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Morecambe and Wise
 
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Morecambe and Wise (Paperback)

by Graham McCann (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Price For Both: £11.65

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Product details

  • Paperback: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Fourth Estate Ltd; New edition edition (6 May 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1857029119
  • ISBN-13: 978-1857029116
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 32,901 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #3 in  Books > Biography > Theatre & Performance Art > Cabaret

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

This thorough and thoroughly enjoyable biography of Britain's best- loved double act opens with the phenomena that was their 1977 Christmas Day television show. An unequalled audience of 29 million viewers watched Eric and Ernie do their stuff while Angela Rippon high kicked, Eddie Waring turned back flips, and a confused Elton John complained of having been "all over the place" looking for the studio. "In that suit?", replied an incredulous Eric. This was the last great flowering of the music halls transported to nearly every sitting room in the UK. Graham McCann evocatively recreates the now lost world of entertainment where the young Eric Barthlomew and Ernie Wiseman learned their trade. But it was when they escaped sharing a bill with unicyclists and paper tearers and got on the box that they were finally crowned as a national institution.

McCann does not hide the exhausting hard work that went into their shows, or stint in his praise for their scriptwriters, but it is in recalling their genius for making people of all classes laugh--apparently including the Queen who watched in 1977--that this book is a most affectionate and fitting tribute to two men who really did bring sunshine to millions. --Nick Wroe --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.



Review

'A gorgeous plum pudding of a biography.' Daily Telegraph 'Graham McCann's expert biography shows how a good writer can make fascinating the lives of two people who, effectively did nothing but work and die. Intensely moving.' David Hare, Guardian 'McCann's book is destined to become required reading for a new generation of nervous non-committal reading for a new generation of nervous non-committal light-entertainment executives, as well as an enlightening behind-the-scenes document for the curious fan.' Stewart Lee, Sunday Times 'So funny that the reader laughs out loud.' Sunday Independent 'McCann's impeccably detailed biography is both a celebration and a lament.' The Times

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent, 21 Jan 2002
I didn't know too much about this great British double act,but a friend introduced me to them via video a few years ago during a stay in London and I became hooked.This book really hits the spot.The research is really awesome.It tells a fascinating story,and tells it very well.Now I appreciate so much more of the comedy.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars What Do You Think Of It So Far?, 17 Mar 2006
I grew up with Eric and Ern; the tall one with the specs and the little one with 'short, hairy legs'. Drawing on years of interviews with 'the boys' as well as scriptwriter Eddie Braben, producers John Ammonds and Ernest Maxin, head of light entertainment Bill Cotton and many others, this book is an Aladdin's cave of information and manages to be wonderfully entertaining in the process.

From their humble origins as club comics in the pre and post-war years, McCann takes the reader through the '50's - and their disastrous television debut 'Running Wild' - to the '60's - when they struck gold at A.T.V. - beyond into the '70s - their golden years at the B.B.C. - and the '80's when they committed professional suicide by moving to Thames. 'Night-Train To Murder' was an unqualified disaster.

Eric's death in 1984 ( Ernie passed away in 1999 ) ended a memorable chapter in British comedy. No-one will ever take their place. They were the best.

Their unsuccessful attempts at cracking America and the movies they made for Rank are analysed but the highlight of this book for me was the chapter devoted to their legendary Christmas shows. The 1977 one alone was viewed by a staggering 28 million viewers! I'm glad I was one of them.

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent biography of Britain's favourite double-act, 26 Nov 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Morecambe and Wise (Hardcover)
This is a well-researched book on one of the best comedy double-acts to have graced British television. It reveals the incredible work-ethic they adopted to make intricately rehearsed sketches appear to be ad-libbed. It is a testament to their professionalism and talent that the book informs of M&Ws tireless schedule, and how they believed that "it's your audience that counts, not you."
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything I wanted to know...and more!
I never did this before, but I wanted to let people know about this book and my love for Morecambe and Wise. Read more
Published 21 months ago by M. Dorreboom

3.0 out of 5 stars Plenty of detail, but lacking in atmosphere
This is an enjoyable enough book if you are willing to go along with the idea that comedy can be intellectualized, as opposed to simply enjoyed for what it is. Read more
Published on 8 Dec 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellently researched
Morecambe and Wise have been very well served by this excellently-researched book. It is rare for comedians to be given an academic approach (e.g. Read more
Published on 19 Mar 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars An in-depth review of Britain's best loved omedians.
A real gem of a book for any Morecambe and Wise fans or anyone who appreciates good comedy. This book calls upon numerous interviews with the people in Eric and Ernie's lives,... Read more
Published on 2 Jun 1999

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