Jimmy Clitheroe
| James Robinson Clitheroe | |
|---|---|
Jimmy Clitheroe
|
|
| Born |
24 December 1921 Clitheroe, Lancashire, England |
| Died | 6 June 1973 (aged 51) Blackpool, Lancashire, England |
| Cause of death | Accidental overdose of sleeping tablets |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Comedian |
James Robinson Clitheroe (24 December 1921 – 6 June 1973), popularly known as Jimmy Clitheroe, was an English comic entertainer. He is best remembered for his BBC Radio programme, The Clitheroe Kid (1956-72), a version of which was produced for television on the ITV network under the title Just Jimmy (1964-68).
He was born in Clitheroe, Lancashire, England, to weavers Emma Pye and James Robert Clitheroe, who had married in 1918. He was named after his mother's late brother, James Robinson Pye, who had been born in Clitheroe in 1894 and was killed in action in the First World War. Brought up in the village of Blacko, near Nelson, Jimmy Clitheroe started out on the stage, touring the variety theatres in Yorkshire and Lancashire from 1937, but moved into films from 1940 (thanks to a chance meeting with top of the bill stars Lucan & McShane), into pantomime from 1942, into radio from 1954 (initially on the BBC's regional Home Service North, and subsequently on the nationwide Light Programme), and finally onto television (with ITV, produced by ABC Television in their Manchester studios) from 1963. His long-running radio programme on the BBC, The Clitheroe Kid, which aired from 1956 to 1972, is still occasionally repeated on BBC Radio 4 Extra. His catchphrase was "Don't some mothers 'ave 'em!"
He never married. He lived, latterly in Blackpool, with his widowed mother, to whom he was very close. He never grew any taller than 4 feet 3 inches, and until later life could easily pass for an 11-year-old boy, the character he played on stage, in his early films, and on radio in The Clitheroe Kid. He died aged 51 in 1973 from an accidental overdose of sleeping pills, on the day of his mother's funeral. His funeral was held at Carleton Crematorium, Blackpool, where for many years he was commemorated by a plaque attached to memorial tree Number 3.
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