James Casey (variety artist)
| James Casey | |
|---|---|
| Born |
James Casey 16 August 1922 , County Durham, England |
| Died | 23 April 2011 (aged 88) , County Durham, England |
| Occupation | stage comedian, BBC radio scriptwriter and producer |
| Spouse(s) | Joan, son David Casey |
James Casey (16 August 1922 – 23 April 2011) was at various times during his long career a Variety comedian on the English music-halls, a scriptwriter for BBC Radio's variety shows and situation comedies, and a senior BBC Radio Light Entertainment producer.
He was the son of the English Variety comedian Jimmy James, and cousin of comedian Eli Woods.
In the 1940s, he and Eli Woods appeared in his father's variety act, known as Jimmy James and Co, and, after retiring from the BBC, in the 1980s he resurrected the act and toured the surviving variety theatres performing it with Woods for the following twenty five years.
His most notable discoveries during his career at BBC Radio in Manchester, between 1954 and 1982, were the radio comedian Jimmy Clitheroe, the comedian Les Dawson, the comedian Ken Dodd, and the comedy double-act known professionally as Hinge and Bracket, each of whom he launched into a career in radio light entertainment with their own BBC series.
His most successful series for BBC Radio was creating, producing and co-writing The Clitheroe Kid, starring the diminutive comic Jimmy Clitheroe, which ran continuously for sixteen years on the BBC Light Programme and BBC Radio 2, running from 1957 to 1972 inclusive, based on a chance meeting with Jimmy Clitheroe on a Variety bill in 1952.
During the Second World War he served as an officer in the Durham Light Infantry, landing on the Normandy beaches on D-Day in 1944.
James Casey, born in 1922 at Stockton-on-Tees in England, was the son of the variety comedian Jimmy James. While his two children were still young, he moved to London; but within a couple of years his wife's favourite aunt was taken seriously ill, and the family moved to Liverpool to take care of her. It was here Casey began writing comedy for the BBC's Light Entertainment Department, submitting scripts to BBC Radio's North Region under the pen name Cass James (which was, at that time, his usual stage name). These were such a success that he would spend the next 26 years commuting between Crosby on Merseyside and BBC Broadcasting House in Manchester.
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