The Perfect Morecambe and Wise


8:25 pm - 8:55 pm, Thursday, May 14 on BBC Four (9)

Average User Rating: 1.00 (1 votes)
My Rating: Sign in or Register to view last vote

Add to Favourites

About this Broadcast

-

Season 1, Episode 7

Another selection of classic sketches and routines from the double act's shows. Eric dons a wig, Tom Jones performs Exactly Like You with the aid of some unlikely backing singers and Judi Dench joins the duo in a parody of the story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Plus, the boys get musical in a performance of There Is Nothing Like a Dame from South Pacific


subtitles 16x9
Comedy Movie/Drama

Cast & Crew

-

Eric Morecambe (Performer)
Ernie Wise (Performer)
Judi Dench (Performer)
Tom Jones (Musical guest)
Caroline Wright (Executive producer)
Phil Clark (Producer)

More Information

-

No Logo

Did You Know..

-

Eric Morecambe (Performer)
Born: May 14, 1926 in Morecambe
Best Known For: The double act Morecambe and Wise.
Early-life: John Eric Bartholomew was born in Morecambe on May 14, 1926 to George and Sadie. His mother worked as a waitress to pay for his dancing lessons. He won a number of talent contests, including one in Hoylake in 1940 that earned him an audition in Manchester with impresario Jack Hylton. Three months after the audition, Hylton invited Eric to join a revue called Youth Takes a Bow at the Nottingham Empire, where he met Ernest Wiseman (better known as Ernie Wise). The two of them soon became friends and Sadie encouraged them to develop a double act. In 1944, Ernie joined the Merchant Navy and Eric was conscripted to work in a coal mine in Accrington.
Career: After the Second World War, Eric and Ernie teamed up again and performed as Morecambe and Wise on the stage and radio, and landed a contract with the BBC in 1954 to make the TV show Running Wild. Their first foray into television was a disaster, so they returned to the stage to develop their act. In 1961, they had more success on ITV with Two of a Kind. In 1968, Morecambe suffered a heart attack. After leaving hospital, he vowed to give up smoking and reduce his heavy workload. After moving to the BBC, Morecambe and Wise did annual Christmas shows between 1968 and 1977. Written by Eddie Braben, they were extremely popular, with the 1977 show having an estimated audience of 28 million. In January 1978, the pair left the BBC for ITV. A year later, Morecambe suffered a second heart attack and required heart-bypass surgery. Morecambe and Wise's final TV show together was the 1983 Christmas special for ITV. A year later, Morecambe took part in a show hosted by his close friend and comedian Stan Stennett at the Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury. After leaving the stage, he collapsed and suffered a third heart attack. He died five and a half hours later at Cheltenham General Hospital on May 28, 1984. He was 58.
Quote: 'Bring me sunshine in your smile bring me laughter all a while.'
Trivia: Morecambe was a keen birdwatcher.
Ernie Wise (Performer)
Born: November 27, 1925 in Bramley
Best Known For: The double act Morecambe and Wise.
Early-life: Ernest Wiseman was born in Bramley on November 27, 1925 to Harry and Connie. He was the eldest of five children. In 1933, he was already working as an actor and singer in the music hall. His father was a semi-professional singer, and they appeared together under the name Bert Carson and his Little Wonder. In 1936, Ernie started making solo appearances - singing, dancing and telling jokes. In 1940, Ernie met Eric Morecambe for the first time, and a year later, they made their debut together as Bartholomew and Wise at the Liverpool Empire. In the autumn of 1941, Eric changed his surname to Morecambe and they became known as Morecambe and Wise. During the Second World War, Ernie served in the Merchant Navy, while Eric worked down a coal mine.
Career: After the Second World War, Eric and Ernie teamed up again and performed on the stage and radio. They made the leap to TV in 1954 with the disastrous BBC series Running Wild. In 1961, they had more success on ITV with Two of a Kind. They transferred to the BBC in 1968 and returned to ITV in 1978. Their Christmas specials were extremely popular, with the 1977 show having an estimated audience of 28 million. Morecambe and Wise's final TV show together was the 1983 Christmas special for ITV. After Morecambe's death from a third heart attack in May 1984, Wise spent a lot of time at his holiday home in Florida. He appeared occasionally on TV, had a gardening column in the News of the World and starred in several West End plays. After suffering a second stroke in August 1995, he announced his retirement from show business on November 27, 1995, his 70th birthday. In 1998, he suffered two heart attacks within a week while on holiday. In January 1999, he had a triple heart bypass in Florida. He died from heart failure and a chest infection at the Nuffield Hospital, Wexham, on the morning of March 21, 1999. He was 73.
Quote: 'The play what I wrote.'
Trivia: In 1990, Wise published his autobiography, Still on My Way to Hollywood.
Judi Dench (Performer)
Born: December 09, 1934 in York
Best Known For: Her Bond film appearances.
Early-life: Judith Olivia Dench was born on December 9, 1934, in York, the daughter of a doctor and his Irish wife. She attended Mount School, a Quaker institution, alongside author AS Byatt. She made her stage debut there - as a snail. Originally intending to be an artist, the experience changed her mind. She was also inspired by backstage visits to York Theatre Royal, where her father was the company's GP. She followed older brother Jeffrey to the Central School Of Speech And Drama.
Career: Dench made her professional debut with the Old Vic Company before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1961, and has frequently worked on stage ever since. She became a household name in the 1980s thanks to sitcom A Fine Romance, for which she won a Bafta. She's also won the award for Four in the Morning, Talking to a Stranger, Iris, The Last of the Blonde Bombshells, Shakespeare In Love (for which she picked up an Oscar too), A Handful of Dust, Mrs Brown and A Room With a View. Other notable productions include Chocolat, Notes on a Scandal, J Edgar, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its sequel, and several Bond movies, including Skyfall, in which she bowed out as M.
Quote: 'I just feel incredibly lucky to be employed. That's why I sometimes feel desperate, in case I'm not going to be cast again.'
Trivia: She became a Dame of the British Empire in 1988.
Tom Jones (Musical guest)
Born: June 07, 1940 in Trefforest, Pontypridd, South Wales
Best Known For: Thumping renditions of classic songs.
Early-life: Born Thomas John Woodward on June 7, 1940, in Treforest, Pontypridd, south Wales, the son of a housewife and a coal miner. He enjoyed singing, and performed with the Treforest Secondary Modern School choir. He left school, married his girlfriend Melinda (better known now as Linda) Trenchard and had a son - all by the age of 17. To make ends meet, Jones worked as a labourer, glove cutter, paper miller and vacuum cleaner salesman, singing at night with local bands.
Career: In 1963, Jones joined forces with songwriter Gordon Mills, who was beginning a career in management. A year later, his single, It's Not Unusual, written by Mills, topped the chart. Other early hits include She's a Lady, Help Yourself, Delilah, What's New Pussycat? and Without Love. His record sales waned during the 1970s, but he made a successful comeback in 1987, scoring a top 10 hit with The Boy from Nowhere. These days he's as popular as ever and his 1999 best-selling album, Reload, featured duets with some of the world's biggest contemporary acts, including Robbie Williams and Stereophonics. He continues to be one of the most successful recording artists in the world. He was knighted in 2006, and has been a judge on The Voice since 2012.
Quote: 'The fire is still in me. Not to be an oldie, but a goodie. I want to be a contender.'
Trivia: While filming an alien invasion during Mars Attacks! he burnt part of his scalp. He stopped dying his hair in 2009.
Caroline Wright (Executive producer)
Phil Clark (Producer)