HERE AND NOW.
Before your very eyes.
Anybody old enough to remember the comedian Arthur Askey (above) will
remember that he usually followed the words: "Here and now..."
with..."before your very eyes." It was one of his catch
phrases. All comics had them in those days.
It was all some comics
did have.
Throughout WW2 a radio comedy show called ITMA (It's That
Man Again), which was little more than a succession of catchphrases,
was arguably the most popular programme on air. It was fronted by
Tommy Handley - an entertainer said to be quick-witted in private
life - who appeared as straight man to a succession of catchphrase
deliverers.
Charlady Mrs. Mopp: "Can I do you now, sir?"
Colonel Chinstrap (a drinker): "I don't mind if I do." A
German spy: "This is Funf speaking." Deepend Dan the Diver:
"Don't forget the diver, sir, don't forget the diver..."
and so on.
Like Kenneth Horne (in the later, similar, Around The
Horne), old Tommy was an affable conduit for the comedic talent of
others.
Christ knows why we laughed, but we did.
Television
was still around the corner, so we switched on the wireless and, over
the years, looked to the likes of Much Binding In The Marsh, Ray's A
Laugh, The Goon Show, Take It From Here, Hancock's Half Hour and many
others too dire to mention, to keep us amused.
Stand-Up comedians
became known by their catchphrases, too. Sandy Powell (only picture I could find) always opened
his act with Can You Hear Me, Mother? It was said to originate from
his somewhat deaf mother's pushy showbiz intervention in his early
career. Well...maybe...It certainly stood him in good stead for over
fifty years.
Other comics came and went with lines like: (1)"I
won't take me coat off, I'm not stopping."(2) "Play the
music! Open the cage!"(3) "No, stop muckin' about."(4)
"What do you think of it so far? Rubbish!"(5) "It's
the way I tell 'em."(6) "Shut that door!"(7) "Not
like that - like that!"(8) "Titter ye not."(9) "She
knows, y'know" and (10) "And there's more..."
All but the
last of those are dead and gone and I can only say "How tickled
I am" that Ken Dodd is still with us. Now there's a man who,
without recourse to profanity, can keep a packed house in stitches
for the entire time he's on - and that can be a very long time. With
the possible exception of Peter Kay, few modern comedians can manage
it.
Most of the moderns resort to effin' and blindin' to get a laugh
and, presumably, to prove they are grown up. It makes me sad, but
perhaps that's just personal pomposity. It's another world now, ain't
it.
I still enjoy a laugh - be a sad world if I didn't - but at my
age people like Doddy (below) and the late, great Jimmy James (see You Tube)
will forever be what comedy is all about.
Can't remember whose were all those
catchphrases? They were:
1. Ken Platt. 2. Arthur English.
3.Kenneth Williams.
4. Morecombe and Wise.
5. Frank Carson.
6. Larry Grayson.
7. Tommy Cooper.
8. Frankie Howerd.
9. Hylda Baker and
10. Jimmy Cricket.
1. Ken Platt. 2. Arthur English.
3.Kenneth Williams.
4. Morecombe and Wise.
5. Frank Carson.
6. Larry Grayson.
7. Tommy Cooper.
8. Frankie Howerd.
9. Hylda Baker and
10. Jimmy Cricket.
Keep smiling.
