John Eric Bartholomew,, known by his stage name Eric Morecambe, was an English comedian who together with Ernie Wise formed the double act Morecambe and Wise. The partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death in 1984. Morecambe took his stage name from his home town, the seaside resort of Morecambe in Lancashire.
Ernest Wiseman,, known by his stage name Ernie Wise, was an English comedian, best known as one half of the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise, who became a national institution on British television, especially for their Christmas specials.
Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, known as Morecambe and Wise, were an iconic English comic double act, working in variety, radio, film and most successfully in television. Their partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death in 1984. They have been described as "the most illustrious, and the best-loved, double-act that Britain has ever produced".
Parkinson is a British television chat show that was presented by Michael Parkinson. It was first shown on BBC1 from 19 June 1971 to 10 April 1982 and from 9 January 1998 to 24 April 2004. Parkinson then switched to ITV on which the show continued from 4 September 2004 to 22 December 2007. A series entitled Parkinson One to One was produced by Yorkshire Television from 28 March 1987 to 23 July 1988.
John Richard Whiteley was an English presenter, and journalist, best known for his twenty-three years as host of the game show Countdown. Countdown was the launch programme for Channel 4 at 4:45 pm on 2 November 1982, and Whiteley was the first person to be seen on the channel. Despite his intelligence, Whiteley enjoyed projecting the image of an absent-minded eccentric. His trademarks were his jolly, avuncular manner, his fondness for puns, and his bold, sometimes garish wardrobe.
The Morecambe & Wise Show is a comedy sketch show originally broadcast by BBC television and the third TV series by English comedy double-act Morecambe and Wise. It began airing in 1968 on BBC2, specifically because it was then the only channel broadcasting in colour, following the duo's move to the BBC from ATV, where they had made Two of a Kind since 1961.
Bring Me Sunshine was a gala concert held at the London Palladium on 28 November 1984 in the presence of the Duke of Edinburgh in aid of the British Heart Foundation and was held in memory of the comedian Eric Morecambe who had died the previous May after many years of heart problems. It was hosted by Eric's long-time partner Ernie Wise and featured a host of personalities all paying their tribute to Morecambe. The show began with a dance routine, the theme for the whole evening's music being "sunshine" the dancers were accompanied by You Are The Sunshine Of My Life which was followed by the big entrance of Ernie Wise who first spoke, and then sang the duo's signature tune. This was an emotive moment for Wise and one that showed how big a part Morecambe had played in his life. Other stars that appeared over the course of the evening were:
Janet Webb was an English actress.
"Bring Me Sunshine" is a song written in 1966 by the composer Arthur Kent, with lyrics by Sylvia Dee. It was first recorded by The Mills Brothers in 1968, on their album My Shy Violet. In the UK, the song is synonymous with the popular comedy duo Morecambe & Wise, after it was adopted as their signature tune in their second series for the BBC in 1969.
Fools Rush In is a 1973 documentary that was made as part of the Omnibus series and followed the popular double act of Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise whilst they were rehearsing one of the programmes for transmission on their BBC programme; it was to become the seventh episode of their seventh series and was broadcast on 16 February 1973 with guest stars Anita Harris and Anthony Sharp, both of whom appear in the documentary which is filmed in a fly-on-the-wall style. The programme is an insight into how the popular duo honed their material and how they run through bits of "business" with the guest stars, adding and subtracting material as they go. The sketches featured are also shown at the recording stage giving the viewer an insight as to how they developed from the page to the screen. Interviews are also included with the two stars and director John Ammonds who is also present at the script read-throughs.
Morecambe & Wise: Greatest Moments was a compilation programme originally aired on 2 December 2007 on the UKTV network channel UKTV Gold and featured clips, interviews and home move footage, culminating in the showing of the "best" sketch from their programmes. It featured contributions from several of their guest stars such as Cliff Richard, Edward Woodward, Bruce Forsyth, Francis Matthews, Michele Dotrice and Elton John whom Eric always referred to as "Elephant John" as well as interviews with both Joan Morecambe and Doreen Wise, the latter's first appearance on a show of this kind. There were also chats with writer Eddie Braben, co-star Ann Hamilton and fans Armstrong & Miller among others. The show was narrated by Liza Tarbuck, daughter of comedian Jimmy Tarbuck and gave the following as the choice of "best" sketches from to duo:
Morecambe and Wise: In Their Own Words is a television documentary introduced and narrated by Jonathan Ross. It aired on BBC One on New Year's Day 2008, featuring clips telling the story of the rise to fame of the comedy double act Morecambe and Wise. It featured many previously unseen archive clips of the double-act from their days in variety as separate acts, through to their final shows for Thames Television prior to Eric Morecambe's untimely death at the age of 58 in 1984. Included within the show was one of his last interviews from Gloria Hunniford's Sunday, Sunday programme. As well as the usual clips of their work there were transcripts of correspondence unearthed from the BBC's records and these were read by impressionist Jon Culshaw throughout the programme.
Philip Jenkinson was an English cinema specialist, journalist, BBC television presenter, and film collector. His collection was known as Filmfinders.
Bring Me Morecambe & Wise is a five-part television documentary series that goes behind the scenes of one of Morecambe and Wise acts. The series was first shown on UK television station Gold in November 2012. The first of five sixty minute shows aired on 21 November 2012.
Running Wild was a comedy sketch show originally broadcast by BBC television, the first TV series by English comedy double-act Morecambe and Wise. The first attempt by the pair at a television series, it aired for a single series of six episodes in 1954. Running Wild was Morecambe & Wise's first collaboration with Ernest Maxin, who subsequently worked with the duo on their second BBC television show.
The Morecambe & Wise Show was a comedy sketch show originally produced by Thames Television and broadcast on the ITV network. The second show to be broadcast under the title, it was the fourth and final television series by English comedy double-act Morecambe and Wise, and saw their return to ITV after their successful nine-year association with the BBC.
Eric, Ernie and Me is a 2017 television film based on the relationship between British television double-act Morecambe and Wise and their writer Eddie Braben. It starred Stephen Tompkinson as Eddie Braben, Mark Bonnar as Eric Morecambe and Neil Maskell as Ernie Wise. It was written by Neil Forsyth. The one-off drama premiered on BBC Four on 29 December 2017.
