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by Graham McCann (Author)
The dual biography of the great British comedy double-act and the rise and fall of mass audience television by the respected biographer of Cary Grant .
Following the success of Cary Grant - A Class Apart, Graham McCann has now created an intricate portrait of Eric Morcambe and Ernie Wise, possibly the most famous Bristish comedy double-act of all time. This book charts the progress of the duo from a conventional working class music hall act to a mass-audience television team to a national institution. From northern working men's clubs at the beginning of their career to the 1977 Christmas special that had an audience of 28 million, Morecambe and Wise were a double act continually changing the dynamics of their relationship to reflect their influences and their times. Their shows were like nostalgic reflections on a century of popular entertainment, an entertainment that was inclusive to a wide audience and paid homage to the past.
McCann's study is also an investigation in the background of mass audience entertainment from which Morecambe and Wise rose. Morecambe & Wise is the definitive biography of one of the most-loved double acts as well as a history of their times.
Back Jacket
Men and women, young and old, lowbrows and highbrows - everybody used to watch The Morecambe & Wise Show. When the masses settled down to watch Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, the masses were, for once, massively entertained.
Who cannot recall the sight of a high-kicking Angela Rippon, or of an agitated André Previn (Mr Preview according to Eric Morecambe) or of Glenda Jackson as Cleopatra wrestling with the words of Ernie Wise's immortal scripts ('All men are fools, and what makes them so is having beauty like what I have got!'). Eric and Ernie always treated their special guests like members of the audience and the members of the audience like special guests.
This is not just a biography of Britain's best-loved double-act, it is also the biography of one of British television's best-loved shows. Morecambe and Wise worked together for more than forty years, honing skills drawn from the music-hall, Variety, radio, movies and television and then combining them to produce an award-winning show that became the jewel in the crown of BBC's light entertainment output.
Graham McCann's meticulous biography includes previously unpublished material from the BBC archives, as well as innumerable insights gleaned from interviews with many of the people who knew and worked with Morecambe and Wise. Amusing, judicious and impeccably researched, this much-needed book extends and enhances our understanding of, and admiration for, two great entertainers who ended up as national treasures.
Author Biography
Graham McCann is a lecturer in Social and Political Theory at Kings College, Cambridge. His previous books include: Marilyn Monroe: The Body in the Library (1988); Woody Allen: New Yorker (1990); Rebel Males: Clift, Brando & Dean, and a recent study of Theodore Adorno for Blackwells.
