Ernie Wise
|
Ernie Wise OBE |
|
|---|---|
| Born |
Ernest Wiseman 27 November 1925 Bramley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 21 March 1999 (aged 73) Wexham, Buckinghamshire, England |
| Cause of death | Heart failure |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Comedian, actor, entertainer |
| Years active | 1941–1995 |
| Employer | BBC (later Thames Television) |
| Spouse(s) |
Doreen Blythe (m. 1953–99) (his death) |
Ernest Wiseman, OBE (27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known by his stage name Ernie Wise, was an English comedian, best known as one half of the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise, who became a national institution on British television, especially for their Christmas specials.
Ernest Wiseman, born in Bramley (a district of Leeds) to Harry and Connie Wiseman (née Wright) who married in St Thomas Stanningley, was the eldest of five children, and changed his name (as did his future partner) to go into show business. He attended first Thorpe Infant and Junior School, and then East Ardsley Boys' School, but entered the entertainment industry in 1933, appearing as an actor and singer in music hall. His father, Harry, a railway lamp man, was also a semi-professional singer, and they appeared together under the name "Bert Carson and his Little Wonder". He started making solo appearances—singing, dancing, and telling jokes—in 1936, and, in autumn of 1938 he came to the attention of Bryan Michie, a leading juvenile talent spotter, who recommended him to the impresario Jack Hylton.
In 1940, the year he first met Eric Morecambe, then known as Eric Bartholomew, he appeared with British comedian Arthur Askey in his Band Waggon radio show, billed as Britain's Mickey Rooney. Gradually, Wise and Morecambe formed a close friendship, and, in 1941, they began their comedy double act, which was to last until Morecambe's death in 1984. They made their début together as "Bartholomew and Wise", on 28 August 1941 at the Liverpool Empire. A change of name followed in the autumn: after agreeing that the combination of their respective places of birth—Morecambe and Leeds—would make the act sound too much like a cheap day return, they settled on 'Morecambe and Wise'. During World War II, Morecambe was a Bevin Boy, working down a coal mine at Accrington and Wise served in the Merchant Navy, from the end of 1943.
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