Frank Carson
| Frank Carson | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Hugh Francis Carson |
| Born |
6 November 1926 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Died | 22 February 2012 (aged 85) Blackpool, Lancashire, England, UK |
| Medium | Television |
| Genres | comedy |
| Notable works and roles | The Comedians |
Hugh Francis "Frank" Carson KSG (6 November 1926 – 22 February 2012) was an Irish comedian and actor, best known on television in series such as The Comedians and Tiswas. He was a member of the entertainment charity the Grand Order of Water Rats.
Carson was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he attended St Patrick's Elementary School and worked as an electrician, and later plasterer, in the building trade. Carson's family were of Italian descent, with his grandmother hailing from Sicily. He grew up in what was then the "Little Italy" area of Belfast, and was once a choirboy at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic church on Donegall Street.
Carson spent three years in the British army's Parachute Regiment, mainly in the Middle East in the late 1940s. During his service he shot dead an armed Zionist terrorist. He himself was shot in the leg and on another occasion narrowly escaped death when a bomb went off outside a cinema with the seven RAF men he was with were all killed. He also assisted with the clear up after the King David Hotel bombing in Jerusalem and made 40 parachute descents.
Carson became a popular performer on Irish television, before moving to England to work as a stand-up club comedian. He had success on the long-running television music-hall revival show, The Good Old Days. He then went on to win the peak-viewing national favourite talent show Opportunity Knocks, presented by Hughie Green, three times. He was one of the more prominent acts on The Comedians alongside the likes of Charlie Williams, Bernard Manning, Mike Reid and Jim Bowen. The show consisted of 30 minutes of non-stop stand-up comedy from several comedians in each show, became a ratings hit in the United Kingdom and helped establish Carson's performing career.
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