Morecambe and Wise Untold

by William Cook

During the 1960s and 1970s, Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise were Britain's most popular double act. Their hit television series The Morecambe and Wise Show quickly became a part of British national culture. Before television, however, the pair played live shows for nearly a quarter century starting in the early 1940s. This is the story of their early years, when the duo was a live act first and foremost, playing pantomime and summer season, variety theatres and seaside piers. “You're making us look like a cheap music hall act,” Ernie used to complain. “Well, we are a cheap music hall act,” Eric would reply. These early shows and their years of on-stage experience would eventually exert a huge influence on the shape of their later comedy.

256 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2007

About the author

William Cook is the author of Ha Bloody Ha - Comedians Talking (Fourth Estate), The Comedy Store - The Club That Changed British Comedy (Little, Brown) and 25 Years of Viz (Boxtree). He edited Tragically I Was An Only Twin - The Complete Peter Cook and Goodbye Again - The Definitive Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, both published by Century, and Eric Morecambe Unseen. He has worked for the BBC and written for the Guardian, the Mail on Sunday, the New Statesman and Conde Nast Traveller.

Reviews

[Jor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting perspective -- looking at the years in Variety theatre that shaped the duo before they achieved their TV fame -- which opened my eyes to what Variety theatre meant/represented in its heyday, and which also offered a glimpse into life in England in the middle of the 20th century, the Blitz in particular. There's mention of shows being staged earlier in the day to account for blackouts, and everyone diving under their chairs when a V1's buzzing stopped only to get back up and carry on with the show moments later once the bomb had hit somewhere else. (And yes, there's also quite a lot of uncensored racial slurs.)

I learnt more about Morecambe and Wise, which is exactly what I wanted, and I could tolerate the author's indulgent digressions into other Variety stars or wistfully bemoaning the loss of a bygone era. It was especially interesting to read the letter of Eric's that the book begins with. Just once, in this private correspondence, we see the man not the persona.

Overall this was an easy read. It's nice when a book is written with affection.