Morecambe and Wise (Text Only)

Morecambe and Wise (Text Only)
Graham McCann

The dual biography of the great British comedy double-act and the rise and fall of mass audience television by the respected biographer of Cary Grant .Following the success of Cary Grant – A Class Apart, Graham McCann has now created an intricate portrait of Eric Morcambe and Ernie Wise, possibly the most famous Bristish comedy double-act of all time. This book charts the progress of the duo from a conventional working class music hall act to a mass-audience television team to a national institution. From northern working men’s clubs at the beginning of their career to the 1977 Christmas special that had an audience of 28 million, Morecambe and Wise were a double act continually changing the dynamics of their relationship to reflect their influences and their times. Their shows were like nostalgic reflections on a century of popular entertainment, an entertainment that was inclusive to a wide audience and paid homage to the past.McCann’s study is also an investigation in the background of mass audience entertainment from which Morecambe and Wise rose. Morecambe & Wise is the definitive biography of one of the most-loved double acts as well as a history of their times.

Morecambe

&

Wise

Graham McCann

Copyright (#ulink_87779a77-b530-5882-ae3a-f113c0901e19)

Fourth Estate

A division of HarperCollinsPublishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.haprercollins.co.uk (http://www.haprercollins.co.uk/)

First published in Great Britain in 1998 by Fourth Estate Limited

This edition published in 1999

Copyright © Graham McCann 1998

The right of Graham McCann to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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Source ISBN: 9781857029116

Ebook Edition © FEBRUARY 2015 ISBN: 9780008187552

Version: 2016-05-05

Dedication (#ulink_a496e23f-7db3-5d2f-ba45-7c7f3575705c)

To John Ammonds

Great comedy, great wit, makes the ceiling fly off, and suddenly liberates us again as we were when we were much younger and saw no reason not to believe that we could fly, or become someone else, or bound on a trampoline and not come down.

PENELOPE GILLIAT

Contents

Cover (#u52e4ebe5-026e-54a4-b0b0-b37ca03869b7)

Title Page (#u198f38bf-fad4-5570-af9c-a05eb37ac5ed)

Copyright (#ulink_eb4b26dc-4ad8-56a3-949f-ae3321ddd05c)

Dedication (#ulink_f1a247c5-defd-5e75-a5a4-69cf98bd96d5)

PROLOGUE (#ulink_2cd694f4-1545-52fe-953b-830322eafd1e)

PART ONE: MUSIC-HALL (#ulink_9194ab83-2e4e-567c-856b-ad364a511e4c)

I Northern Songs and Dances (#ulink_2628ed69-0e12-5c04-b64c-30009f3febc0)

II Morecambe before Wise (#ulink_e520abe4-8fa8-555f-86b3-00801fabd4ff)

III Wise before Morecambe (#ulink_619b05a4-cb65-56ec-8fd4-d74c0e8721ef)

IV Double Act, Single Vision (#ulink_3ed5cf3c-fe22-5957-aa69-cea3f981bd62)

PART TWO: TELEVISION (#ulink_df10be67-46fc-55ec-9d63-a576d2d31a95)

V A Box in the Corner (#ulink_18a90adf-f676-5858-8014-3a94066703a3)

VI Running Wild (#litres_trial_promo)

VII A Brand New Bright Tomorrow? (#litres_trial_promo)

VIII Two of a Kind (#litres_trial_promo)

PART THREE: MOVIES (#litres_trial_promo)

IX American Visions (#litres_trial_promo)

X The Intelligence Men (#litres_trial_promo)

XI That Riviera Touch (#litres_trial_promo)

XII The Magnificent Two (#litres_trial_promo)

PART FOUR: A NATIONAL INSTITUTION (#litres_trial_promo)

XIII The Show of the Week (#litres_trial_promo)

XIV Mass Entertainment (#litres_trial_promo)