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Posted: Sat 02 Oct, 2010 5:18 am
by pashy2
As a nipper I saw Tommy Cooper at a Bradford Alhambra pantomime.One of his magic tricks was to produce a dove from a bundle of silk handkerchieves. As he held the bird quivering in front of him at arm's length he said "look at that, look at that"As soon as he got the audience to go "aw.... aw" in a sentimental way he accidently dropped the bird which nearly went through the stage floorboards.It was made of lead.Laugh--in nearly lost my malteezers.Andy

Posted: Sat 02 Oct, 2010 10:02 am
by FLOJO
I went to see Dave Allen at Batley variety club i think it was late 70's early 80's, it was fantastic especially when he did his ghost stories. He had the audience held with his one man show.

Posted: Sat 02 Oct, 2010 1:53 pm
by barneyrubble
anthonydna wrote: I cant find any reference to Tommy Cooper playing Leeds, but I'm sure someone will put me right ! When he did appear in Leeds, he did his drinking in the Jim Windsorclub on Vicar Lane, he was the same in person as he was on Stage,"Just like that" . He was one of the greats.

Posted: Sat 02 Oct, 2010 2:35 pm
by Trojan
Si wrote: I didn't see them perform, but I remember queuing outside WHSmith to get a signed copy of a Morecambe and Wise book in the early 70s. They were both very pleasant. I can't find them on the playbills site. I'm sure they must have played Leeds at some point in the fifities - after all Ernie was from this area. However, I saw them live twice, once at Yarmouth and again about 10 years later at Wakefield Theatre Club. They did roughly the same act - it was an act that they didn't expose on TV. They were hillarious, and at Wakefield stayed on stage for about an hour answering questions after they'd finished the rehearsed part of their act.I never went to Batley Variety Club but I went to Wakefield quite a lot. Batley used to have the big international stars like Louis Armstrong, Eartha Kitt, Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Englebert, and Wakefield usually had a more British flavour. I never understood the economics of the big stars coming to places like Batley and Wakefield. The audiences used to come in coachloads from all over the North. But something changed and in quick succession they both closed in the early eighties.

Posted: Sat 02 Oct, 2010 4:05 pm
by Johnny39
I think Eric & Ernie were playing either Wakefield or Batley when Eric had one of his heart attacks on his way back to an hotel in Leeds. If my memory serves me correctly he pulled up, late at night, and asked a passerby if he would drive him to hospital which he duly did. Anyone else recall this story?

Posted: Sat 02 Oct, 2010 4:41 pm
by jim
I remember the event vaguely from the newspapers. I think it took place near the Parish Church, and Eric was taken to hospital by a passing taxi driver.

Posted: Sun 03 Oct, 2010 12:50 pm
by Trojan
jim wrote: I remember the event vaguely from the newspapers. I think it took place near the Parish Church, and Eric was taken to hospital by a passing taxi driver. "Morecambe had been appearing with Wise during a week of midnight performances at the Variety Club in Batley, Yorkshire""was to suffer a massive heart attack in the early hours of 8 November 1968 at the age of 42, after a show, whilst driving back to his hotel outside Leeds."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Morecambe

Posted: Sun 03 Oct, 2010 1:14 pm
by jim
Not a taxi driver. Apparently Eric parked up feeling unable to continue driving for any great distance, and asked a passing individual to direct him to the nearest hospital. This was a gentleman called Walter Butterworth, whose directions Eric found difficult to follow, and asked if Walter could drive him there. Walter said he was in the Territorials, and had only ever driven a tank! My reference ( Eric Morecambe Unseen, William Cook ) does not relate who drove, but they finally got to a hospital and Walter got an autograph.    

Posted: Sun 03 Oct, 2010 2:01 pm
by dogduke
dogduke wrote: jim wrote: I went to see Lonnie Donegan at the Empire and was very impressed by the compere's stand-up comedy routines - a very young Des O'Connor. A shame he started singing and wearing pullovers. However, I always enjoyed his routine reciting "The Green Eye of the Little Yellow God" with Jack Douglas supplying the hand/arm movements, it cracked me up every time I saw it. I remember that sketch with Jack Douglas,top banana.Is it availalble anywhere ? Now I've had a chance to look -its on youtube and its still as funnyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLg-DB-q65k

Posted: Sun 03 Oct, 2010 3:05 pm
by Leeds-lad
Remember seeing Frank Carson in Leeds around early 70'sHe was at the Ace of Clubs on Woodhouse St