Episode 2

0:00:03 > 0:00:06Television Centre, 1968.

0:00:08 > 0:00:11There's a plan to bring Morecambe and Wise to the BBC.

0:00:12 > 0:00:16It's a deal that will fill the studios with laughter

0:00:16 > 0:00:20and produce some of the best television comedy that will ever be made.

0:00:31 > 0:00:33All men are fools, and what makes them so

0:00:33 > 0:00:36is having beauty like what I have got.

0:00:36 > 0:00:37LAUGHTER

0:00:46 > 0:00:49I'm playing all the right notes,

0:00:49 > 0:00:52but not necessarily in the right order.

0:01:05 > 0:01:08Now I'd like to introduce you to the greatest star

0:01:08 > 0:01:11we've ever had on the show, the one and only Sir Laurence...

0:01:11 > 0:01:12He can't come.

0:01:19 > 0:01:22Morecambe and Wise had come a long way by the summer of 1968.

0:01:22 > 0:01:24Hup!

0:01:24 > 0:01:27HE TAPS ON PAPER BAG

0:01:27 > 0:01:30After years of struggle through variety theatre and the early days

0:01:30 > 0:01:33of television, they had become big stars on ITV.

0:01:36 > 0:01:40They were in it for the laughs, but they were still ambitious.

0:01:40 > 0:01:43It's a business, we're in it for a reason, we're in it for...

0:01:43 > 0:01:46I mean, the days, basically, of glamour have gone,

0:01:46 > 0:01:47as far as we're concerned.

0:01:47 > 0:01:51They left ATV, as far as I know,

0:01:51 > 0:01:54because Lew Grade wouldn't give them two things -

0:01:54 > 0:01:58a longer show and more money, but the biggest thing of all,

0:01:58 > 0:02:00which was in the background of those two things

0:02:00 > 0:02:03and was becoming more and more known by all of us in the public,

0:02:03 > 0:02:05was the idea of colour.

0:02:05 > 0:02:10Lew Grade, the man who ran ATV, did not want to give them

0:02:10 > 0:02:13the colour programmes or the money they were after.

0:02:13 > 0:02:17Over at the BBC, the head of variety, Bill Cotton, saw his chance

0:02:17 > 0:02:20and signed up Eric and Ernie.

0:02:20 > 0:02:21In terms of their own self-esteem,

0:02:21 > 0:02:25the return to the BBC must have been absolutely enormous for them.

0:02:25 > 0:02:29Eric and Ernie, back in the big time, were on the BBC,

0:02:29 > 0:02:31were where it matters.

0:02:31 > 0:02:34Morecambe and Wise got the colour programmes they wanted,

0:02:34 > 0:02:39shown first on BBC Two and repeated in black and white on BBC One.

0:02:40 > 0:02:43ANNOUNCER: And now The Morecambe And Wise Show.

0:02:46 > 0:02:49Only short fragments survive from this first series,

0:02:49 > 0:02:51but none are in colour.

0:02:51 > 0:02:53This clip is from a home recording

0:02:53 > 0:02:55and is shown here for the first time since 1968.

0:02:55 > 0:02:59Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the show.

0:02:59 > 0:03:02Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the show.

0:03:02 > 0:03:06Friends, Romans and countrymen! Lend me yours.

0:03:06 > 0:03:09- Something's happened to mine. - Wait a minute.- Eh?

0:03:11 > 0:03:14A better quality clip survives from episode two.

0:03:14 > 0:03:18HE MIMES TO RECORDED SONG: # Just about the greatest in the trade

0:03:18 > 0:03:21# I'm fixing to show you now

0:03:21 > 0:03:23# Precisely how...

0:03:23 > 0:03:25BANG!

0:03:25 > 0:03:30# Jazz music is made... #

0:03:30 > 0:03:32MUSIC STOPS

0:03:35 > 0:03:38Are you all right? You've gone a funny colour then.

0:03:38 > 0:03:40You went a funny colour.

0:03:40 > 0:03:43- What happened?- Ha! Well, I'm the only one that arrived.

0:03:43 > 0:03:46I came by tube, you know, tube and yacht. It's difficult.

0:03:46 > 0:03:47I'm Bing...

0:03:48 > 0:03:52- I'm Bing Crosby. - Oh, no. Oh, no. I'm sorry.

0:03:52 > 0:03:55You see, because with Bing Crosby, you can't see the join.

0:03:55 > 0:03:58- With you, now and again, a quick flash...- Oh, please don't.

0:03:58 > 0:04:00Just a quick flash, that's all.

0:04:00 > 0:04:03An almost complete episode was recently discovered

0:04:03 > 0:04:05as a black and white film print.

0:04:09 > 0:04:10Tonight, ladies and gentlemen,

0:04:10 > 0:04:13in honour of our special guest and my next-door neighbour

0:04:13 > 0:04:17Mr Edmund Hockridge, we're going to present Scenes From The Desert Song.

0:04:17 > 0:04:19Only the original audience

0:04:19 > 0:04:23would have seen these pictures in colour until now.

0:04:23 > 0:04:26Using a process developed by a former BBC engineer,

0:04:26 > 0:04:30it is now possible to restore the original colours.

0:04:30 > 0:04:33And on BBC Two now, The Morecambe And Wise Show.

0:04:36 > 0:04:39Here, for the first time since 1968, is Morecambe and Wise

0:04:39 > 0:04:42in colour for their first series at the BBC.

0:04:42 > 0:04:45- TV IS ON - Shut the graphs.

0:04:45 > 0:04:46CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYS

0:04:49 > 0:04:50TV GOES OFF

0:04:50 > 0:04:52- Oh, what's happened to it? - Has it gone again?!

0:04:52 > 0:04:55It's always going, that flaming thing!

0:04:55 > 0:04:57When the show was first broadcast,

0:04:57 > 0:05:02there were only 100,000 colour TV sets in British homes.

0:05:02 > 0:05:05It was one of the first comedy programmes in colour,

0:05:05 > 0:05:07but hardly anyone saw it like this.

0:05:07 > 0:05:15# And sands kissing a moonlit sky

0:05:15 > 0:05:23# The desert breeze whispering a lullaby... #

0:05:23 > 0:05:25Get off! Get off!

0:05:25 > 0:05:26Apart from the colour,

0:05:26 > 0:05:30the first BBC series wasn't that different from the ITV version.

0:05:30 > 0:05:33Sid Green and Dick Hills were the writers

0:05:33 > 0:05:37and supporting cast on the ATV show for seven years.

0:05:37 > 0:05:40There had been tension between them and Eric and Ernie,

0:05:40 > 0:05:43but they had a winning formula, so they brought them over to the BBC.

0:05:43 > 0:05:47And now to continue with... Just a moment, fellas!

0:05:47 > 0:05:50Just a moment! What's going on?

0:05:50 > 0:05:53- Why are you going in the tent there with the girl?- It's in the script.

0:05:53 > 0:05:55Exit Sid and Dick with girls into tent.

0:05:55 > 0:05:59- Must have been in very small print. I didn't see it.- Writers' perks.

0:05:59 > 0:06:01- We don't get anything else. - Wait a minute!

0:06:03 > 0:06:07By the time Morecambe and Wise went to the BBC, their relationship

0:06:07 > 0:06:09with Hills and Green had changed,

0:06:09 > 0:06:11so it was much more like equal partners.

0:06:11 > 0:06:14Morecambe and Wise had more input into the script,

0:06:14 > 0:06:19although it wasn't acknowledged, which continued to niggle them.

0:06:19 > 0:06:22But they felt that they were much more of a partnership, and they

0:06:22 > 0:06:27were popular, and so it felt like a formula that didn't need changing.

0:06:27 > 0:06:30And so they went as a foursome to the BBC.

0:06:30 > 0:06:33They would have carried on for years,

0:06:33 > 0:06:36but everything changed one winter night in Yorkshire.

0:06:37 > 0:06:40Morecambe and Wise had sold out the Batley Variety Club,

0:06:40 > 0:06:43one of the biggest cabaret venues in the country.

0:06:43 > 0:06:48The shows had gone well, but Eric Morecambe didn't feel right.

0:06:48 > 0:06:50They worked the club, and for two days,

0:06:50 > 0:06:54Eric kept complaining about this pain in his back,

0:06:54 > 0:06:57and he was smoking an awful lot in those days,

0:06:57 > 0:07:00and he said to Ernie,

0:07:00 > 0:07:03"Would you stop behind and do the autographs,

0:07:03 > 0:07:05"because I think I should go home."

0:07:06 > 0:07:11I'd gone to bed, and the phone rang, as I was just dropping off to sleep,

0:07:11 > 0:07:14and it was someone saying that

0:07:14 > 0:07:18would I instantly go up to Leeds Hospital?

0:07:18 > 0:07:23Eric Morecambe, at age 42, had suffered a serious heart attack,

0:07:23 > 0:07:26and the hospital thought he might not survive another day.

0:07:26 > 0:07:28His chances of survival were very, very slight,

0:07:28 > 0:07:31and they did tell me that on the phone. His chances were not great.

0:07:31 > 0:07:34They said, "If you don't get up here soon,

0:07:34 > 0:07:36"I'm afraid you will lose the chance."

0:07:36 > 0:07:39Luckily, Eric survived and left hospital soon after.

0:07:39 > 0:07:43It had frightened everyone around him.

0:07:43 > 0:07:47But the comedian in Eric would turn the heart attack into a chat show anecdote.

0:07:49 > 0:07:52I was driving in the car and it was getting worse,

0:07:52 > 0:07:56it would have been about 1.30am, and I stopped a fella in Leeds

0:07:56 > 0:07:59and I said, "I don't feel very well, do you think you could..."

0:07:59 > 0:08:01I had a Jensen in those days, and I said,

0:08:01 > 0:08:05"Do you feel you could take me to a hospital? I don't feel very well.

0:08:05 > 0:08:07"I'd like to sign myself into a hospital."

0:08:07 > 0:08:10And a fella called Walter Butterworth, I'll never forget him,

0:08:10 > 0:08:13wasn't his real name, but I'll never forget him,

0:08:13 > 0:08:17and he said, "Yes. Oh, aye.

0:08:17 > 0:08:23"Hey, you're, er...er... Morton and White!

0:08:24 > 0:08:27And I said, "Morecambe and Wise, yes."

0:08:27 > 0:08:30So he said, "Well, I've never driven one of these.

0:08:30 > 0:08:33"I'm in the Territorials, I've only driven a tank."

0:08:33 > 0:08:35This is true, this!

0:08:35 > 0:08:38So he gets in there and there's £7,000 quid going....boing!

0:08:40 > 0:08:44Up the road. There's me going...oooh!

0:08:44 > 0:08:46I got to the stage where I couldn't have cared less.

0:08:46 > 0:08:49He takes me to a hospital, and I go in there,

0:08:49 > 0:08:52and he's obviously said to the fella behind the counter, he said,

0:08:52 > 0:08:55"Eric Morecambe's out there and he's not very well, could I have...?"

0:08:55 > 0:08:58And the fellow wouldn't let him have a chair, as far as I can make out.

0:08:58 > 0:09:01So I walked in, and the fella looked at me and went, "Oh, yes!"

0:09:01 > 0:09:06And he says to all the boils and the cuts and the slashes in the corner there,

0:09:06 > 0:09:08in the outpatients, "Eh! 'Tis him!"

0:09:10 > 0:09:12This is true.

0:09:12 > 0:09:15My real name is Bartholomew, I never tell anybody that,

0:09:15 > 0:09:17but my real name is Bartholomew,

0:09:17 > 0:09:20so he says, "You don't look too good, son."

0:09:20 > 0:09:23I said, "I'd like to sign and put myself into hospital."

0:09:23 > 0:09:27He said, "Well, right... Now, then...

0:09:30 > 0:09:31"Name?

0:09:31 > 0:09:35So I thought, "Well, I won't say Bartholomew," I said, "Morecambe."

0:09:35 > 0:09:40"Morecambe. Address?" Which I gave him. "Age?" Which I lied about.

0:09:42 > 0:09:45He said, "You don't look too well, you'd better go and lie down."

0:09:45 > 0:09:47So I'm lying down on the stretcher there.

0:09:47 > 0:09:50And the next thing I know, I'm being injected.

0:09:50 > 0:09:53This Walter Butterworth is sat with me, and I said,

0:09:53 > 0:09:56"I'd like to say thank you very much for all your help and everything.

0:09:56 > 0:09:58He said, "That's all right. It's been a pleasure."

0:09:58 > 0:10:01He says, "My mates won't believe this."

0:10:02 > 0:10:05He says, and these are the exact words he used, he says,

0:10:05 > 0:10:07"Will you do us a favour?"

0:10:07 > 0:10:09I said, "What?" He said, "Before you go..."

0:10:09 > 0:10:12LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE

0:10:14 > 0:10:16It's true, that!

0:10:19 > 0:10:22Ernie carried on as best he could as Eric recovered,

0:10:22 > 0:10:24but then came the news that

0:10:24 > 0:10:28their writers Sid Green and Dick Hills had left the show.

0:10:28 > 0:10:31Ernie and his wife Doreen were on a flight to the Caribbean

0:10:31 > 0:10:33when they found out about Sid and Dick.

0:10:33 > 0:10:38The stewardess came up to us and said, "Have you seen the paper?

0:10:38 > 0:10:41"Isn't it a shame about your writers leaving you?"

0:10:41 > 0:10:44And so Ernie said, "What do you mean, writers leaving?"

0:10:44 > 0:10:47And she said, "Well, it's all in the paper today."

0:10:47 > 0:10:49So she gave him the paper.

0:10:49 > 0:10:53So when we got off the plane, I think it was in Barbados we were going,

0:10:53 > 0:10:57he phoned Billy Marsh and said, "What's happened?"

0:10:57 > 0:11:00And he said, "Oh, yes, they don't consider

0:11:00 > 0:11:03"that you're going to be around to do any more shows."

0:11:03 > 0:11:06They never had a big fall-out, they never had a row,

0:11:06 > 0:11:11it just was a general feeling of hurt at the way it was done,

0:11:11 > 0:11:13they had assumed that Eric would never work again,

0:11:13 > 0:11:16he's had this massive heart attack, and went off

0:11:16 > 0:11:20and got other work without just saying what they were doing.

0:11:21 > 0:11:24Meanwhile, Eric was making good progress.

0:11:24 > 0:11:28The BBC made plans for the next series, and a new writer was found.

0:11:28 > 0:11:30Enter Eddie Braben.

0:11:32 > 0:11:35Eddie Braben had fallen out with Ken Dodd over money.

0:11:35 > 0:11:39He was good and he was available, but was interested?

0:11:39 > 0:11:41Apparently not.

0:11:41 > 0:11:44I didn't think I'd be able to write for Morecambe and Wise.

0:11:44 > 0:11:48They weren't my style. Doddy was my style. You know, ten gags a minute.

0:11:48 > 0:11:50Eric and Ern didn't work like that,

0:11:50 > 0:11:53and I didn't like the way they worked.

0:11:53 > 0:11:59I thought Ernie was too hard, sort of mid-American,

0:11:59 > 0:12:01"And then what did you do? And then what happened?"

0:12:01 > 0:12:02There was nothing there.

0:12:02 > 0:12:07And I thought Eric was rather silly, a bit gormless,

0:12:07 > 0:12:11and there was...there was something missing.

0:12:13 > 0:12:15Eddie's doubts didn't last long.

0:12:15 > 0:12:18He was asked to meet with Eric and Ernie, and they clicked.

0:12:18 > 0:12:21We took to each other right way.

0:12:21 > 0:12:24I knew there was something there between the three of us.

0:12:24 > 0:12:26We all have the same working-class background,

0:12:26 > 0:12:29we were all from the North, we all laughed at the same people.

0:12:29 > 0:12:32We had a lot going for us, but there was something else,

0:12:32 > 0:12:35something intangible going on between the three of us,

0:12:35 > 0:12:37sparking between the three of us.

0:12:37 > 0:12:40With high hopes and some trepidation,

0:12:40 > 0:12:42the new series got under way.

0:12:42 > 0:12:45- Right, OK, love.- TK 43.

0:12:45 > 0:12:49Ten, nine, eight, seven, six,

0:12:49 > 0:12:52five, four, three, two, one.

0:12:52 > 0:12:56APPLAUSE

0:12:56 > 0:13:01Thank you. Lovely. Thank you. Thank you very much. Keep going, you fool.

0:13:01 > 0:13:02What?

0:13:06 > 0:13:09# Sitting at my piana the udder day...! #

0:13:12 > 0:13:15What are you doing with a walnut...? Boing!

0:13:15 > 0:13:17Ooh, close!

0:13:17 > 0:13:21I'll go and get the tea, Ern. The tea urn! Eh?! Another gem.

0:13:21 > 0:13:23Another gem!

0:13:25 > 0:13:28Look at that! Look at that! Aah!

0:13:28 > 0:13:30Don't keep doing that.

0:13:33 > 0:13:36Hoist the mainsail!

0:13:36 > 0:13:38- Hoist the main...- Sail!

0:13:41 > 0:13:43Hove to!

0:13:43 > 0:13:44- Luton...- Three!

0:13:48 > 0:13:51By 1969, Eric and Ernie were middle-aged comedians

0:13:51 > 0:13:54who had seen so many others come and go.

0:13:59 > 0:14:02In the ITV years, they had seen the new wave

0:14:02 > 0:14:05of university-educated comedians enter the picture.

0:14:07 > 0:14:12# That was the week that was It's over, let it go... #

0:14:13 > 0:14:17The satire of That Was The Week That Was had made a big impact,

0:14:17 > 0:14:20and Eric and Ernie had tried their best to make fun of it.

0:14:20 > 0:14:23ERNIE: But what about Harold Wilson and Barbara Castle?

0:14:23 > 0:14:27- ERIC:- I've heard that. I don't think it's true.

0:14:27 > 0:14:29It's a rumour! It's a rumour,

0:14:29 > 0:14:31I'm sure it is,

0:14:31 > 0:14:33spread about by Ted Heath and his band.

0:14:33 > 0:14:36- Oh, it's satire!- Has it come on?

0:14:36 > 0:14:40- No, it's satire. - Well, later, he's coming on later.

0:14:40 > 0:14:42I think it's very funny, satire.

0:14:42 > 0:14:45The BBC has also found a very different kind

0:14:45 > 0:14:48of double act in Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.

0:14:48 > 0:14:51I was just about to drop off when suddenly,

0:14:51 > 0:14:55tap, tap, tap, at the bloody windowpane.

0:14:55 > 0:14:59I looked out, you know who it was?

0:14:59 > 0:15:01- Who?- Bloody Greta Garbo.

0:15:06 > 0:15:10The Oxbridge crowd were establishing a whole new tradition of comedy

0:15:10 > 0:15:13which reached its peak with the first series of Monty Python

0:15:13 > 0:15:18in October 1969, just as Eric was coming back from his heart attack.

0:15:18 > 0:15:22Morecambe and Wise looked at this changing world of comedy

0:15:22 > 0:15:24and made an inspired decision.

0:15:26 > 0:15:29They'd go forward by going backwards.

0:15:29 > 0:15:32Back to the music hall, back to variety,

0:15:32 > 0:15:35back to the magic of the comedy of their youth.

0:15:59 > 0:16:03I think going back was the way forward for Morecambe and Wise.

0:16:03 > 0:16:04What they did was they almost

0:16:04 > 0:16:06took the mickey out of their own backgrounds

0:16:06 > 0:16:08with the curtains on the stage.

0:16:08 > 0:16:10You don't need those tabs closing backwards and forwards,

0:16:10 > 0:16:13that's a throwback to variety hall, and some of the dance routines

0:16:13 > 0:16:17and the gags behind the curtains, throttling himself and all that.

0:16:17 > 0:16:20It was a very clever nod to their past.

0:16:20 > 0:16:22It wouldn't have worked if they'd tried to up it

0:16:22 > 0:16:25and keep up with the new stuff coming through. That wasn't their field.

0:16:25 > 0:16:27That would have been disastrous at that.

0:16:27 > 0:16:32It's interesting that as they blossomed and matured,

0:16:32 > 0:16:35they stopped trying too hard to be television

0:16:35 > 0:16:40and reverted to the relaxed atmosphere of the stage,

0:16:40 > 0:16:42the curtains and everything.

0:16:42 > 0:16:45They went backwards in a very constructive way.

0:16:45 > 0:16:49They thought, "This is what we do best, so we must get back to that.

0:16:49 > 0:16:52"We've got to find ourselves all over again," and they did.

0:16:53 > 0:16:57The big idea was to bring the warmth of the theatre into the cold

0:16:57 > 0:17:00technical space of the TV studio.

0:17:00 > 0:17:02Instead of working on the hard studio floor,

0:17:02 > 0:17:05Eric and Ernie wanted a wooden stage.

0:17:05 > 0:17:07Excuse me, just a moment.

0:17:09 > 0:17:12I saw that. Just watch it, that's all.

0:17:12 > 0:17:19He loved the idea of that, hearing footsteps and things.

0:17:19 > 0:17:23It was memories for him, nostalgia. It made him feel relaxed.

0:17:23 > 0:17:27"This is a world I know about," on a stage. That's what he enjoyed.

0:17:29 > 0:17:32The wooden stage had a comforting sound, and the curtains brought

0:17:32 > 0:17:36the feel of variety theatre to the television studio.

0:17:36 > 0:17:39But first of all, I would like to amaze you with some sleight of hand.

0:17:39 > 0:17:41Good Lord!

0:17:41 > 0:17:45Eric and Ernie insisted, well, Eric did, insisted on having

0:17:45 > 0:17:48the curtains, the front cloth, and in almost every show that

0:17:48 > 0:17:52I remember, they stood in front of it, which is how they started

0:17:52 > 0:17:54their early variety careers,

0:17:54 > 0:17:56because when you were way down the bill,

0:17:56 > 0:18:00they had to change the scenes behind the curtains for the real stars.

0:18:00 > 0:18:04So they put fodder out in front in order to pass the time,

0:18:04 > 0:18:07so the audience would be kept reasonably amused

0:18:07 > 0:18:10before the big act came on.

0:18:10 > 0:18:15So that, of course, is very much part of their shows

0:18:15 > 0:18:18on television, and of course, part of their lives.

0:18:20 > 0:18:22The new theatrical look was complete,

0:18:22 > 0:18:25and Eddie Braben's new vision of Morecambe and Wise

0:18:25 > 0:18:27stepped onto the stage.

0:18:27 > 0:18:30The first change I made, I thought was the obvious one -

0:18:30 > 0:18:34obvious to me, anyway - change Ernie. Not Eric, change Ernie.

0:18:34 > 0:18:37How could I change Ernie from somebody who stood there saying things like,

0:18:37 > 0:18:40"And then what happened? And what did you say? What did he do?"

0:18:40 > 0:18:42There was nothing there.

0:18:42 > 0:18:45But there was a lot of talent in Ernie, I could see it.

0:18:45 > 0:18:49And that was when I decided to make him the egotistical,

0:18:49 > 0:18:51pompous author, the playwright.

0:18:54 > 0:18:57This is the story of a man.

0:18:58 > 0:19:02A man respected by his fellow men and adored by the ladies

0:19:02 > 0:19:06for his charm and wit and elegant good looks.

0:19:06 > 0:19:10A man of dignity, a man of great education

0:19:10 > 0:19:11like what no other men had got.

0:19:11 > 0:19:14LAUGHTER

0:19:16 > 0:19:20They found a character for Ernie and he became a playwright,

0:19:20 > 0:19:24the play what I wrote, so he found this character,

0:19:24 > 0:19:28- and it was a character that Eric could bounce off.- Yeah.- Right?

0:19:28 > 0:19:32When we started, he played the smoothie,

0:19:32 > 0:19:34and I could bounce off that, because I'm little.

0:19:34 > 0:19:37- I'm right, aren't I?- Yeah. - And that's what happened.- Yeah.

0:19:37 > 0:19:39That's what happened with Eric and Ernie.

0:19:39 > 0:19:42Ernie, they found a character for him, which was the playwright.

0:19:42 > 0:19:45- Do you know what you are to me?- No.

0:19:45 > 0:19:48- You are the Leonardo da Vinci of the felt-tip.- You think so?

0:19:49 > 0:19:54Ordinary folk like myself can only sit and stare in astonishment.

0:19:54 > 0:19:57Well, I don't go in for self-analysis,

0:19:57 > 0:20:02but I'm just grateful and very humble that I'm a genius.

0:20:03 > 0:20:05It's true, Ern, I must admit it.

0:20:05 > 0:20:07The Brothers Grimm were good,

0:20:07 > 0:20:10but, by golly, Ern, you're grimmer.

0:20:12 > 0:20:16Some sketches were now apparently plays written by Ernie Wise.

0:20:16 > 0:20:22Now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for...

0:20:23 > 0:20:27..the latest play what I have wrote,

0:20:27 > 0:20:32entitled The Lives Of A Bengal Lancer. Thank you.

0:20:32 > 0:20:36Ernie Wise now stepped up as a vital comedy element in the double act,

0:20:36 > 0:20:40and the plays what Ernie wrote saw all kinds of special guests

0:20:40 > 0:20:42make fools of themselves.

0:20:42 > 0:20:45Peter Cushing set the tone, a serious actor

0:20:45 > 0:20:49tricked into appearing in an Ernie Wise play.

0:20:49 > 0:20:52- Good evening. - Is that him? Is that him?- Yes.

0:20:52 > 0:20:55They look different off, don't they? They look different off.

0:20:55 > 0:20:59What can I say, Mr Cushing, that an actor of your high standing

0:20:59 > 0:21:02should agree to appear on our humble little show?

0:21:02 > 0:21:03It's most gracious of you.

0:21:03 > 0:21:07Not at all, I've always enjoyed your humble little show.

0:21:08 > 0:21:12Behind the scenes, Ernie's contribution was also crucial.

0:21:12 > 0:21:15He knew every detail had to be right for the comedy to work.

0:21:15 > 0:21:19Eddie, that picture's not decisive enough. It's got to be...

0:21:19 > 0:21:24- It's only going halfway. - Well, I think it's better without that thing there.

0:21:24 > 0:21:28- It went all the way to the floor before.- It's got to go there, otherwise you've lost it.

0:21:28 > 0:21:29Yeah, I think so.

0:21:29 > 0:21:32They had found a new way to make their television show,

0:21:32 > 0:21:36and they had found a brand-new song, Bring Me Sunshine.

0:21:36 > 0:21:40# In the world where we live there should be more happiness

0:21:40 > 0:21:45# So much joy you can give to each brand-new bright tomorrow

0:21:45 > 0:21:49# Make me happy through the years... #

0:21:49 > 0:21:51Get off. Stop it!

0:21:51 > 0:21:55# Never bring me any tears... #

0:21:55 > 0:21:56Sorry about this.

0:21:56 > 0:21:59# And your arms be as warm as the... #

0:21:59 > 0:22:01I apologise!

0:22:01 > 0:22:06# Bring me fun, bring me sunshine Bring me love! #

0:22:06 > 0:22:07- You've ruined everything!- Yes!

0:22:07 > 0:22:09We've got no flamin' chance!

0:22:09 > 0:22:11APPLAUSE

0:22:14 > 0:22:18In 1969, they were only 43 years old,

0:22:18 > 0:22:21but Eric and Ernie were already nostalgic about their long career,

0:22:21 > 0:22:24stretching from variety to television.

0:22:24 > 0:22:25Hey!

0:22:25 > 0:22:27HE TAPS PAPER BAG

0:22:28 > 0:22:30Haven't done that for years.

0:22:30 > 0:22:34# Sitting at my piana...! #

0:22:36 > 0:22:38Occupy your mind intelligently.

0:22:38 > 0:22:40HORN HONKS

0:22:40 > 0:22:43- Look at that. Remember that? - Do I remember that?!

0:22:43 > 0:22:47- We used to use that in the act.- Of course we did.- Come on, do the gag.

0:22:47 > 0:22:49- What's the difference between... - HONK- ..and...- HONK?

0:22:49 > 0:22:51- I don't know, what is the difference?- HONK!

0:22:52 > 0:22:55- Remember when we used to do that in variety?- Yeah!

0:22:55 > 0:22:56- Just before we retired.- Yeah.

0:22:58 > 0:23:01They had been on stage since they were children,

0:23:01 > 0:23:04and during all the years of pantomimes, summer seasons

0:23:04 > 0:23:07and variety theatre, they had seen it all.

0:23:09 > 0:23:10The world of entertainment

0:23:10 > 0:23:12Morecambe and Wise grew up with

0:23:12 > 0:23:13was disappearing fast,

0:23:13 > 0:23:15but they weren't going

0:23:15 > 0:23:16to let it be forgotten.

0:23:18 > 0:23:20- It can't go on, I tell you! - What can't go on?

0:23:20 > 0:23:22This shirt. It's too small! Look at that!

0:23:22 > 0:23:24- Remember that!- I do.- In pantomime?

0:23:24 > 0:23:27Jimmy Clitheroe would like that back, he said.

0:23:27 > 0:23:29- Well, send it to him.- I will.

0:23:29 > 0:23:32Lancashire comedian Jimmy Clitheroe was a grown man

0:23:32 > 0:23:34who looked like a small boy.

0:23:34 > 0:23:37He was one of their favourite characters, and they knew

0:23:37 > 0:23:40any mention of him would please the older members of the audience.

0:23:40 > 0:23:44Eddie Braben's writings portrayed Eric and Ernie as two good friends

0:23:44 > 0:23:48living in their own little world of music hall references.

0:23:48 > 0:23:51It was fertile ground for comedy,

0:23:51 > 0:23:53which now transferred to the bedroom.

0:23:53 > 0:23:56This, er, anybody's place?

0:23:56 > 0:23:59- Do you mind if I...?- No.

0:23:59 > 0:24:02- Eric Morecambe.- Ernie Wise. - How are you?

0:24:02 > 0:24:05- Stop messing about! - Thanks for inviting me into your bed!

0:24:09 > 0:24:11It's been a grand day for it, hasn't it?

0:24:12 > 0:24:14Grand day for what?

0:24:14 > 0:24:17Well, it all depends what you've been doing.

0:24:17 > 0:24:18Do you fancy a rehearsal?

0:24:18 > 0:24:20Pardon?

0:24:24 > 0:24:28- Do you fancy a rehearsal? - No, I'm too tired, really.

0:24:28 > 0:24:31I wrote this sketch about them being in bed together

0:24:31 > 0:24:33and they were horrified, and in my innocence,

0:24:33 > 0:24:35I couldn't see anything wrong with it.

0:24:35 > 0:24:36Two men in bed together,

0:24:36 > 0:24:39and it was the only time I disagreed with them, and I dug my heels in.

0:24:41 > 0:24:42I kept on and on about it,

0:24:42 > 0:24:45every week I went on about this bed sketch,

0:24:45 > 0:24:48so one day we were sitting in the room, it was a break on,

0:24:48 > 0:24:51and I said, "So what are we going to do about this bed sketch?"

0:24:51 > 0:24:54And they said, "Oh, for God's sake, not that bed sketch. We can't do it!"

0:24:54 > 0:25:00I was inspired. I said, "Look, if it's good enough for Laurel and Hardy, it's good enough for you."

0:25:00 > 0:25:01And Eric said...

0:25:03 > 0:25:04"We'll do it."

0:25:08 > 0:25:12EMERGENCY SIREN PASSES

0:25:12 > 0:25:15He's not going to sell much ice cream going at that speed, is he?

0:25:17 > 0:25:21There was never any hint of anything outrageous there, it was just

0:25:21 > 0:25:24accepted that this was the crazy world of Laurel and Hardy,

0:25:24 > 0:25:26this was the crazy world of Eric and Ernie,

0:25:26 > 0:25:28and this is just what they did.

0:25:28 > 0:25:29- Very funny.- Is it?

0:25:29 > 0:25:32The first time they ever did a bed sketch,

0:25:32 > 0:25:36they are reading a real script by their new writer Eddie Braben.

0:25:36 > 0:25:39The split from their former writers Steve Green and Dick Hill

0:25:39 > 0:25:44still hurt Eric, and he even dropped in a barbed comment about them during the sketch.

0:25:46 > 0:25:50- Welcome to the show. - Another gem. Another gem!

0:25:50 > 0:25:53Sid and Dick used to write stuff like that, you know.

0:25:53 > 0:25:57It was a reference the audience wouldn't really understand,

0:25:57 > 0:26:00but Eric was sending a message to Sid Green and Dick Hills.

0:26:00 > 0:26:03"You thought we were finished, but look at us now."

0:26:03 > 0:26:07Allied Craft award, light entertainment performance, Morecambe and Wise.

0:26:07 > 0:26:12The Morecambe And Wise Show started to win all kinds of television industry awards.

0:26:27 > 0:26:30All I'd like to say is a lot of teamwork was involved in this.

0:26:30 > 0:26:32We'd like to say thank you to the people concerned.

0:26:32 > 0:26:35John Ammonds, our producer. Marvellous job.

0:26:38 > 0:26:41Also, Eddie Braben, our writer. Thanks, Eddie.

0:26:45 > 0:26:47I've heard that in the birthday honours list,

0:26:47 > 0:26:52there's a knighthood going for a comedian this year.

0:26:52 > 0:26:55They've never had one before. A knighthood...

0:26:55 > 0:26:57They did, but it was a long time ago.

0:26:57 > 0:26:59The last comedian that got a knighthood

0:26:59 > 0:27:01was Sir Lew Grade, wasn't it?

0:27:01 > 0:27:03LAUGHTER

0:27:06 > 0:27:09- He's not a comedian.- Well, he makes me laugh, I'll tell you that.

0:27:11 > 0:27:14The comments about Lew Grade show Eric hadn't forgotten

0:27:14 > 0:27:18the way they were treated at ATV. It became a running joke,

0:27:18 > 0:27:21and Eric never missed a chance to make fun of their former boss.

0:27:23 > 0:27:26Look at it - dark, dank and dingy,

0:27:26 > 0:27:29like a dressing room I once had at ATV.

0:27:32 > 0:27:33And Lew was the jailer.

0:27:35 > 0:27:40- Mountain god!- You mean that Lew Grade actually lives up there?

0:27:40 > 0:27:44- You'll be telling me you've heard a voice from the other side. - I have! I have!

0:27:44 > 0:27:47It was Lew Grade, but the money was no good.

0:27:50 > 0:27:53Into the 1970s, The Morecambe And Wise Show

0:27:53 > 0:27:56increasingly looked back to an earlier age.

0:27:56 > 0:27:58Cheerio.

0:27:58 > 0:28:00The influence of comedian Billy Bennett

0:28:00 > 0:28:02was acknowledged and celebrated.

0:28:03 > 0:28:06Billy Bennett was a music hall entertainer,

0:28:06 > 0:28:07quite an imposing figure,

0:28:07 > 0:28:11with a walrus moustache and ill-fitting evening suits

0:28:11 > 0:28:16and big boots, whose stage matter on his billing was,

0:28:16 > 0:28:18"Almost a gentleman."

0:28:18 > 0:28:20Eric's favourite costume,

0:28:20 > 0:28:23top hat and tails, was a straight lift from Billy Bennett.

0:28:24 > 0:28:27Billy also had a way with one-liners

0:28:27 > 0:28:30and a striding walk which Eric liked to imitate.

0:28:32 > 0:28:33What, more of 'em?

0:28:33 > 0:28:37I've just had a tussle with some Redskins, opening a tin of tomatoes.

0:28:37 > 0:28:40- Auf wiedersehen.- Shalom aleikhem.

0:28:40 > 0:28:43- And who are you? - I'm Big Chief Maxi Bacon.

0:28:43 > 0:28:45I know your brother, Streaky Bacon.

0:28:45 > 0:28:50Eric had learned from Billy Bennett how to make an entrance in a funny costume

0:28:50 > 0:28:53and deliver a stream of corny gags.

0:28:57 > 0:29:00APPLAUSE

0:29:03 > 0:29:07I'm sorry I'm late, but I've been irrigating the desert.

0:29:11 > 0:29:14And it's very difficult on your own.

0:29:16 > 0:29:20- Is Julius Caesar with you? - Couldn't come, love. Couldn't come.

0:29:20 > 0:29:24Got the hieroglyphics. But he does send his love.

0:29:24 > 0:29:28Billy Bennett was also the king of rambling comedy verse,

0:29:28 > 0:29:29another skill Eric admired.

0:29:29 > 0:29:32Now, Dan was a gink That would mop any drink

0:29:32 > 0:29:34From laudanum to unsweetened gin

0:29:34 > 0:29:37You can tell he was tough He'd eat salmon and stuff

0:29:37 > 0:29:39Without evening open the tin

0:29:39 > 0:29:41Picture a real tough son of a gun

0:29:41 > 0:29:44A man that could fight any two

0:29:44 > 0:29:47With hair on his chest Where the birds used to nest

0:29:47 > 0:29:49And that's dangerous Dan McGrew.

0:29:49 > 0:29:52Eric would often launch into comic poems,

0:29:52 > 0:29:55even quoting Billy Bennett directly.

0:29:55 > 0:30:00A comic, many years ago, a fella called Tony Bennett...

0:30:00 > 0:30:02Billy Bennett!

0:30:02 > 0:30:05- They both make me laugh. - Billy Bennett.

0:30:05 > 0:30:07- Got a moustache. "Almost A Gentleman."- That was him.

0:30:07 > 0:30:09- He was a great poet.- Oh, he was good.

0:30:09 > 0:30:13He did some fantastic poetry. You listen to this for scan and beauty.

0:30:13 > 0:30:18By the light of a 1,000 lanterns In the quarters of Limehouse Reach

0:30:18 > 0:30:19Lived a blind chinee

0:30:19 > 0:30:21Who loved the sea

0:30:21 > 0:30:23Cos he was a son of the beach.

0:30:28 > 0:30:30- That's poetry?- I'm glad you like it.

0:30:32 > 0:30:36Another obscure variety reference involved Janet Webb

0:30:36 > 0:30:40as the mystery woman taking the bow at the end of each episode.

0:30:44 > 0:30:46Janet Webb, who used to appear at the end

0:30:46 > 0:30:48of The Morecambe And Wise Shows,

0:30:48 > 0:30:50the big woman at the back of the stage trying to take

0:30:50 > 0:30:53the tremendous applause of the crowd.

0:30:53 > 0:30:57Not a lot of people might have known that it was a satire

0:30:57 > 0:30:59on George Formby's wife, Beryl,

0:30:59 > 0:31:01who, wherever George played,

0:31:01 > 0:31:05at the end of the show she would come on, link arms with him

0:31:05 > 0:31:06and take all the bows.

0:31:06 > 0:31:09Eventually, people, as the years went by, went, "Who is this?

0:31:09 > 0:31:12"Who's this woman? What's going on here?"

0:31:12 > 0:31:17I'd like to thank all of you for watching me and my little show here tonight.

0:31:17 > 0:31:22If you've enjoyed it, then it's all been worthwhile.

0:31:22 > 0:31:26So until we meet again, good night and I love you all. Yes!

0:31:28 > 0:31:31With every show, the new ideas were refined and developed

0:31:31 > 0:31:34until one sketch came along which had it all.

0:31:39 > 0:31:42The Antony and Cleopatra sketch was another Ernie Wise play,

0:31:42 > 0:31:45and in the flat which Eric and Ernie now shared,

0:31:45 > 0:31:49they tricked another serious actor into taking part,

0:31:49 > 0:31:51this time the Oscar-winning Glenda Jackson.

0:31:53 > 0:31:56I feel sure, Glenda, that when you read my play you will feel

0:31:56 > 0:31:57it is absolutely brilliant

0:31:57 > 0:32:00and a masterpiece of the highest order possible.

0:32:00 > 0:32:01Oh, I'm sure I will, Ernie.

0:32:01 > 0:32:04I've heard it said many times that yours is one of the greatest

0:32:04 > 0:32:07talents in the British theatre, both as author and actor.

0:32:07 > 0:32:09I've heard it said many times.

0:32:09 > 0:32:10- By whom?- You.

0:32:12 > 0:32:15Glenda was perfectly willing to have the mickey taken out of her

0:32:15 > 0:32:19and be made a fool of, because it was always meant in such a kind way -

0:32:19 > 0:32:24nobody lost face with Eric and Ernie.

0:32:24 > 0:32:27They actually felt privileged that these people were on their show,

0:32:27 > 0:32:31and they weren't going to do anything to offend them.

0:32:31 > 0:32:34Those are the stage directions. You know about stage directions?

0:32:34 > 0:32:36That's when you move about.

0:32:36 > 0:32:40- People nod and say, "That way," and walk about like that.- Oh, I see.

0:32:40 > 0:32:43Cleopatra smiles a self-assured smile and says...

0:32:43 > 0:32:45Could we have the self-assured smile? If you don't mind.

0:32:45 > 0:32:48Right, self-assured smile.

0:32:49 > 0:32:51- Are you doing it?- Yes.

0:32:54 > 0:32:57- You're going to have trouble here. - Yeah, I think so.

0:32:57 > 0:33:01All men are fools, and what makes them so

0:33:01 > 0:33:04is having beauty like what I have got.

0:33:08 > 0:33:11- Beautiful, quite well read, that. - Yes, beautiful.

0:33:11 > 0:33:14Is the rest of the play like this?

0:33:14 > 0:33:18Well, to be honest, some of it's not quite as good.

0:33:18 > 0:33:24There was Glenda, who was the top of her profession, I suppose, then,

0:33:24 > 0:33:28but renowned for fairly serious stuff.

0:33:28 > 0:33:32And there she is suddenly giggling around with Eric and Ernie.

0:33:33 > 0:33:35Don't let him frighten you.

0:33:35 > 0:33:38Yes, but if he tells Julius Caesar about you and I, you know,

0:33:38 > 0:33:40with the yellow folks, and what about the workers,

0:33:40 > 0:33:43I'll lose me pension and me gold watch.

0:33:43 > 0:33:45All men are fools, and what makes them so

0:33:45 > 0:33:47is having beauty like what I have got.

0:33:56 > 0:33:59- You have a plan?- Leave me alone.

0:34:05 > 0:34:07Leave me alone with him for five minutes.

0:34:07 > 0:34:10- Five minutes?- Five minutes.

0:34:14 > 0:34:18I will incriminate him, and then we need fear nothing he may do.

0:34:18 > 0:34:21Please!

0:34:21 > 0:34:24He's a soldier of Rome. It is impossible to incriminate him.

0:34:24 > 0:34:27- Leave me alone with him. - Just as you say, Cleo.

0:34:27 > 0:34:30What do you think of it so far? Rubbish!

0:34:32 > 0:34:35The inspiration for the sketch was the Elizabeth Taylor film,

0:34:35 > 0:34:37Cleopatra.

0:34:37 > 0:34:40But it also owed a lot to the great music hall act,

0:34:40 > 0:34:42Wilson, Keppel and Betty.

0:34:44 > 0:34:47From the 1930s to the '50s,

0:34:47 > 0:34:50they performed Egyptian-themed dance routines like this one,

0:34:50 > 0:34:51Cleopatra's Nightmare.

0:34:55 > 0:34:59Morecambe and Wise borrowed a few ideas from Wilson, Keppel and Betty.

0:35:03 > 0:35:06The sand dance was their famous routine,

0:35:06 > 0:35:09a bit of business Eric and Ernie couldn't resist.

0:35:09 > 0:35:12- You must be hungry for something. - That's true.

0:35:12 > 0:35:15EGYPTIAN-THEMED MUSIC

0:35:26 > 0:35:28Be honest, come on.

0:35:30 > 0:35:32I think most comedians are influenced by what's gone before.

0:35:32 > 0:35:34You have to be.

0:35:34 > 0:35:37With Eric and Ernie, that's most clearly shown

0:35:37 > 0:35:38in the love of variety,

0:35:38 > 0:35:41in the entertainment that they grew up with as kids.

0:35:41 > 0:35:44"What do you think of it so far? Rubbish." All that stuff.

0:35:44 > 0:35:47And just that. "What do you think of it so far?"

0:35:47 > 0:35:49is a real hark back to music hall days.

0:35:49 > 0:35:51It's reaching out to the audience.

0:35:51 > 0:35:54It's bringing the audience in, asking them questions.

0:35:54 > 0:35:56Can you see the join? That sort of thing.

0:35:56 > 0:36:00It's there, in every aspect of Morecambe and Wise's 1970s show.

0:36:00 > 0:36:02You can see exactly where they'd come from.

0:36:04 > 0:36:08It was light entertainment, but there were some who took

0:36:08 > 0:36:11seriously the question, "What do you think of it so far?"

0:36:11 > 0:36:14The dynamic which fuelled the comedy

0:36:14 > 0:36:17now attracted serious critical analysis.

0:36:17 > 0:36:19Kenneth Tynan wrote in the Observer,

0:36:19 > 0:36:22"Ernie today is the comic who is not funny

0:36:22 > 0:36:25"and Eric is the straight man who is funny,"

0:36:25 > 0:36:29a thought picked up by other journalists,

0:36:29 > 0:36:32including political commentator Robin Day.

0:36:32 > 0:36:34I'm not really one for these occasions.

0:36:34 > 0:36:36I'm a very serious person.

0:36:36 > 0:36:40Of course, I don't truly understand Morecambe and Wise.

0:36:40 > 0:36:43I read an article by Kenneth Tynan the other day,

0:36:43 > 0:36:45who explained that now they've all changed

0:36:45 > 0:36:48and that Ernie is the comic who is not funny

0:36:48 > 0:36:53and Eric is the straight man who is funny.

0:36:53 > 0:36:55The fact is, ladies and gentlemen,

0:36:55 > 0:36:58that Morecambe and Wise are not quite as simple as they look.

0:37:01 > 0:37:06Do not be deceived by their happy and contented faces,

0:37:06 > 0:37:09because, and I hate to say this,

0:37:09 > 0:37:12they are bitter and frustrated men

0:37:12 > 0:37:16whose supreme ambition has hitherto eluded them.

0:37:16 > 0:37:19Now, you may say, how can that possibly be?

0:37:19 > 0:37:23Have they not done extremely well, considering?

0:37:29 > 0:37:33Have they not won nearly as many awards as Glenda Jackson?

0:37:35 > 0:37:37Oh, yes.

0:37:37 > 0:37:41They have indeed gone a long way since that historic night

0:37:41 > 0:37:4635 years ago, when together they shook the Empire to its foundations.

0:37:46 > 0:37:50No, ma'am, I'm talking about the Liverpool Empire.

0:37:50 > 0:37:53Their comic genius has even been psychoanalysed

0:37:53 > 0:37:57and interpreted for us by Mr Kenneth Tynan in the Observer.

0:37:58 > 0:38:00And they are still popular.

0:38:06 > 0:38:08Much of the success of the show

0:38:08 > 0:38:11was down to the man behind the scenes,

0:38:11 > 0:38:13producer John Ammonds.

0:38:13 > 0:38:14I worked with Eric and Ernie

0:38:14 > 0:38:19when I was a sound producer in Manchester with the BBC

0:38:19 > 0:38:24in about 1956, when we were sort of pioneering,

0:38:24 > 0:38:28when very few people south of Macclesfield

0:38:28 > 0:38:31knew what they were all about.

0:38:31 > 0:38:34Eric Morecambe had always performed just for the live audience,

0:38:34 > 0:38:38but John Ammonds showed him how to use the television camera.

0:38:38 > 0:38:42- I give you my word as a gentleman. - That's good enough me.

0:38:42 > 0:38:46- This boy is a fool. - What did you say then?- Not a lot.

0:38:46 > 0:38:49The whole business which he originally

0:38:49 > 0:38:52lifted off Oliver Hardy of looking into the camera,

0:38:52 > 0:38:55and which Miranda Hart has emulated off Eric so brilliantly,

0:38:55 > 0:38:59brings him into the home, so Eric did become the favourite uncle.

0:38:59 > 0:39:02Through that, by just being into your home,

0:39:02 > 0:39:06into your living room, I think that was definitely created

0:39:06 > 0:39:07through that device,

0:39:07 > 0:39:10and which was a working device but absolutely great.

0:39:10 > 0:39:13- Is that my family tree?- £10. - Is it genuine?

0:39:13 > 0:39:16- You have my word as gentleman. - That's good enough for me.

0:39:16 > 0:39:18This boy is a fool.

0:39:18 > 0:39:21- Who are you talking to?- Nobody. - Here's the £10.

0:39:21 > 0:39:24It was a look to the audience at home which in time

0:39:24 > 0:39:27would include his own family and himself.

0:39:27 > 0:39:30We were never forced to watch the programme,

0:39:30 > 0:39:32The Morecambe And Wise Show.

0:39:32 > 0:39:35However, I'm not sure he would've spoken to me

0:39:35 > 0:39:38if I'd said, "I'm going out tonight, I'm not watching the show."

0:39:39 > 0:39:42And we did all watch them together.

0:39:42 > 0:39:45He enjoyed watching the shows.

0:39:45 > 0:39:49He would laugh the same as we would laugh.

0:39:49 > 0:39:53There was an air of excitement about, "Oh, Dad's about to be on."

0:39:53 > 0:39:55BOMBASTIC MUSIC PLAYS

0:39:59 > 0:40:02The on-screen Eric was a comedy character,

0:40:02 > 0:40:05a performance which Eric would also appreciate.

0:40:05 > 0:40:10Ann Hamilton, the ever-present cast member, saw this for herself.

0:40:10 > 0:40:13- What's your name?- Hamilton.

0:40:13 > 0:40:15Academicals?

0:40:15 > 0:40:18Eric was watching the playback on a monitor, as was I.

0:40:18 > 0:40:22I was standing here watching it and he came up behind me.

0:40:22 > 0:40:25It was of himself, I think, probably...

0:40:25 > 0:40:27I don't know who he was with,

0:40:27 > 0:40:29but Eric was featured heavily in what we were watching.

0:40:29 > 0:40:33When it finished, he didn't say this to me, he didn't say it to anybody.

0:40:33 > 0:40:35He just said,

0:40:35 > 0:40:39"That is a very funny man,"

0:40:39 > 0:40:42looking at himself on screen.

0:40:42 > 0:40:44But yet he wasn't talking about himself.

0:40:44 > 0:40:46He was being totally objective.

0:40:46 > 0:40:50That person on that screen at this moment is a very funny man.

0:40:50 > 0:40:54The team of producer John Ammonds, writer Eddie Braben

0:40:54 > 0:40:56and Morecambe and Wise had got everything right,

0:40:56 > 0:40:59and with this smooth running machine

0:40:59 > 0:41:01they made the Christmas show of 1971.

0:41:02 > 0:41:05Like the entire nation, for me, the Christmas show

0:41:05 > 0:41:10for Morecambe and Wise was the must-watch programme of the holiday.

0:41:10 > 0:41:15An early highlight was the appearance of singer Shirley Bassey,

0:41:15 > 0:41:19a sketch which featured the choreography of Ernest Maxin.

0:41:19 > 0:41:24# They asked me how I knew

0:41:24 > 0:41:30# My true love was true

0:41:30 > 0:41:33# I, of course, replied

0:41:33 > 0:41:40# Something deep inside cannot be denied... #

0:41:40 > 0:41:43What I thought, as far as Shirley Bassey is concerned,

0:41:43 > 0:41:48people look upon her, they love her voice,

0:41:48 > 0:41:51a great star and very serious.

0:41:52 > 0:41:54And I thought, if I can go the other way

0:41:54 > 0:41:57and make something happen

0:41:57 > 0:42:01around her that she would feel is destroying her

0:42:01 > 0:42:04and she doesn't know to get out of trouble,

0:42:04 > 0:42:06so I thought of the shoe routine.

0:42:06 > 0:42:09# So I charmed them

0:42:09 > 0:42:13# And I gaily laugh to think they could doubt... #

0:42:17 > 0:42:20And John said to me,

0:42:20 > 0:42:23"Great, will you choreograph it?" And I said yeah.

0:42:32 > 0:42:35LAUGHTER DROWNS SINGING

0:42:37 > 0:42:40The show so far was very good,

0:42:40 > 0:42:42but the best was yet to come.

0:42:42 > 0:42:46Let's give a warm welcome to the principal conductor

0:42:46 > 0:42:49from the London Symphony Orchestra, Mr Andre Previn.

0:42:49 > 0:42:52Halfway through, Ernie introduced another special guest,

0:42:52 > 0:42:54the conductor Andre Previn.

0:42:54 > 0:43:00We didn't think a musician would be able to carry a comedy act.

0:43:00 > 0:43:02We were all concerned about that.

0:43:02 > 0:43:05Knowing Eric, I can see in his eyes he's a bit nervous.

0:43:05 > 0:43:09They don't know how this guy's going to perform in front of an audience.

0:43:09 > 0:43:11So much hangs on his performance,

0:43:11 > 0:43:14and there's a moment where Andre goes, "All right, I'll do it,"

0:43:14 > 0:43:16he says, "I'll just go and get my baton."

0:43:16 > 0:43:17Ernie says, "Where is it?"

0:43:17 > 0:43:20And he says, "It's in Chicago,"

0:43:20 > 0:43:22which gets a huge laugh

0:43:22 > 0:43:25and you can see Eric's face, because he's timed it to perfection,

0:43:25 > 0:43:27Previn, absolute perfection.

0:43:27 > 0:43:31He's got a huge laugh that Eric is like, "Oh, this is going to be good."

0:43:31 > 0:43:33You can see it in his face.

0:43:33 > 0:43:37- Good night.- Don't go, Mr Preview... - Privet!

0:43:39 > 0:43:43- I can assure you that Eric is more than capable.- Well...

0:43:43 > 0:43:45All right, I'll go get my baton.

0:43:45 > 0:43:47- Please, do that.- It's in Chicago.

0:43:50 > 0:43:53Pow! I like him.

0:43:53 > 0:43:56Having the surprise package that Previn knew what he was doing

0:43:56 > 0:44:00and was brilliant, and a very natural comedian, in fact,

0:44:00 > 0:44:02and got it just right, because he played it for real.

0:44:02 > 0:44:04Eric had told him beforehand, he said, "If there's any

0:44:04 > 0:44:06"nudges and winks in this, it fails.

0:44:06 > 0:44:09"We've got to believe this is really happening."

0:44:09 > 0:44:11Ladies and gentlemen, tonight, Grieg's Piano Concerto

0:44:11 > 0:44:13by Grieg...

0:44:13 > 0:44:16soloist Mr Eric Morecambe,

0:44:16 > 0:44:19conducted by Mr Andre Previn.

0:44:19 > 0:44:21Thank you.

0:44:41 > 0:44:43What's the matter?

0:44:46 > 0:44:48- Sorry about that.- What happened? - The introduction.

0:44:48 > 0:44:52- The introduction is wrong? - It's too short.- It's too short?

0:44:52 > 0:44:54- Oh, you noticed.- Yes.

0:44:54 > 0:44:57By how much is it too short?

0:44:57 > 0:45:00- I went down here like that, came back.- You wasted some time there.

0:45:00 > 0:45:04I wasted time there, yes. Came over here, you see.

0:45:04 > 0:45:07It's about, I would say, by about that much.

0:45:07 > 0:45:10- A yard?- It's about a yard.

0:45:10 > 0:45:14If you could lengthen it by about a yard, we'll be in.

0:45:14 > 0:45:16- What do you think we can do about that?- Well...

0:45:16 > 0:45:18Well, that's nothing to do with me.

0:45:18 > 0:45:21Our musical manager, he does all this.

0:45:21 > 0:45:24- Could we get in touch with Grieg? - That's a good idea.

0:45:24 > 0:45:26- Call him on the phone?- Why not?

0:45:26 > 0:45:28I didn't bring his phone number.

0:45:28 > 0:45:31Well, it's Norway, something or other, isn't it?

0:45:31 > 0:45:33What's the code?

0:45:33 > 0:45:36Fingal's Cave or something.

0:45:36 > 0:45:39Mind you, you might not get him. He could be out skiing.

0:45:39 > 0:45:41It was a brilliant idea -

0:45:41 > 0:45:45the accomplished musician versus the clueless Eric and Ernie.

0:45:45 > 0:45:48A very different version of the sketch had first been

0:45:48 > 0:45:51performed in 1963, when they were at ATV.

0:45:51 > 0:45:54As written by Sid Green and Dick Hills,

0:45:54 > 0:45:55there is no guest conductor

0:45:55 > 0:45:58and Eric and Ernie fight with each other.

0:46:01 > 0:46:04Ah, now, if you can stand there, yes.

0:46:04 > 0:46:08You're playing all the wrong notes.

0:46:11 > 0:46:13No, I'm playing all the right notes.

0:46:13 > 0:46:16They're not necessarily in the right order...

0:46:16 > 0:46:19When Eddie Braben comes to rewrite that

0:46:19 > 0:46:23you see a whole extra dimension coming into it.

0:46:23 > 0:46:26Again, it's the friendship at the heart of it.

0:46:26 > 0:46:30When Andre Previn looks over as if Eric Morecambe is an idiot,

0:46:30 > 0:46:34Ernie Wise is already in there to try to defend him.

0:46:34 > 0:46:38If they want an extra yard of music so Eric can get to the piano,

0:46:38 > 0:46:39Ernie is always suggesting it,

0:46:39 > 0:46:43or looking up Fingal's Cave in the telephone directory

0:46:43 > 0:46:47to contact Grieg. Always those things.

0:46:47 > 0:46:50The two of them are in it together.

0:46:50 > 0:46:52Grieg by...with him and him.

0:46:57 > 0:46:59Great!

0:47:01 > 0:47:03HE PLAYS A JAUNTY TUNE

0:47:24 > 0:47:27Something wrong with the violins?

0:47:28 > 0:47:32- No, there's nothing wrong with the violins.- That's only your opinion.

0:47:34 > 0:47:36What were you playing just then?

0:47:36 > 0:47:39The Grieg piano concerto.

0:47:39 > 0:47:42HE PLAYS JAUNTILY

0:47:44 > 0:47:46You're playing all the wrong notes.

0:47:59 > 0:48:03I'm playing all the right notes...

0:48:03 > 0:48:06but not necessarily in the right order.

0:48:09 > 0:48:12I'll give you that. I'll give you that, sunshine.

0:48:18 > 0:48:21That sounded quite reasonable to me.

0:48:21 > 0:48:23- Are you satisfied, Mr Preview?- No!

0:48:23 > 0:48:26No?

0:48:26 > 0:48:28What do you mean, no?

0:48:28 > 0:48:30- I'm not satisfied.- Why not? - Look here.

0:48:30 > 0:48:32With all due... Would you mind?

0:48:32 > 0:48:35For another £4, we could've got Edward Heath.

0:48:38 > 0:48:41APPLAUSE

0:49:01 > 0:49:04Rubbish.

0:49:08 > 0:49:09That's it!

0:49:11 > 0:49:14At the end, they all knew it was something special.

0:49:14 > 0:49:18Morecambe and Wise had completed the television journey

0:49:18 > 0:49:20from despair to triumph.

0:49:20 > 0:49:24In 1954, after the failure of their first TV series, Running Wild,

0:49:24 > 0:49:27the critic had described television

0:49:27 > 0:49:30as the box they buried Morecambe and Wise in.

0:49:30 > 0:49:34But by 1971, television was the box

0:49:34 > 0:49:37which had made Morecambe and Wise immortal.

0:49:37 > 0:49:40Next day at lunch, my father said to me,

0:49:40 > 0:49:41"It won't ever get better than that.

0:49:41 > 0:49:44"We might equal it but that will be the ceiling for the rest

0:49:44 > 0:49:47"of our careers, that routine with Previn."

0:49:47 > 0:49:50Having seen it at home on Christmas night, sat back just as a viewer

0:49:50 > 0:49:51and watched it, he said,

0:49:51 > 0:49:53"You'll never get better than that."

0:49:53 > 0:49:55He was absolutely right.

0:49:55 > 0:49:58Morecambe and Wise had made 32 television shows

0:49:58 > 0:50:00in just under three years.

0:50:00 > 0:50:03It'd been an amazingly productive period,

0:50:03 > 0:50:05but also an exhausting one.

0:50:05 > 0:50:07And for the writer, Eddie Braben,

0:50:07 > 0:50:09the strain was too much.

0:50:11 > 0:50:14I was sitting in there typing,

0:50:14 > 0:50:17not realising how much I was doing

0:50:17 > 0:50:21and what I was putting myself through.

0:50:22 > 0:50:25I actually happened to look down on the corner of the room

0:50:25 > 0:50:30and I saw this hairy thing going across the floor.

0:50:30 > 0:50:31I actually saw it.

0:50:31 > 0:50:34I could have knelt down and touched it, it was so real.

0:50:34 > 0:50:37And I realised then that all wasn't as it should be.

0:50:37 > 0:50:41That was about the last recollection I have before I was in bed

0:50:41 > 0:50:45and the doctor telling me not to do anything for another three months.

0:50:45 > 0:50:48A whole year went by with no Morecambe and Wise shows,

0:50:48 > 0:50:52as Eddie recovered and other writers were brought in.

0:50:52 > 0:50:55The comeback show was on Christmas Day, 1972,

0:50:55 > 0:50:59and Eric and his son Gary went out to publicise it.

0:50:59 > 0:51:02- Can I introduce you to my son? This is my son.- Gary!

0:51:02 > 0:51:05Having been off the TV screens for a year,

0:51:05 > 0:51:08Eric Morecambe was worried they'd been forgotten.

0:51:08 > 0:51:10You want to just mention your show this evening?

0:51:10 > 0:51:13Oh, yes, fine. We'll just mention our show this evening.

0:51:13 > 0:51:16We're going to mention it this evening, our show.

0:51:16 > 0:51:19The highlight of the BBC Christmas schedule

0:51:19 > 0:51:22really didn't need any extra publicity,

0:51:22 > 0:51:25but Eric was taking no chances.

0:51:25 > 0:51:27How bizarre,

0:51:27 > 0:51:30Eric plugging his own show on Christmas Day on another show.

0:51:30 > 0:51:34There are a lot of things about him that I found unusual, unexpected -

0:51:34 > 0:51:35doing things like that,

0:51:35 > 0:51:38where it's not necessary to plug a Morecambe and Wise show,

0:51:38 > 0:51:41I always found those slightly difficult thoughts

0:51:41 > 0:51:44to get my mind around.

0:51:44 > 0:51:48The Christmas show of 1972 kicked off their seventh series at the BBC.

0:51:57 > 0:52:00- And what do you think you're doing? - Not a lot.

0:52:08 > 0:52:11Haven't they done well?

0:52:11 > 0:52:14Mush, mush! Go on.

0:52:16 > 0:52:20Their new series looked bigger and better than the ones

0:52:20 > 0:52:23which had gone before, and money had been spent on lavish sets.

0:52:23 > 0:52:26The dance routines were standing out more and more,

0:52:26 > 0:52:30and this was down to the choreography of Ernest Maxin.

0:52:30 > 0:52:33Ernest is very much Hollywood, that was the image they wanted.

0:52:33 > 0:52:36They wanted all of the glamour shots done with the guest stars

0:52:36 > 0:52:39and the great productions.

0:52:39 > 0:52:42That was really what Ernest was able to help them with.

0:52:44 > 0:52:48Everybody loved Ernest Maxin's musical routines,

0:52:48 > 0:52:52and the first episode of the next series had one of his best.

0:52:52 > 0:52:53# Hey there, mister

0:52:53 > 0:52:55# You'd better watch your sister

0:52:55 > 0:52:59# Cos the fleet's in, the fleet's in... #

0:52:59 > 0:53:04I used to get the idea first and try and think of what music

0:53:04 > 0:53:06I wanted to put that idea.

0:53:06 > 0:53:09I thought, "I'd love to do something with sailors."

0:53:12 > 0:53:16Ernest Maxin was fantastic. He certainly had this look.

0:53:16 > 0:53:19When we saw it back on the screen, you had a look.

0:53:19 > 0:53:22I know it was comedy and it was outrageously funny

0:53:22 > 0:53:26and in some cases kind of stupid, dancing with mops and things,

0:53:26 > 0:53:29but it really had a fantastic look about it.

0:53:31 > 0:53:33# She may be dark or fair

0:53:33 > 0:53:34# For sailors don't care

0:53:34 > 0:53:38# As long as she's wearing a gown... #

0:53:38 > 0:53:41They took two weeks to film the show,

0:53:41 > 0:53:44and, of course, that's another reason why probably

0:53:44 > 0:53:47actors and actresses, and certainly me, we wanted to be on that show,

0:53:47 > 0:53:50because we knew we were going to get lots of time to rehearse.

0:54:04 > 0:54:05That bucket thing looks very easy,

0:54:05 > 0:54:07but it was really quite difficult

0:54:07 > 0:54:11to do that in time, banging those huge, heavy buckets on the floor.

0:54:12 > 0:54:14Again, I felt all right with that,

0:54:14 > 0:54:16because I felt that they were like me.

0:54:16 > 0:54:19Just listening to Ernest and saying, "Oh, let's try that,

0:54:19 > 0:54:22"we'll do that. We'll do this, we'll do that,"

0:54:22 > 0:54:25and as we did it and it was obviously working,

0:54:25 > 0:54:27we could feel that it was working -

0:54:27 > 0:54:30the three of us were one,

0:54:30 > 0:54:31I felt more and more comfortable.

0:54:36 > 0:54:41# The fleet's in town! #

0:54:50 > 0:54:53Another dance routine would have a more lasting impact.

0:54:53 > 0:54:55In January, 1973,

0:54:55 > 0:55:00Britain first saw the moves that will be associated with them forever.

0:55:00 > 0:55:03How did the dance at the end originate, then?

0:55:03 > 0:55:05- Groucho Marx.- Yes. - Really?

0:55:05 > 0:55:08We saw it in a film with Groucho Marx, and Johnny Ammonds,

0:55:08 > 0:55:10our producer at the time, came into the studio and did it.

0:55:10 > 0:55:13We fell about laughing because he couldn't do it properly,

0:55:13 > 0:55:16so we copied him, not Groucho Marx, but we copied Johnny Ammonds,

0:55:16 > 0:55:18- and we've done it ever since. - Now we know.

0:55:24 > 0:55:29Eric's home life took an interesting turn in 1973,

0:55:29 > 0:55:32with the adoption of a four-year-old boy, Steven.

0:55:32 > 0:55:35There's this big gap between Steven and the others.

0:55:35 > 0:55:38That, actually, was the hardest thing I've ever done,

0:55:38 > 0:55:42and suddenly you're back into the business of schooling

0:55:42 > 0:55:45with someone that needs a lot of help.

0:55:45 > 0:55:48It did mean that whereas we were just getting our freedom

0:55:48 > 0:55:53to do what wanted and fit in with Eric's work and that was it,

0:55:53 > 0:55:55suddenly we weren't just fitting in with Eric's work,

0:55:55 > 0:55:58we were fitting in with Steven for school and all the rest of it,

0:55:58 > 0:56:00so it was hard, yeah.

0:56:00 > 0:56:05At this time, Eric and Ernie embarked on a series of live shows

0:56:05 > 0:56:06they called "the bank raids",

0:56:06 > 0:56:10which were a lucrative break from the pressure of television.

0:56:11 > 0:56:15- Have we got time for any more? - I think so.- Oh, lovely.

0:56:15 > 0:56:16He called them bank raids

0:56:16 > 0:56:19because he said it was embarrassingly easy money.

0:56:19 > 0:56:22He had a chauffeur pick him up, meet Ernie there,

0:56:22 > 0:56:26no rehearsals needed, go and do an hour and a half, two hours,

0:56:26 > 0:56:28stay at the hotel overnight, back home next day.

0:56:28 > 0:56:31If it was near enough, back home the same night.

0:56:31 > 0:56:35Going back to do the stage shows was absolutely the be-all and end-all

0:56:35 > 0:56:38as far as they were concerned, and a lot easier, really,

0:56:38 > 0:56:39than doing TV shows.

0:56:39 > 0:56:41Announce me, I'm going to sing.

0:56:41 > 0:56:42WOMAN LAUGHS

0:56:46 > 0:56:49You were in first house, were you?

0:56:53 > 0:56:56- Going to sing.- You're not going to sing.

0:56:56 > 0:56:59- Why not?- We're doing so well.

0:56:59 > 0:57:00Thank God their agent, Billy Marsh,

0:57:00 > 0:57:03made, 1973 I think it was,

0:57:03 > 0:57:06Fairfield Halls, a film of their live show.

0:57:06 > 0:57:09It was absolutely brilliant.

0:57:09 > 0:57:12Dated, maybe, but again they use it ironically.

0:57:12 > 0:57:13It's very funny.

0:57:13 > 0:57:17You're making this look like a cheap music hall act.

0:57:17 > 0:57:19We are a cheap music hall act.

0:57:21 > 0:57:25- They don't know. - I'm sure they do.

0:57:25 > 0:57:28But even that became tiring later on in the '70s

0:57:28 > 0:57:32because he felt the material was tired.

0:57:32 > 0:57:35He felt it was getting embarrassing doing the same old gags

0:57:35 > 0:57:38that were related, a lot of it was related to the 1950s,

0:57:38 > 0:57:42early '60s stuff, and the era and the people of that time.

0:57:42 > 0:57:44He suddenly became very material-conscious.

0:57:44 > 0:57:46"We can't keep doing this.

0:57:46 > 0:57:49"What we need to do is sit down with writers

0:57:49 > 0:57:50"and develop a whole new live show."

0:57:50 > 0:57:54Then he said, "Which I'm not going to do because I don't need it."

0:57:54 > 0:57:58So they stopped in about circa '75, '76.

0:57:58 > 0:58:02We're going on. Anita next.

0:58:02 > 0:58:05Meanwhile, back at the BBC, things were changing

0:58:05 > 0:58:09and their producer, John Ammonds, wanted to leave the show.

0:58:10 > 0:58:14Ernest Maxin, the man who choreographed their most memorable dance routines,

0:58:14 > 0:58:17was asked to take his place.

0:58:17 > 0:58:20I was thrilled to take it over, but I said to John,

0:58:20 > 0:58:22"Do you know what you're doing?"

0:58:22 > 0:58:25He said, "Yes, I feel I want a change,

0:58:25 > 0:58:29"I want to produce a Mike Yarwood show."

0:58:29 > 0:58:32Eric and Ernie wanted to follow a more musical direction,

0:58:32 > 0:58:35and Ernest Maxin was already choreographing

0:58:35 > 0:58:36for John Ammonds their shows.

0:58:36 > 0:58:40So it was a natural development that John moved on to do other shows,

0:58:40 > 0:58:42which he did very successfully,

0:58:42 > 0:58:45and Ernest got promoted on the back of it

0:58:45 > 0:58:46and brought Hollywood into it.

0:58:46 > 0:58:48That's when you've got Singin' In The Rain

0:58:48 > 0:58:50and the dancing newsreaders and everything.

0:58:50 > 0:58:53When they knew they were going to go into a musical number,

0:58:53 > 0:58:56before I'd even given them the first step,

0:58:56 > 0:58:59they shed the tension of,

0:58:59 > 0:59:02"Will the script get laughs?"

0:59:02 > 0:59:07It's very hard, and it's something where they're not relying

0:59:07 > 0:59:11just on laughs but of their talent as well.

0:59:11 > 0:59:14We used to love that.

0:59:14 > 0:59:15I used to love giving it to them

0:59:15 > 0:59:19because the first thing they said on Monday morning of rehearsals,

0:59:19 > 0:59:22"How are you, all right? Yes, fine, you? OK.

0:59:22 > 0:59:25"Now, what's the music we're doing?"

0:59:53 > 0:59:56When you watch Morecambe and Wise doing a musical number,

0:59:56 > 0:59:58you can see it's not work to them.

0:59:59 > 1:00:01They're loving it.

1:00:04 > 1:00:09The first show Maxin produced would be the Christmas show of 1975.

1:00:09 > 1:00:12LAUGHTER

1:00:13 > 1:00:16Star names queued up to be insulted.

1:00:16 > 1:00:19The 1975 show was almost totally given over

1:00:19 > 1:00:24to ridiculing their close friend, singer and comedian Des O'Connor.

1:00:24 > 1:00:26That is the best record Des has ever made.

1:00:26 > 1:00:28You mean there's nothing on it at all?

1:00:28 > 1:00:30LAUGHTER

1:00:30 > 1:00:33Did you hear that?! Where did you get it from?

1:00:33 > 1:00:34- Boots!- Boots?- Boots!

1:00:35 > 1:00:37Did you need a prescription?

1:00:38 > 1:00:41- I got it at the poison counter! - At the poison counter! At the poi...

1:00:41 > 1:00:43How do you do? At the poi...

1:00:45 > 1:00:47Have you seen that nose there?

1:00:47 > 1:00:51Looks like Concorde coming out the hangar for the first time.

1:00:51 > 1:00:54And those teeth! Like a set of white bollards

1:00:54 > 1:00:56at the end of a long, dark tunnel, you know?

1:00:56 > 1:00:59It's ridiculous. I feel ill every time...

1:00:59 > 1:01:00- What's the matter?- I like him.

1:01:00 > 1:01:03LAUGHTER

1:01:03 > 1:01:06On screen, Eric Morecambe joked around like a schoolboy.

1:01:06 > 1:01:08But beneath the surface

1:01:08 > 1:01:11was a man who was very serious about making comedy.

1:01:11 > 1:01:15But, with every success, the pressure increased.

1:01:15 > 1:01:17The Morecambe and Wise Christmas shows really became

1:01:17 > 1:01:21a victim of their own success, because they became so popular

1:01:21 > 1:01:25and so widely watched and so critically admired,

1:01:25 > 1:01:27that you could almost see the pressure build like putting

1:01:27 > 1:01:31another layer of bricks on the shoulders of the writer and producer

1:01:31 > 1:01:34and performers, as each one goes by.

1:01:34 > 1:01:37But it started as such a fun enterprise,

1:01:37 > 1:01:41and it got to the point when they were planning the next one,

1:01:41 > 1:01:44really towards the end of January, the next year,

1:01:44 > 1:01:48that it was a year-long burden in which there were worries

1:01:48 > 1:01:50about things getting leaked to the press,

1:01:50 > 1:01:54there were all kinds of security issues,

1:01:54 > 1:01:56there were more and more pressurised big routines

1:01:56 > 1:01:59to try to better what they'd done the previous year.

1:01:59 > 1:02:03Could they get bigger names? Could they pull off bigger surprises?

1:02:03 > 1:02:05And the fun went out of it.

1:02:05 > 1:02:09Ladies and gentlemen, the British Broadcasting Corporation

1:02:09 > 1:02:13proudly presents the Morecambe and Wise Christmas show.

1:02:21 > 1:02:23Their wonderful Christmas shows and everything,

1:02:23 > 1:02:25the strain began to tell on Eric, I think.

1:02:25 > 1:02:29That you've got to follow that, you got to follow your own success.

1:02:29 > 1:02:32You've made a stumbling block for yourself.

1:02:32 > 1:02:34"How are we going to follow that one?"

1:02:34 > 1:02:37- Tell them all about the show.- Have we got a show for you tonight, folks?

1:02:37 > 1:02:40Have we got a show for you tonight. HE LAUGHS

1:02:40 > 1:02:44- Hey?- What?- Have we got a show for them tonight?- Of course we have!

1:02:44 > 1:02:48Eric's reaction to any recording was terrified.

1:02:48 > 1:02:50Terrified that the audience wouldn't like it

1:02:50 > 1:02:52when it was put on television.

1:02:52 > 1:02:55His first reaction was, "What did you think of it?"

1:02:55 > 1:03:00To me, to Gail, to Gary, to Joan, whoever was in the car.

1:03:00 > 1:03:03He wanted to know what we felt about it,

1:03:03 > 1:03:07and he was absolutely petrified that the show, when it came out,

1:03:07 > 1:03:10people wouldn't like it, or something was wrong with it.

1:03:10 > 1:03:13Because as soon as you finished the last one,

1:03:13 > 1:03:15they almost would forget that one entirely.

1:03:15 > 1:03:20From that following day, you're absolutely into that next show,

1:03:20 > 1:03:25and I never saw Eric have a holiday without he wasn't reading up

1:03:25 > 1:03:30or working out ideas and always, it was always with him all the time.

1:03:30 > 1:03:32I found, particularly on holidays abroad,

1:03:32 > 1:03:34that he didn't like being away from it for long.

1:03:34 > 1:03:37I mean, the Tom Jones routine and the Shirley Bassey routine,

1:03:37 > 1:03:40they were worked on holidays in Portugal, sitting on the terrace.

1:03:40 > 1:03:43And he used to sit there at a little old-fashioned typewriter,

1:03:43 > 1:03:45just tapping out, and then he would come back to the villa,

1:03:45 > 1:03:48and he'd say, "I got an idea with Tom Jones, we're backing vocals,"

1:03:48 > 1:03:51"What do you think?" And we'd go, "Oh, great, Dad, yeah. Fine.

1:03:51 > 1:03:53"What do we know?" You know.

1:03:53 > 1:03:55And it's only when these things happen,

1:03:55 > 1:03:57they become big bits of entertainment history,

1:03:57 > 1:03:59and you look back and think, "Hang on, that was on holiday.

1:03:59 > 1:04:01"Why wasn't he switched off?

1:04:01 > 1:04:05"Why wasn't he having a complete and utter rest?"

1:04:05 > 1:04:06And I did ask him once.

1:04:06 > 1:04:08I said, "Why don't you just, you know, switch off?"

1:04:08 > 1:04:11And he said, "The only trouble I have is if I switch off completely,

1:04:11 > 1:04:15"it's the fear I'll never be able to switch on again or even want to."

1:04:15 > 1:04:17And I thought that was very telling.

1:04:17 > 1:04:22I think it was a stress, the idea that it could end at any time,

1:04:22 > 1:04:26and it certainly meant that they found it hard

1:04:26 > 1:04:29to turn anything down, and they did work extremely hard.

1:04:30 > 1:04:34Into 1976, Eric Morecambe, Ernie Wise

1:04:34 > 1:04:36and the rest of the production team

1:04:36 > 1:04:39were too full of ideas to want to stop or slow down.

1:04:39 > 1:04:42MUSIC: "The Stripper" by David Rose And His Orchestra

1:05:02 > 1:05:07I'd had it all set up in my mind that I was going to use that music,

1:05:07 > 1:05:09and it all came to me like that.

1:05:09 > 1:05:11You know, chopping the grapefruits,

1:05:11 > 1:05:14and the flutes would go "ding-ling-ling"

1:05:14 > 1:05:17as they squeeze the grapefruits.

1:05:40 > 1:05:43But it's fantastic, really, when you come to realise that

1:05:43 > 1:05:45a thing like that actually takes six hours to do.

1:05:45 > 1:05:48With all the stops and starts and the relighting and everything.

1:05:48 > 1:05:49To get the timings on the things,

1:05:49 > 1:05:51except the toaster, which was first time.

1:05:51 > 1:05:53- He did it on a one-off, which was great.- Once.

1:05:53 > 1:05:57We thought there would be trouble. The catching to the actual music.

1:06:13 > 1:06:16APPLAUSE

1:06:36 > 1:06:40The hits kept coming, and an imaginative choice of guest star

1:06:40 > 1:06:43lit up the 1976 Christmas show.

1:06:43 > 1:06:45I just got a phone call from Ernest Maxin,

1:06:45 > 1:06:49who said, "The boys would like you to be in their Christmas show."

1:06:49 > 1:06:54Angela Rippon was not the usual actor playing it for laughs.

1:06:54 > 1:06:57She was much more serious than that.

1:06:57 > 1:07:01She was an award-winning journalist, the voice of BBC News.

1:07:01 > 1:07:06Well, I was at a luncheon, a charity luncheon, and she was sat next to me.

1:07:06 > 1:07:09And I ask if she did anything else besides reading the news.

1:07:09 > 1:07:11And she said...

1:07:11 > 1:07:12And eat lunches.

1:07:12 > 1:07:15And she said she was a classical dancer.

1:07:15 > 1:07:17A report on the economy has just come through from Number 11,

1:07:17 > 1:07:21Downing Street. The Chancellor's statement reads as follows...

1:07:21 > 1:07:23"There may be trouble ahead,

1:07:23 > 1:07:25- "but while there's moonlight... - MUSIC STARTS

1:07:25 > 1:07:28"..and music and love and romance..."

1:07:30 > 1:07:34BOTH: # Let's face the music and dance!

1:07:39 > 1:07:41The whole country was gobsmacked by that,

1:07:41 > 1:07:44because nothing like that had ever happened before.

1:07:44 > 1:07:46We knew perfectly well that newsreaders

1:07:46 > 1:07:49only existed from the head to the waist,

1:07:49 > 1:07:51and there was nothing beneath that except a desk.

1:07:55 > 1:07:59BOTH: # You were meant for me...

1:07:59 > 1:08:03I think the genius of Eric's comedy is that he always looks

1:08:03 > 1:08:07as if he's improvising. It is very carefully rehearsed.

1:08:07 > 1:08:10The "A, you're adorable" bit where he keeps breaking in,

1:08:10 > 1:08:13we rehearsed that over and over and over again

1:08:13 > 1:08:15until it was absolutely slick,

1:08:15 > 1:08:19because that was what they wanted to do, where he keeps going, "A!"

1:08:19 > 1:08:21BOTH: # Just for...

1:08:21 > 1:08:23- # A!- You're adorable

1:08:23 > 1:08:25- # B!- But you're beautiful

1:08:25 > 1:08:27- # C!- You're a cutie full of charms...

1:08:28 > 1:08:30- # A!- You're adorable

1:08:30 > 1:08:32- # B!- But you're beautiful

1:08:32 > 1:08:34- # F!- You're a feather in my arms

1:08:35 > 1:08:37# G! You look good to me!

1:08:37 > 1:08:38- # A!- You're adorable

1:08:38 > 1:08:41- # B!- But you're beautiful

1:08:41 > 1:08:43- C!- You're a cutie full of charms

1:08:44 > 1:08:46# ALL: It's fun to wander through

1:08:46 > 1:08:47# The alphabet with you

1:08:47 > 1:08:50# But what are we going to do about him? #

1:08:50 > 1:08:51Who, me?

1:08:51 > 1:08:55When we were actually recording my piece, there was a moment

1:08:55 > 1:08:57where we were doing the bit at the end with the bartender.

1:08:57 > 1:09:00P-ina-a-a!

1:09:03 > 1:09:06We did it in one take,

1:09:06 > 1:09:09and Ernie Maxin came down and said,

1:09:09 > 1:09:11"Sorry, guys, we're going to have to do that again,

1:09:11 > 1:09:14"because I could just see a boom, a microphone,

1:09:14 > 1:09:17"a boom crept into the top," and Eric Morecambe,

1:09:17 > 1:09:20the only time I ever saw him get cross, he said,

1:09:20 > 1:09:22"What are you talking about?" he said.

1:09:22 > 1:09:26"They're going to be watching us, "they're not going to be looking for a flipping boom."

1:09:26 > 1:09:28And he was right. He was saying,

1:09:28 > 1:09:30"You know, if we're doing what we're doing properly,

1:09:30 > 1:09:31"people are concentrating on us.

1:09:31 > 1:09:34"They're not going to be looking to see an extraneous boom."

1:09:34 > 1:09:37But Ernest Maxin, of course, professional producer,

1:09:37 > 1:09:40did not want that in the shot, so we had to do it again.

1:09:40 > 1:09:42# It's fun to wander through

1:09:42 > 1:09:43# The alphabet with you

1:09:43 > 1:09:46# But what are we going to do about him?

1:09:46 > 1:09:47# 2, 3, 4

1:09:47 > 1:09:49- # A!- You're adorable... #

1:09:49 > 1:09:52And it was the only time I ever saw Eric just sort of,

1:09:52 > 1:09:55I think the strain and the responsibility

1:09:55 > 1:09:57just went over the top.

1:09:57 > 1:10:01The '76 Christmas show also featured

1:10:01 > 1:10:03the classic parody of Singing In The Rain.

1:10:03 > 1:10:05# I'm...

1:10:05 > 1:10:08# Singing in the rain

1:10:08 > 1:10:12# Just singing in the rain... #

1:10:12 > 1:10:14The Singing In The Rain to me is a classic,

1:10:14 > 1:10:18because how wonderful a concept is it to have this set

1:10:18 > 1:10:22that's as good as the one Gene Kelly had, but then it doesn't rain.

1:10:22 > 1:10:23I think that's just...

1:10:23 > 1:10:26You know, Singing In The Rain, but there's no rain.

1:10:26 > 1:10:28To me, that's just genius. Absolute genius.

1:10:28 > 1:10:30That's when it works, and that's what Eric and Ernie were all about -

1:10:30 > 1:10:33taking these things, these big ideas,

1:10:33 > 1:10:35and then making them very, very silly.

1:10:35 > 1:10:39# Just singing and dancing in the rain. #

1:10:59 > 1:11:02I'm wet through. Have you seen what you've done for me?

1:11:02 > 1:11:04- I'm wet through! - # I'm singing...

1:11:04 > 1:11:07You! I'm wet through, I am. That's not nice.

1:11:07 > 1:11:09I'm wet through, folks.

1:11:09 > 1:11:15# Just singing and dancing in the rain. #

1:11:27 > 1:11:32APPLAUSE

1:11:32 > 1:11:36The Morecambe and Wise Christmas shows had become so important

1:11:36 > 1:11:40that the only programme they made in 1977 was the Christmas one.

1:11:40 > 1:11:42Special guest, Penelope Keith.

1:11:45 > 1:11:48When I was phoned up by my agent

1:11:48 > 1:11:50to ask if I would like to be on

1:11:50 > 1:11:53the Morecambe and Wise show, I thought, "This is it. I can die now.

1:11:53 > 1:11:57"I've arrived. This is the zenith of my career."

1:12:02 > 1:12:04It wasn't till I got into the studio that I realised

1:12:04 > 1:12:07the last two steps were six-foot high.

1:12:07 > 1:12:10They didn't let me know that until I got into the studio,

1:12:10 > 1:12:13and saw how far I was going to have to climb down.

1:12:13 > 1:12:17- Sorry about this.- I cannot climb down there in this dress.- My hand.

1:12:17 > 1:12:19- Where is it? - It's where it shouldn't be!

1:12:19 > 1:12:21I can't get down there in this dress.

1:12:21 > 1:12:23Well, do something with the dress, love. You know.

1:12:23 > 1:12:26- It's been specially made. - Yes, I realise.

1:12:30 > 1:12:31If you just climb down here...

1:12:31 > 1:12:33- I really don't like heights at all.- No, no.

1:12:34 > 1:12:37None of that getting down was rehearsed at all, no, no, no.

1:12:37 > 1:12:39That was just doing it.

1:12:39 > 1:12:42I was laughing my socks off the entire time.

1:12:47 > 1:12:50- Lovely.- Oh!

1:12:50 > 1:12:55Yes. Fine. How are we doing now? Lovely. That's it.

1:12:55 > 1:12:56- Aargh!- Don't worry.

1:13:00 > 1:13:02Now, let's go forward...

1:13:02 > 1:13:05LAUGHTER

1:13:08 > 1:13:10- I've had enough of this.- Had enough?

1:13:10 > 1:13:12Yes, I have. I'm going home. Thank you very much.

1:13:14 > 1:13:17The big dance number would be a spectacular version

1:13:17 > 1:13:21of Nothing Like A Dame from the musical South Pacific.

1:13:22 > 1:13:24# We got sunlight on the sand

1:13:24 > 1:13:26# We got moonlight on the sea

1:13:26 > 1:13:30# We got mangoes and bananas you can pick right off a tree

1:13:30 > 1:13:31# We got volleyball and ping-pong

1:13:31 > 1:13:33# And a lot of dandy games

1:13:33 > 1:13:35# What ain't we got?

1:13:35 > 1:13:37# We ain't got dames... #

1:13:39 > 1:13:42This time, they went for a whole team of BBC presenters,

1:13:42 > 1:13:44including Michael Aspel and Barry Norman.

1:13:44 > 1:13:47I was at home one day when Ernest Maxin phoned me up,

1:13:47 > 1:13:49and I knew Ernest slightly

1:13:49 > 1:13:52because we bumped into each other in Television Centre quite often,

1:13:52 > 1:13:56and you know, I was surprised to hear from him, and I said,

1:13:56 > 1:13:59"What's up?" And he said, "Well, the boys" -

1:13:59 > 1:14:01because Eric and Ernie were always known as the boys -

1:14:01 > 1:14:04"The boys would like you to appear on their Christmas show."

1:14:04 > 1:14:07I said, "You're kidding." He said, "No, I'm serious."

1:14:07 > 1:14:10I said, "What am I supposed to do?" He says, "Sing and dance."

1:14:10 > 1:14:12I said, "Ernest, I can't do either of those things."

1:14:12 > 1:14:15# There are no books like a dame

1:14:15 > 1:14:18# Ahhh-ahhh

1:14:18 > 1:14:19# And nothing looks like a dame

1:14:19 > 1:14:22# Ahhh-ahhh

1:14:23 > 1:14:25# There are no drinks like a dame

1:14:25 > 1:14:28# Ahhh-ahhh

1:14:28 > 1:14:30Once we got there, Ernest explained

1:14:30 > 1:14:33we're doing There's Nothing Like A Dame from South Pacific,

1:14:33 > 1:14:36and we're doing acrobatics, and that was a shaker too.

1:14:36 > 1:14:38You know, acrobatics? I couldn't do acrobatics.

1:14:45 > 1:14:49We would run up as if we were going to do a handstand or something,

1:14:49 > 1:14:53then he'd cut, and a real acrobat would do it in our stead.

1:14:59 > 1:15:02It was an idea which needed the skills of an editor

1:15:02 > 1:15:03as well as a comedian.

1:15:05 > 1:15:08Eric was nervous, convinced it would never work.

1:15:08 > 1:15:12When we were rehearsing There Is Nothing Like A Dame,

1:15:12 > 1:15:15I heard this noise which was a tremendous row

1:15:15 > 1:15:18between Eric, mainly, and Ernest Maxin,

1:15:18 > 1:15:22because Eric never believed that sketch was going to work

1:15:22 > 1:15:27and he was really vociferous about it and it was a terrific row.

1:15:27 > 1:15:31He couldn't quite see how I could join this together

1:15:31 > 1:15:35and make it look real, but Ernie said to him,

1:15:35 > 1:15:39"Look, listen to Big Ern." He called me Big Ern and him Little Ern.

1:15:39 > 1:15:45He said, "Listen to Big Ern," and, er, "He won't let you down,"

1:15:45 > 1:15:53and Eric at this time, his lips were going blue, and I felt, "My God,"

1:15:53 > 1:15:55you know, "he's going to have a heart attack,"

1:15:55 > 1:15:57he was poorly at this time.

1:15:58 > 1:16:00I could see how Ernie,

1:16:01 > 1:16:05whenever it looked as if Eric was working a bit too hard,

1:16:05 > 1:16:06we ought to have him rest,

1:16:06 > 1:16:08Ernie would give me a look and go...

1:16:10 > 1:16:13..like that, as if he was looking after him.

1:16:14 > 1:16:18Eric insisted on watching the edit for himself.

1:16:19 > 1:16:21Eric walked in at just the right time.

1:16:21 > 1:16:25It was about 11.30 at night, I think,

1:16:25 > 1:16:27and he said, "Can I have a look at it now?"

1:16:27 > 1:16:31And I said, "Of course," and I showed him to him

1:16:31 > 1:16:36and I wasn't watching the camera, I was watching Eric's expression

1:16:36 > 1:16:38and it started like this...

1:16:40 > 1:16:42..and then it went...

1:16:50 > 1:16:56Lovely, you know, I finished it and he said, "Lovely, great,"

1:16:56 > 1:16:59and he turned round, he put his arms around me,

1:16:59 > 1:17:04gave me a big kiss and his glasses filled up with tears,

1:17:04 > 1:17:08with relief, you know, that it had worked.

1:17:08 > 1:17:11# There ain't a thing that's wrong with any man here

1:17:11 > 1:17:15# That can't be cured by putting him near

1:17:15 > 1:17:19# A girlie, womanly, female, feminine

1:17:19 > 1:17:26# Dame!

1:17:27 > 1:17:32# There is absolutely nothing

1:17:32 > 1:17:35# Like a frame

1:17:35 > 1:17:37# Of

1:17:37 > 1:17:40# A

1:17:40 > 1:17:43# Dame! #

1:17:43 > 1:17:46APPLAUSE

1:17:49 > 1:17:53The Morecambe And Wise Christmas Show of 1977

1:17:53 > 1:17:57was watched by an estimated 28.8 million viewers.

1:17:57 > 1:18:0028 million, at their peak, watching a Christmas show.

1:18:00 > 1:18:04It's just...it's another world now when you look back at that.

1:18:05 > 1:18:06A few weeks later

1:18:06 > 1:18:09came the shock news that Morecambe and Wise had left the BBC.

1:18:11 > 1:18:13Well, that's the job finished now.

1:18:13 > 1:18:17One of the last sketches they recorded for the '77 Christmas show

1:18:17 > 1:18:21strangely felt like they were saying goodbye to the BBC's studios.

1:18:21 > 1:18:23Do we have to leave?

1:18:23 > 1:18:24I told you, we've got to leave,

1:18:24 > 1:18:26I mean, we've got to progress in this world, haven't we?

1:18:26 > 1:18:29I've got this new place, it's absolutely beautiful,

1:18:29 > 1:18:30it's better than here

1:18:30 > 1:18:33and much cheaper than this dump, I can tell you.

1:18:33 > 1:18:37The new place turned out to be Thames Television.

1:18:37 > 1:18:39ITV had made them a generous offer

1:18:39 > 1:18:42and the chance to make another film.

1:18:42 > 1:18:46Their boss at the BBC, Bill Cotton, couldn't believe what had happened.

1:18:46 > 1:18:48The phone went, er,

1:18:48 > 1:18:52and it was my secretary, and she said, er...

1:18:54 > 1:18:57.."I've got some very bad news for you." I said, "What's that?"

1:18:57 > 1:19:02She said, "Morecambe and Wise have gone," and I said, "Gone where?

1:19:02 > 1:19:04She said, "They've gone to Thames.

1:19:04 > 1:19:07"Thames Television,"

1:19:07 > 1:19:09and it was just like a divorce.

1:19:09 > 1:19:13I mean, I really felt very bitter.

1:19:15 > 1:19:17The first of the Thames Morecambe And Wise Shows

1:19:17 > 1:19:20was broadcast in October 1978.

1:19:20 > 1:19:22APPLAUSE

1:19:22 > 1:19:26- That's fabulous. Have we got time for any more?- Yeah, I think so.

1:19:26 > 1:19:27- What do you think of it so far? - ALL: Rubbish!

1:19:27 > 1:19:29Oh, that's a lovely attitude, that is.

1:19:29 > 1:19:32Well, good evening, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the show.

1:19:32 > 1:19:35- I must say it's absolutely wonderful being here at Thames.- It is.

1:19:35 > 1:19:38Marvellous, given us every facility, they've bent over backwards.

1:19:38 > 1:19:39Well, one of them did.

1:19:40 > 1:19:42Ended up in the river.

1:19:42 > 1:19:45I must say, ladies and gentlemen, it's a great pleasure to be here

1:19:45 > 1:19:48talking to you and not where you are, watching us.

1:19:48 > 1:19:50He's a lad!

1:19:50 > 1:19:52CRASH!

1:19:59 > 1:20:01I think Thames was fine, I th...

1:20:01 > 1:20:02I, personally, and it's only my opinion,

1:20:02 > 1:20:05I think that they were slightly going through the motions by then.

1:20:05 > 1:20:07You know, they'd had all the plaudits,

1:20:07 > 1:20:08I don't think they were...

1:20:08 > 1:20:11Thames certainly weren't looking for anything different,

1:20:11 > 1:20:13they were just buying into what already existed.

1:20:14 > 1:20:19They had completed just two shows and then, in March 1979,

1:20:19 > 1:20:23Eric had another serious heart attack, followed by surgery.

1:20:23 > 1:20:26- Seriously, how are you feeling? - Great.

1:20:26 > 1:20:27Absolutely marvellous.

1:20:27 > 1:20:30He was gagging away with all the staff at the top of the steps

1:20:30 > 1:20:33before he's getting into the vehicle and that's...

1:20:33 > 1:20:35I suppose that, in a way,

1:20:35 > 1:20:40is a way of letting everybody out there know Eric's all right -

1:20:40 > 1:20:44"I'm back," you know, it's sort of like a cover, in a sort of way,

1:20:44 > 1:20:46you know, I couldn't believe it

1:20:46 > 1:20:49when he came out of the hospital on the steps gagging away there

1:20:49 > 1:20:52before he got into the car to go home.

1:20:52 > 1:20:54You've obviously got to take it easy for a bit, though, presumably?

1:20:54 > 1:20:57Well, if I can get a bit, I'll take it easy, yes.

1:20:59 > 1:21:00He should definitely have retired,

1:21:00 > 1:21:03he discovered that he really enjoyed writing, you know,

1:21:03 > 1:21:06just sitting in his little office upstairs working and writing

1:21:06 > 1:21:09and, for the first time in his life, he wasn't really craving being

1:21:09 > 1:21:13the Eric Morecambe comedian thing - that actually had started to fade.

1:21:13 > 1:21:18Too much ill-health, too many years of doing the same thing, um...

1:21:18 > 1:21:20I don't know what it was that made him keep going there,

1:21:20 > 1:21:21probably going to Thames,

1:21:21 > 1:21:24feeling a bit better, being offered a great deal,

1:21:24 > 1:21:28Ernie, full of energy and health, never a day's illness at the time.

1:21:28 > 1:21:31He just felt he should carry on, so he did.

1:21:31 > 1:21:35One of the new jokes was, each week as the credits rolled,

1:21:35 > 1:21:38Ernie tried to sing Bring Me Sunshine with the guest star.

1:21:38 > 1:21:40Eric, on his way out in his hat and coat,

1:21:40 > 1:21:43just couldn't let the show go on without him.

1:21:43 > 1:21:45# Bring me sunshine, bring me love. #

1:21:45 > 1:21:46You said you weren't going to do the song.

1:21:56 > 1:21:59So much easier with hindsight, but he shouldn't have been working,

1:21:59 > 1:22:02that's the thing, shouldn't have been doing those shows at all.

1:22:02 > 1:22:05I think what he actually needed was, like,

1:22:05 > 1:22:07you know, like a doctor's note.

1:22:07 > 1:22:12He needed permission to stop, because it wasn't just about him.

1:22:12 > 1:22:17If he stopped, then Ernie stopped, um, and other people.

1:22:17 > 1:22:19Everybody was sort of looking to him,

1:22:19 > 1:22:22there were a lot of pressures on him to keep performing.

1:22:22 > 1:22:26He loved being at home and actually would have happily sat at home,

1:22:26 > 1:22:29pootled round the house, gone for walks,

1:22:29 > 1:22:34written books and would have enjoyed doing the occasional radio interview

1:22:34 > 1:22:36or question-and-answer thing.

1:22:36 > 1:22:40An invitation to talk about his career with his old friend,

1:22:40 > 1:22:45Stan Stennett, was exactly the type of engagement he had in mind.

1:22:45 > 1:22:47It was 27th May, 1984,

1:22:48 > 1:22:51and Eric Morecombe entertained the audience

1:22:51 > 1:22:53at The Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury.

1:22:54 > 1:22:57On leaving the stage, he suffered a heart attack

1:22:57 > 1:22:58and died a few hours later.

1:23:00 > 1:23:01He was 58 years old.

1:23:03 > 1:23:05I think he'll come under the greats,

1:23:05 > 1:23:07because I think he was a great comedian

1:23:07 > 1:23:10and he had a great affinity with the public, they loved him,

1:23:10 > 1:23:15and I think, er... I know I was proud to be his partner and, er,

1:23:15 > 1:23:18I think he'll be remembered. I certainly do.

1:23:18 > 1:23:23I think the first clue how much the British public loved Dad

1:23:23 > 1:23:26was shortly after he died, was that sense of people

1:23:26 > 1:23:31coming up to you and the letters that we got and...

1:23:31 > 1:23:35the desire to talk about him and the desire for them...

1:23:35 > 1:23:36for you to know.

1:23:36 > 1:23:40They wanted you to know that they had been incredibly upset,

1:23:40 > 1:23:42that they might have been in tears

1:23:42 > 1:23:45or they might have had to go and sit down

1:23:45 > 1:23:47or so shocked they had to stop the car

1:23:47 > 1:23:51when they heard it on the car radio and that was like the first inkling

1:23:51 > 1:23:56that actually you've got to really love somebody to have that feeling.

1:24:07 > 1:24:08At the funeral,

1:24:08 > 1:24:12Ernie Wise told the story of the two boys from the North of England,

1:24:12 > 1:24:17Eric Bartholomew and Ernest Wiseman, and their lifetime as entertainers.

1:24:17 > 1:24:23After 43 years, suddenly one of them had to leave...

1:24:25 > 1:24:26..and as he left...

1:24:27 > 1:24:29..he sang a little song.

1:24:31 > 1:24:34And I think the words are very applicable.

1:24:36 > 1:24:41The song was, "Bring me sunshine in your smile...

1:24:42 > 1:24:45"Bring me laughter all the while."

1:24:45 > 1:24:47As a final farewell to his friend,

1:24:47 > 1:24:52Ernie Wise spoke the words of the song they had always sung together.

1:24:52 > 1:24:55Bring me sunshine in your smile

1:24:55 > 1:24:58Bring me laughter all the while

1:24:58 > 1:25:00In this world where we live

1:25:00 > 1:25:02There should be more happiness

1:25:02 > 1:25:04So much joy you can give

1:25:04 > 1:25:06To each brand-new bright tomorrow

1:25:06 > 1:25:08Make me happy through the years

1:25:08 > 1:25:11Never bring me any tears

1:25:11 > 1:25:12Let your arms be as warm

1:25:12 > 1:25:14As the sun from up above

1:25:14 > 1:25:16Bring me fun

1:25:16 > 1:25:18Bring me sunshine

1:25:18 > 1:25:19Bring me love.

1:25:23 > 1:25:28Eric's death and the demise of their double act by that,

1:25:28 > 1:25:30it was the end of an era.

1:25:30 > 1:25:33They were big and they represented something that had been going

1:25:33 > 1:25:38for quite a lot of years, a whole tradition involving music hall,

1:25:38 > 1:25:40going into variety and then television.

1:25:40 > 1:25:44There was a whole tradition that they represented.

1:25:44 > 1:25:49# Well, it all began some time ago

1:25:49 > 1:25:53# A feeling I could never explain... #

1:25:53 > 1:25:57Ernie Wise continued to entertain. It was all he had ever known.

1:25:57 > 1:25:59# Watching all my heroes

1:25:59 > 1:26:01# Their names up in lights

1:26:01 > 1:26:04# I learned to make 'em laugh

1:26:04 > 1:26:06# And make 'em cry

1:26:06 > 1:26:09# And hold them in the palm of my hand

1:26:09 > 1:26:11# But I can still remember

1:26:11 > 1:26:14# When the going was rough

1:26:14 > 1:26:17# Those matinees, those bad days

1:26:17 > 1:26:20# Could really be tough

1:26:20 > 1:26:22# I'd look at him

1:26:22 > 1:26:24# He'd look at me

1:26:24 > 1:26:29# We'd know at a glance

1:26:29 > 1:26:31# To give 'em a song and a dance

1:26:32 > 1:26:36# To give 'em a song and a dance

1:26:36 > 1:26:40# To give them a song

1:26:40 > 1:26:44# And a dance. #

1:26:49 > 1:26:54In 1999, at age 73, Ernie Wise passed away.

1:26:56 > 1:27:01I think that Ernie was crucially important - they had that way.

1:27:01 > 1:27:03They could look each other in the eye

1:27:03 > 1:27:06and the other one would know exactly what was about to happen.

1:27:06 > 1:27:09There was nothing Eric liked better than coming off the stage one night

1:27:09 > 1:27:12and he'd be first in the dressing room,

1:27:12 > 1:27:13"Oh, God," he said,

1:27:13 > 1:27:17"Ernie was on fire tonight," you know, and he would be so happy,

1:27:17 > 1:27:21you know, it would be like, "Oh, God, wasn't that wonderful?"

1:27:21 > 1:27:25They were friends, they were partners and they were entertainers.

1:27:26 > 1:27:30Together, they had always been Eric and Ernie

1:27:30 > 1:27:33and they will always be Morecambe and Wise.

1:27:37 > 1:27:41# Bring me sunshine in your smile

1:27:43 > 1:27:48# Bring me laughter all the while

1:27:48 > 1:27:51# In this world where we live

1:27:51 > 1:27:53# There should be more happiness

1:27:53 > 1:27:56# So much joy you can give

1:27:56 > 1:27:58# To each brand-new bright tomorrow

1:27:58 > 1:28:03# Make me happy through the years

1:28:04 > 1:28:09# Never bring me any tears

1:28:09 > 1:28:11# Let your arms be as warm

1:28:11 > 1:28:14# As the sun from up above

1:28:14 > 1:28:15# Bring me fun

1:28:15 > 1:28:17# Bring me sunshine

1:28:17 > 1:28:19# Bring me love... #

1:28:19 > 1:28:20Hey!

1:28:20 > 1:28:24# Bring me sunshine in your smile

1:28:26 > 1:28:29# Bring me laughter all the while

1:28:29 > 1:28:32# In this world where we live

1:28:32 > 1:28:34# There should be more happiness

1:28:34 > 1:28:37# So much joy you can give

1:28:37 > 1:28:40# To each brand-new bright tomorrow

1:28:40 > 1:28:44# Make me happy through the years

1:28:44 > 1:28:48ERNIE: # Never bring me any tears... #

1:28:48 > 1:28:50He's snapped. He's gone now.

1:28:51 > 1:28:54His wife doesn't like him doing that, you know.

1:28:58 > 1:29:01Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd