Don Maclean

Last updated

Don Maclean
Born1942or1943(age 81–82) [1]
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian

Don Maclean MBE KSS [2] (born 1942/1943) is an English actor and comedian, who appeared on the BBC television series Crackerjack with Michael Aspel, Peter Glaze and Jan Hunt in the 1970s.

Born in Birmingham, he attended Clifton Road School, Balsall Heath and St. Philip's School, which was a Roman Catholic grammar school for boys in Edgbaston. His first job was as a civil servant at the Inland Revenue and he was an entertainer in pubs, clubs and holiday camps. Maclean's first television appearance was on the soap opera Crossroads and early in his career he was a comedy compère of the BBC television series The Black and White Minstrel Show .

On Crackerjack, Maclean usually performed a live routine or routines with Glaze in front of a studio audience of children and a filmed insert with Glaze, in the style of a silent comedy film. Live routines would almost always work in the 'joke' where an exasperated Glaze would exclaim 'Maclean!' to which Maclean would answer 'Yes, I had a bath this morning!'. Also notable was that when responding to Glaze's exasperation, Maclean would regularly give an alliterative reply, such as "Don't get your knickers in a knot" or "Don't get your tights in a twist". [3] Maclean also appeared in the film Carry On Columbus . A practising Roman Catholic, from 1990 [4] Maclean presented BBC Radio 2's religious show Good Morning Sunday, until he was replaced by Aled Jones in 2006.

He hosted the panel games The Clever Dick-Athlon (1988–90) and Are You Sitting Comfortably (1993–96), both for Radio 2, and First Letter First (1993) for BBC1. He also toured in the play There's No Place Like a Home with Gorden Kaye. In 2009, he claimed that the BBC is keen on programmes which attack churches and that there is a wider secularist campaign to get rid of Christianity. [5]

In 2006 Maclean pleaded guilty to drink-driving and had his licence suspended for twelve months. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denis Leary</span> American comedian and actor

Denis Colin Leary is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Born in Massachusetts, Leary first came to prominence as a stand-up comedian, especially through appearances on MTV and through the stand-up specials No Cure for Cancer (1993) and Lock 'n Load (1997). Leary began taking roles in film and television starting in the 1990s, including substantial roles in the films Judgment Night (1993), Gunmen (1994), Operation Dumbo Drop (1995) and Wag the Dog (1997).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Hancock</span> English comedian and actor (1924–1968)

Anthony John Hancock was an English comedian and actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Newhart</span> American comedian and actor (1929–2024)

George Robert Newhart was an American comedian and actor. Newhart was known for his deadpan and stammering delivery style. Beginning his career as a stand-up comedian, he transitioned his career to acting in television. He received numerous accolades, including three Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lenny Henry</span> British comedian and actor (born 1958)

Sir Lenworth George Henry is an English comedian, actor and writer. He gained success as a stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in The Lenny Henry Show in 1984. He was the most prominent black British comedian of the time and much of his material served to celebrate and parody his African-Caribbean roots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stewart Lee</span> British stand-up comedian, screenwriter and television director

Stewart Graham Lee is an English comedian. His stand-up routine is characterised by repetition, internal reference, and deadpan delivery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Coogan</span> English actor and comedian (born 1965)

Stephen John Coogan is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for creating and portraying Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which he developed while working with Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris on On the Hour and The Day Today. Partridge has featured in several television series such as I'm Alan Partridge (1997–2002) and the film Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013). Coogan has earned accolades such as four BAFTA Awards and three British Comedy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Dee</span> English comedian and actor (born 1961)

James Andrew Innes "Jack" Dee is an English stand-up comedian, actor, presenter and writer known for his sarcasm, irony and deadpan humour. He wrote and starred in the sitcom Lead Balloon and hosts the panel show I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigel Havers</span> British actor and presenter (born 1951)

Nigel Allan Havers is an English actor and presenter. His film roles include Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film Chariots of Fire, which earned him a BAFTA nomination; as Dr. Rawlins in the 1987 Steven Spielberg war drama Empire of the Sun; and as Ronny in the 1984 David Lean epic A Passage to India. Television roles include Tom Latimer in the British TV comedy series Don't Wait Up and Lewis Archer in Coronation Street, between 2009 and 2019.

Michael Terence Aspel is a retired English television presenter and newsreader. He hosted programmes such as Crackerjack, Ask Aspel, Aspel & Company, Give Us a Clue, This Is Your Life, Strange but True? and Antiques Roadshow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronnie Corbett</span> Scottish actor and comedian (1930–2016)

Ronald Balfour Corbett was a Scottish actor, broadcaster and comedian. He had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the BBC television comedy sketch show The Two Ronnies. He achieved prominence in David Frost's 1960s satirical comedy programme The Frost Report and subsequently starred in sitcoms such as No – That's Me Over Here!, Now Look Here, and Sorry!

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Skinner</span> English comedian and television personality (born 1957)

Christopher Graham Collins, known professionally as Frank Skinner, is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. At the 2001 British Comedy Awards, he was named Best Comedy Entertainment Personality. His television work includes Fantasy Football League from 1994 to 2004, The Frank Skinner Show from 1995 to 2005, Baddiel and Skinner Unplanned from 2000 to 2005, and Room 101 from 2012 to 2018. From 2009 to 2024 he hosted The Frank Skinner Show on Absolute Radio, broadcast live on Saturday mornings and released as a podcast. In October 2024 Skinner launched the Frank Off The Radio podcast, with the same crew as the radio show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jasper Carrott</span> British comedian (born 1945)

Robert Norman Davis, best known by his stage name, Jasper Carrott, is an English comedian, actor, singer and television presenter. He starred in the sitcoms The Detectives and All About Me, and presented the game show Golden Balls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Allen (comedian)</span> Irish comedian and satirist (1936–2005)

David Tynan O'Mahony, known professionally as Dave Allen, was an Irish comedian, satirist, and actor. He was best known for his observational comedy. Allen regularly provoked indignation by highlighting political hypocrisy and showing disdain for religious authority. His technique and style have influenced young British comedians.

<i>Crackerjack!</i> (TV programme) British childrens TV series (1955–2021)

Crackerjack is a British children's television series which was initially aired on the BBC Television Service between 14 September 1955 and 21 December 1984. The series was a variety show featuring comedy sketches, singers and quizzes, broadcast live with an audience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Webb</span> English comedian, presenter, actor and writer (born 1972)

Robert Patrick Webb is an English comedian, actor and writer. He rose to prominence alongside David Mitchell as the comedy duo Mitchell and Webb.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Glaze</span> English comedian (1917–1983)

William George Peter Glaze was an English comedian born in London. He appeared in Crackerjack with Eamonn Andrews and Leslie Crowther in the 1960s, and with Michael Aspel, Don Maclean and Bernie Clifton in the 1970s. In Crackerjack sketches, he usually played a pompous or middle-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 "D'oh!", originated by James Finlayson in Laurel and Hardy films, long before it became associated with cartoon character Homer Simpson. He was also on the panel of the long-running radio panel game Twenty Questions, along with Joy Adamson, Anona Winn and Norman Hackforth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Gaffigan</span> American comedian and actor (born 1966)

James Christopher Gaffigan is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. His material often addresses fatherhood, laziness, food, religion, and general observations. He is regarded as a "clean" comic, using little profanity in his routines, although he does use it from time to time. He has released several successful comedy specials, including Mr. Universe, Obsessed, Cinco, and Quality Time, all of which have received Grammy nominations.

Jan Hunt is a British comedian, actress and music hall performer, who appeared on BBC television series Crackerjack with Michael Aspel, Ed Stewart, Peter Glaze and Don Maclean in the 1970s. She would often be seen playing an old lady in dramatisations, involving her donning a grey wig and glasses and putting her hand on her hip to suggest a bad back.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humor about Catholicism</span>

The Catholic Church has been a subject for humor, from the time of the Reformation to the present day.

Peter "Pete" Firman is an English magician, comedian, television presenter and actor.

References

  1. 1 2 "Comic Maclean banned for drink-driving". Birmingham Mail. 22 March 2006. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  2. Comedian Don Maclean made Papal Knight, bbc.co.uk; accessed 27 May 2012.
  3. "Peter Glaze - Crackerjack Comedy Legend Signed Letter (And Doctor Who) | #532599169".
  4. "BBC Genome Project". Don Maclean (first episode). 15 July 1990. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  5. "BBC is anti-Christian and pro-Muslim says ex host", christian.org.uk; accessed 21 May 2015.