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Eric's still bringing the sunshine
ERIC Morecambe was one of the greatest and most highly regarded comedians in British history.
He was known on stage for his energetic sketches and the way he would poke fun at any celebrity brave enough to appear alongside him.
But who was the real Eric Morecambe?
No-one would know better than his daughter Gail Stuart, who will be visiting Mawsley Women's Institute next month to give a talk about her father, called Bring Me Sunshine.
Mrs Stuart, who lives near Kimbolton, was encouraged to give her first talk about her childhood by a friend.
She said: "The talk I give is about my life with my father and to give people a flavour of what he was like.
"He was not very different at home to how he was on stage. From my point of view I am incredibly lucky because people feel like they know him. It is amazing how he could get through that television screen and people did feel he was an old friend. It makes my job incredibly easy.
"People say many comedians have a dark side but I don't think he did. He was more in touch with his mischievous, childish side.
"He was one of those people who was into everything. He would wake up one morning and decide 'photography, that would be great', and he would go and buy a camera.
"Then it would be astronomy and he'd go and buy a telescope but he would lose interest. He had a very short attention span and that is why he was so good with comedy."
Growing up with a famous comedian for a father was difficult at times, especially one with such a mischievous side, but Mrs Stuart says he was a fantastic dad.
"You don't have any say in what your father does. Part of my talk is about the fact I was less interested in Eric Morecambe and more interested in my dad.
"He was a wonderful father. He always wanted to leave you with a smile on your face and if you were a grumpy teenager, which we all were at times, he would go to great lengths to make you crack.
"He would totally embarrass me as a teenager but I suppose most fathers do that. At my wedding in his speech I was referred to as the fellow in the white dress. There was a continual stream of that sort of thing."
So is Mrs Stuart a chip off the old block?
"Other people tell me he has rubbed off on me and I am far more like my father than my mother.
"I enjoy doing these talks and I don't get nervous. They are always very spontaneous and I think it's very important to connect with people, which he did so well.
"When he would go on talk shows like Parkinson, someone would go into the green room to see the guests and would say 'we won't tell you the questions you're going to be asked but we will tell you the topics'.
"But he would say don't tell me anything, it was all spontaneous. It is a real skill, I think it is a gift.
"He once turned down a part in a Shakespeare play because not having that spontaneity I think he would have found really stressful."
Mrs Stuart may have been coerced into giving her first talk about her father but now she speaks about him confidently and with obvious affection.
She said: "I have a lot of proud moments when I think of my dad.
"It was in 1984 that he died and I was just coming into my 30s. That is the age when your relationship with your parents changes and until then I was quietly proud of him but I never told anyone who my father was.
"I would have quite serious dread at someone finding out, not because I wasn't proud but because it would take over everything.
"I remember as a small child sitting in an audience watching him on stage. I must only have been five or six and I was sitting front of house. I can remember knowing that absolutely no-one sitting near me and laughing at him on stage knew that man was my father and I liked that.
"Since he has died that element has gone and now I feel huge pride, that lump in your throat type proud."
THERE are two chances to see Bring Me Sunshine, an evening with Eric Morecambe's daughter.
The first, organised by the Chichele Society, will be on Friday, at 9.30am at the Carriage House in Higham Ferrers. For information call Doreen Holyoak on 01933314157.
The second talk will take place at The Centre at Mawsley on The Green on Friday, May 16, from 7.30pm.Tickets are available and cost 5.
For tickets call 01536 799116.
Eric Morecambe facts:
He was born John Eric Bartholomew in 1926 and took his stage name from his hometown – the seaside resort of Morecambe – where a statue of him now stands.
During the Second World War he was a Bevin Boy, conscripted to work in a coal mine.
He married his wife Joan in 1952 and they adopted three children, Gail, Gary and Steven.
He was best known for his work with fellow comedian Ernie Wise after they formed the double act Morecambe and Wise.
Many celebrities appeared on their shows, including Angela Rippon, Princess Anne, Cliff Richard, Glenda Jackson, Tom Jones, Elton John and even the then Prime Minister Harold Wilson. These celebrities were generally humiliated by the pair, who joked they were "rubbish" and pretended not to recognise them. Des O'Connor was frequently the butt of their jokes, though in actual fact the three were good friends.
Eric's favourite catchphrase was "What do you think of the show so far? – (throws voice) Rubbish!"
In 1984, he took part in a show in Tewkesbury. During his act he joked about his previous open heart surgery and how he would hate to die on stage like fellow comedian Tommy Cooper. At the end of his show, to rapturous applause, he made six curtain calls in total. Finally he said "That's your lot" and waved to the audience. As he walked into the wings he joked "thank goodness that's over," before collapsing with his third and final heart attack. He died in Cheltenham General Hospital, aged 58.
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