Author: Graham McCann
Publisher: HarperCollins (UK)
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 408
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Book Description
"In a glittering 50-year career that stretched from the demise of the music-hall and the rise of radio to the supremacy of television and the emergence of home video, Frankie Howerd established himself as one of Britain's greatest ever comics. But, since his death in 1992, he has often been portrayed as little more than a 'camp' icon who bequeathed us a few quaint catchphrases, some 'saucy TV shows', and a dubious collection of double entendres." "Through close examination of his public career, and original research into the secrets and insecurities of Howerd's precarious private life, Graham McCann - bestselling author of Dad's Army and Morecambe and Wise - celebrates the real Frankie Howerd; a brilliantly original, highly skilful and wonderfully funny stand-up comedian whose talent and impact were as profound as those of Bob Hope, Jack Benny or any of the other internationally recognised greats."--BOOK JACKET.
Author: William Hall
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0008219419
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 185
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Book Description
A master of the innuendo and the raised eyebrow, Frankie Howerd – inimitable star of the classic ‘Carry On’ films – became a cult hero.
Author: Richard Pilbrow
Publisher: Plasa Media
ISBN: 9780983479604
Category : Businessmen
Languages : en
Pages : 467
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Book Description
Author: Graham McCann
Publisher: Fourth Estate
ISBN: 9781857029116
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 416
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Book Description
Graham McCann has 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. 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. This is the definitive biography of one of the most-loved double acts ever, as well as a history of their times.
Author: Caroline Lawrence
Publisher: Orion Children's Books
ISBN: 1444003534
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 155
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Book Description
It is AD 79 and Mount Vesuvius has erupted, destroying Pompeii. Among the thousands of people huddled in refugee camps along the bay of Naples are Flavia Gemina and her friends, Jonathan the Jewish boy, Nubia the African slave-girl, and Lupus the mute beggar boy. When the friends discover that children are being kidnapped from the camps, they start to investigate and soon solve the mystery of the pirates of Pompeii. A terrifically exciting and dramatic story packed with superb historical detail.
Author: Terry Johnson
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350032263
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 114
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Book Description
In spite of my desperation I have been patient, in spite of my bewilderment I have been understanding, in spite of my feeling of utter abandonment ... I've been hanging on in there. Trying to help you come through this terrible thing. While Eleanor wants a child, her willing partner, Richard, is too busy running the Dead Funny Society. But in a week when British comedy heroes Frankie Howard and Benny Hill both kick the bucket, the society gather for a celebration, which promises to be full of hilarity and laughter – well, for everybody except the disgruntled Eleanor anyhow. Terry Johnson's hilarious comedy of mortality and marriage was premiered at the Hampstead Theatre in January 1994. This edition was published for the West End revival in October 2016 at the Vaudeville Theatre, London.
Author: Ronald Harwood
Publisher: Little Brown
ISBN:
Category : Theater
Languages : en
Pages : 328
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Book Description
Presents the history and development of the world's theaters from ancient times to the present.
Author: Richard Anthony Baker
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1783408839
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 378
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Book Description
“An illustrated history of good old-fashioned entertainment from names like Tessie O’Shea, George Formby, and the early days of Bruce Forsyth.” —Yours As one of the richest sources of diversion for the people of Britain between the end of the First World War and the 1960s, the variety theater emerged from the embers of music hall, a vulgar and rambunctious entertainment that had held the working classes in thrall since the 1840s. Music hall bosses decided they would do better business if a man going to theaters on his own could take his wife and children with him, knowing they would see or hear nothing that would scandalize them. So variety, a gentler, less red-blooded entertainment was gradually established. At the top of the profession were Gracie Fields, a peerless singer and comedienne, and Max Miller, a comic who was renowned for being risqué, but who, in fact, never cracked a dirty joke. They were supported by acts that matched the word variety: ventriloquists, drag artists, animal acts, acrobats, jugglers, magicians and many more. But the variety theater was constantly under threat, first from revue, then radio, the cinema, girlie shows, the birth of rock ’n’ roll and finally television. By the end of the 1950s, the variety business seemed to have given up, but the recent and extraordinary popularity of talent shows on television has proved the public appetite is still there. Variety could be about to start all over again. “A priceless record of the people who entertained several generations between the wars and, for a brief time, after WWII . . . thoroughly entertaining.” —Books Monthly
Author: David Walliams
Publisher: Penguin Global
ISBN: 9780241957721
Category : Comedians
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
David Walliams' autobiography will be a roller-coaster ride of emotions. It will surprise and entertain, and allow fans and newcomers the privilege of entering his uniquely brilliant mind.
Author: Oliver Double
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1408148870
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 273
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Book Description
How could Max Miller reduce an audience to helpless laughter just by talking about a fan dancer and her fan? Why do club audiences howl with glee at Bernard Manning's violent jokes about Pakistanis? What made audiences break out into fights at Alexei Sayle's early gigs? How did stand-up comedy begin and why has it exploded into such a huge industry now encompassing a criss-crossing network of clubs, concerts, television and radio? And what happens to a comedian when he or she steps out onto a stage and begins performing in front of an audience? Stand-Up! is the first book to both analyse the background of stand-up and take us inside the world of being a solo comedian. Oliver Double writes a lively history of the traditions of British stand-up comedy - from its roots in music hall and variety to today's club and alternative comedy scene - and also a serious exploration of what it is like to be a comedian on-stage in front of a sometimes adoring and sometimes hostile audience. He looks critically at the work of such stand-up stars as Frankie Howerd, Les Dawson, Billy Connolly, Victoria Wood, Ben Elton and Eddie Izzard. And he looks at himself as a performer.
