and at its peak it was watched by 15 million people. British satire has also washed over into Quiz shows – popular examples include the news quiz ""Have I Got News for You"", ""Mock the Week"", ""8 out of 10 cats"" and music-based ""Never Mind The Buzzcocks"". One of the most influential groups in comedy is Monty Python. Their ""Flying Circus"" sketch show aired on the BBC between 1969-1974. The group itself consisted of six members, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. All were UK-born except Gilliam, who was US-born. Chapman, Cleese,"
"realising that they have now got financial security, decide to fulfil their dream of having more children of their own. No Kidding (film) No Kidding is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Gerald Thomas featuring Leslie Phillips, Geraldine McEwan and Irene Handl, Noel Purcell and Julia Lockwood. The film is adapted from Verily Anderson's 1958 memoir ""Beware of Children"", under which title the film was released in the US. Anderson also wrote the screenplay. The film has been interpreted by film scholar Wheeler Dixon as ""a gentle critique of A. S. Neill's Summerhill method of schooling"", and ""Harrison's Reports"""
"Pat Sharp Patrick Sharp (born 25 October 1961) is an English radio and television presenter and DJ. In the UK, he is known mainly for his work on the children's television programme ""Fun House"", his former mullet and his radio shows as well as his support of Arsenal. In mainland Europe, he was better known in the 1980s as one of the Sky Channel's VJs and for presenting Coca-Cola Eurochart Top 50 and Nescafé UK Top 50. Sharp worked as a presenter at BBC Radio 1, mixing holiday cover for other TV presenters with a regular early Sunday morning slot"
"Back with Dave Benson Phillips Pat Sharp Patrick Sharp (born 25 October 1961) is an English radio and television presenter and DJ. In the UK, he is known mainly for his work on the children's television programme ""Fun House"", his former mullet and his radio shows as well as his support of Arsenal. In mainland Europe, he was better known in the 1980s as one of the Sky Channel's VJs and for presenting Coca-Cola Eurochart Top 50 and Nescafé UK Top 50. Sharp worked as a presenter at BBC Radio 1, mixing holiday cover for other TV presenters with a"
"George Roper George Roper (15 May 1934 – 1 July 2003) was an English comedian, best known for his appearances in the long-running UK television series ""The Comedians"". He was born George Francis Furnival in Liverpool to a working class family of Irish descent, to parents who were staunchly Roman Catholic. In conversation with the writer Ken Irwin in 1972, he remarked that ""the rough and ready upbringing of Catholics in Liverpool brings out the humour in a family"": He's another comic who has known poverty. There were five children in the Roper family, three girls and two boys. Dad"
"most acclaim. Television fame led to four films, none of them successful — ""Sands of the Desert"" (1960), ""Petticoat Pirates"" (1961), ""The Cracksman"" (1963) and ""Mister Ten Per Cent"" (1967). He was the subject of ""This Is Your Life"" on two occasions, in December 1961 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews in a rehearsal room at the London Palladium, and in November 1995, when Michael Aspel surprised him at the curtain call of the comedy play ""Funny Money"" at the Playhouse Theatre. In ""The Worker"" (ATV/ITV, 1965–70) he played a perpetually unemployed labourer who, in every episode, was dispatched"
"Ray Cooney Raymond George Alfred Cooney, OBE (born 30 May 1932) is an English playwright and actor. His biggest success, ""Run for Your Wife"" (1983), ran for nine years in London's West End and is its longest-running comedy. He has had 17 of his plays performed there. Cooney began to act in 1946, appearing in many of the Whitehall farces of Brian Rix throughout the 1950s and 1960s. It was during this time that he co-wrote his first play, ""One For The Pot"". With Tony Hilton, he co-wrote the screenplay for the British comedy film ""What a Carve Up!"" (1961),"
"Kenneth More Kenneth Gilbert More, CBE (20 September 1914 – 12 July 1982) was an English film and stage actor. Raised to stardom by the veteran car based film-comedy ""Genevieve"" (1953), he appeared in many roles as a carefree, happy-go-lucky gent. His biggest hits from this period include ""Raising a Riot"" (1955), ""Reach for the Sky"" (1956), and ""The Admirable Crichton"" (1957). He starred in ""Doctor in the House"" (1954), the first of the popular ""Doctor"" film series. Although his career declined in the early 1960s, two of his own favourite films date from this time – ""The Comedy Man"""
"frequently with Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan. Mario Fabrizi Mario E.P. Fabrizi (1924 – 5 April 1963) was an English comedian and actor of Italian descent, noted for his luxuriant moustache, active in Britain in the 1950s and early 1960s. Fabrizi was born to Italian parents in Holborn, London, England, in 1924, his mother's maiden name being Pisani. His father was a Vicomte (Italian: ""visconte""), a title that Mario inherited on his father's death in 1959. He married Katherine Boyne of Leeds on 28 May 1960. They had a son, Anthony, in 1961. On 5 April 1963 Fabrizi died of"
"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"
"for a meal. Rowley was married to Joyce Arnold, but they later divorced. He had a son, Les and a daughter, Johanne. General Specific Laurie Rowley Laurence Peter Rowley, better known as Laurie Rowley (30 July 1941 – 16 August 2009) was an English comedy writer from Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire. He is most famous for a sketch writer, working on shows such as ""The Two Ronnies"" and ""Not the Nine O'Clock News"", for which he wrote the ""Darts"" sketch, which satirised the heavy drinking habits of darts players at the time. Born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire,"
"Derek Roy (comedian) Derek Roy (25 August 1922 – 15 March 1981) was an English comedian, whose public profile was at its greatest in the late 1940s and early 1950s. His BBC Radio show, ""Hip Hip Hoo Roy"", was written by amongst others Spike Milligan, and was the show where Milligan's Goon Show character Eccles first appeared. Roy's unsuccessful star-vehicle ""Happy Go Lucky"" also gave the first writing break to Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, who would soon team up with the show's last producer Dennis Main Wilson to create ""Hancock's Half Hour"". Roy also hosted ""Variety Bandbox"", a talent"
"Ray Galton Raymond Percy Galton, (17 July 1930 – 5 October 2018) was an English radio and television scriptwriter, best known for the Galton and Simpson comedy writing partnership with Alan Simpson. Together they devised and wrote many 1950s and 60s popular BBC sitcoms including ""Hancock's Half Hour"" (1954–1961), the first two seasons of ""Comedy Playhouse"" (1961–1963), and ""Steptoe and Son"" (1962–1974). Galton was born in Paddington, West London, and after leaving school he worked for the Transport and General Workers Union. He contracted tuberculosis aged 18 in 1948 and was admitted to Milford Sanatorium near Godalming in Surrey, where"
"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"
"a Past Master of Chelsea Lodge No 3098, a London Masonic lodge for those associated with the entertainment industry. In 2016 he celebrated 50 years as a Freemason. Freddie Davies Freddie Davies (born 21 July 1937) is a British comedian and actor who achieved fame in 1964 via the television programme Opportunity Knocks and has since appeared in several television series and films. Freddie Davies was born in Brixton, London in 1937, the grandson of music hall comedian Jack Herbert. At the start of the Second World War, Davies was evacuated to Seend in Wiltshire, subsequently to Torquay in Devon"
"to prominence in the BBC satirical comedy series ""That Was the Week That Was"" in 1962. He went on to appear in numerous British television comedy programmes, including ""The Dick Emery Show"" (1979–81), and in the sitcoms ""Man About the House"" (1974–75), ""George and Mildred"" (1976–79) and ""Cowboys"" (1980–81). Kinnear was born in Wigan, Lancashire, the son of Annie (""née"" Durie, previously Smith) and Roy Kinnear. His father was a Scottish dual international in rugby union and rugby league, having played for and Great Britain national rugby league team international, making one Lions appearance and three for Other Nationalities, and"
"Bob Newhart George Robert Newhart (born September 5, 1929) is an American stand-up comedian and actor, noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery. Newhart came to prominence in 1960 when his album of comedic monologues, ""The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart"", became a worldwide bestseller and reached number one on the ""Billboard"" pop album chart; it remains the 20th-best selling comedy album in history. The follow-up album, ""The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back!"", was also a success, and the two albums held the ""Billboard"" number one and number two spots simultaneously. Newhart later went into acting, starring as Chicago psychologist"
"Peter Glaze William George Peter Glaze (17 September 1917 – 20 February 1983) was an English comedian born in London. He hosted ""Crackerjack!"" with Leslie Crowther and Eamonn Andrews in the 1960s, and with Michael Aspel, Don Maclean and Bernie Clifton in the 1970s. In ""Crackerjack!"" sketches, he usually played a pompous or upper-class character, who would always get exasperated with his partner Don Maclean during the course of the sketch. Maclean would then give an alliterative reply, such as ""Don't get your knickers in a knot"" or ""Don't get your tights in a twist"". He regularly uttered the expression"
"Bernard Manning Bernard John Manning (13 August 1930 – 18 June 2007) was a British comedian and nightclub owner. Manning became famous on British television during the 1970s, appearing on shows including ""The Comedians"" and ""The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club"". The controversy surrounding his act meant that Manning was rarely seen on television in the later part of his career, but he continued to perform in theatres and pubs until his death. Manning was born in Ancoats, Manchester. He had Russian Jewish ancestry on his father's side, as well as roots in Ireland, and was brought up a ""strict"
"Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River is a 1968 British comedy film produced by Walter Shenson and starring Jerry Lewis. It was released on 12 July 1968 by Columbia Pictures and based on Max Wilk's novel of the same name with the original Connecticut locale moved to Swinging London and Portugal. George Lester (Jerry Lewis) is an American living in Britain. His passion is get-rich-quick schemes, and they have caused financial and personal grief for him and his wife, Pamela, (Jacqueline Pearce) who is considering divorce if he continues with them. Willy"
"aged 84. His funeral was held at Carleton Crematorium, Blackpool, where for many years he was commemorated by a plaque attached to memorial tree Number 3. He never married. He lived with his mother, to whom he was very close, in a bungalow at Bispham Road, Blackpool. His father died in January 1951. Jimmy Clitheroe James Robinson Clitheroe (24 December 1921 – 6 June 1973), popularly known as Jimmy Clitheroe, was an English comic entertainer. He is best remembered for his BBC Radio programme, ""The Clitheroe Kid"" (1958–72), a version of which was produced for television on the ITV network"
"Frank Randle Frank Randle (born Arthur Hughes, also known as Arthur McEvoy or Arthur Twist; 30 January 1901 – 7 July 1957) was an English comedian. A contemporary of fellow Lancastrians George Formby and Gracie Fields, he was regarded as more subversive, perhaps explaining why the immense popularity he enjoyed during his lifetime has not survived him. He was the leading actor in ten comedy films between 1940 and 1953 all of which had Randle's trademark subversive sense of humour. The first was Somewhere in England and the last It's a Grand Life. Randle was born in Aspull, near Wigan,"
"a character actor in a number of films in the 1930s and 1940s. Charles Penrose died of heart disease on 17 November 1952 at the Princess Beatrice Hospital, Kensington, aged 79. Charles Penrose (entertainer) Charles Penrose (born Charles Penrose Dunbar Cawse; 11 November 1873 – 17 November 1952) was an English music hall and theatre performer, and later radio comedian, who is best known for his unusual comic song ""The Laughing Policeman"". He was born in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, the son of a master watchmaker and jeweller. He initially followed his father into the jewellery trade, but enjoyed such success with"
"in the 1970s, including ""Rising Damp"", ""On the Buses"", ""George and Mildred"", ""Man About The House"" and the now unfashionable ""Love Thy Neighbour"". Other BBC series are ""Early Doors"" with James McAvoy and ""Grandma's House"" with Simon Amstell. Commercial station Channel 4 has been more successful than ITV with situation comedies in recent years. Some of the better-known examples are ""Chelmsford 123"", ""Chance in a Million"", ""Drop the Dead Donkey"", ""Spaced"", ""Father Ted"" (which was set in Ireland instead of Great Britain), ""Black Books"", ""Teachers"", ""Peep Show"", ""Green Wing"", ""The Inbetweeners"", ""The IT Crowd"", ""Shameless"" and ""Da Ali G Show""."
"(No. 27, 1960); ""Calendar Girl"" (No. 4, 1961; also reached No. 1 on the Japanese and Canadian pop charts); ""Little Devil"" (No. 11, 1961); ""Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen"" (No. 6, 1961); his signature song, ""Breaking Up Is Hard To Do"" (No. 1, two weeks: August 11 and 18, 1962); and ""Next Door to an Angel"" (No. 5, 1962). Singles not making the Top 30 during this period included ""Sweet Little You"" (No. 59, 1961) and ""King of Clowns"" (No. 45, 1962). RCA Victor issued four LPs of his works in the United States and Great Britain during this period, and"
"The Comedy Man The Comedy Man is a 1964 British drama film directed by Alvin Rakoff and starring Kenneth More, Cecil Parker, Dennis Price and Billie Whitelaw. It depicts the life of a struggling actor in Swinging London. More later said that when he read the script he ""was profoundly struck by its relevance to my own life, and to the lives of so many actors I had known."" However it received limited distribution, being released on a double bill with ""Lord of the Flies"" (1963). Sacked from his job in provincial rep, actor Chick Byrd moves into digs in"
"in distinctive costumes. Charlesworth's group sported pin stripes and bowler hats, and had a Latin motto, Dum vivimus vivamus, (“While we live, let us enjoy life”). Their only chart single was ""Billy Boy"",which reached 41 in the UK Singles Chart in May 1961. The City Gents often appeared on television including ""The Morecambe and Wise Show"" and ""Sunday Night at the London Palladium"". Charlesworth sang the title song of a comedy film, ""In the Doghouse"", starring Leslie Phillips and featured in his own 15 minute musical short in 1963. However the British pop scene changed significantly in the early sixties"
"the rumour. In 1962, Holness became the host of UK game show ""Take a Letter"", was relief host of Thames Television's magazine programme ""Today"" in 1968, and from 1983 until 1994 presented the British version of ""Blockbusters"", for which he is best known. In 1988 he starred in a celebrity special of ""Catchphrase"" and appeared again with his daughter, Carol, in a Christmas version of Family Catchphrase. In 1995, he hosted Yorkshire Television's big-budget game show flop ""Raise the Roof"" before becoming the chairman of a revived ""Call My Bluff"" for the BBC. Holness appeared on one episode of ""Ant"