Forgotten Greats

[Mark TKO]

I always found George Burns hilarious. Some of his interviews on chat shows in his latter years were comedy gold.

When he was around 96 I remember an interviewee (might have been Des O'Connor) saying " I hear you've booked out the London Palladium for your 100th birthday ?"

George just dryly took a suck on his cigar and said "Yeah, I hope the Palladium is still there"

I will now go find a clip of that....

[Beanz]

Check out Mark Lamaars interview of Bernard Manning. You can see Mannings skill and craft honed by thousands of hours of working at what he loved.

Funny how he rips into Tarbuck.

[Dark Lord Al]

Manning was my favorite comic of all time.

[Mark TKO]

Check out Mark Lamaars interview of Bernard Manning. You can see Mannings skill and craft honed by thousands of hours of working at what he loved.

Funny how he rips into Tarbuck.

Yep Manning one of my all time favorites too - alongside Les Dawson , two very different acts.

Felt a bit for Bernard towards the end when he was vilified for his act that had started in a different era but didn't quite fit in modern times with the PC brigade who were making noise.

[Beanz]

Check out Mark Lamaars interview of Bernard Manning. You can see Mannings skill and craft honed by thousands of hours of working at what he loved.

Funny how he rips into Tarbuck.

Yep Manning one of my all time favorites too - alongside Les Dawson , two very different acts.

Felt a bit for Bernard towards the end when he was vilified for his act that had started in a different era but didn't quite fit in modern times with the PC brigade who were making noise.

Les was a genius. Not just his Piano playing which when he wanted to was beautiful but also when he recited Shakespeare and poetry. There was a great play on Radio4 a few years back with Johhny Vegas playing him.


I understand some of the points the alternative comedians were making about Manning and that generation but yes a lot of it was clumsy and ill thought out without any acknowledgement of his skill and why people loved him. ( I think Al loved him because of Bernard's Jewish roots ) There was going to be a drama about him like the Hatty Jakes and Kenneth Williams ones on BBC 4 but it got shelved.

[Beanz]

Brilliant Jewish joke here that would have had my Grandad in stitches

[Mark TKO]

I'll watch that when I'm not in the office !

[Mark TKO]

One of Les' greatest moments - i remember seeing this first time. Genius