John Comer

John Comer
John Comer as Sid with Jane Freeman as Ivy in Last of the Summer Wine
Born	1 March 1924 Stretford, Lancashire, England
Died	11 February 1984 (aged 59) Blackpool, Lancashire, England
Occupation	actor
Years active	1940s - 1984

John Comer (1 March 1924 – 11 February 1984) was a British comedic actor. He starred in the television series I Didn't Know You Cared, Last of the Summer Wine and All Our Saturdays.

Born and brought up in Stretford, Lancashire, Comer gained an engineering apprenticeship at Metropolitan-Vickers, Trafford Park.

Comer began his career performing a comedy routine around local social clubs and pubs in the 1930s and 1940s. In 1952, with his younger brother Tony, he performed in a children's theatre production for local schools in Stretford. The siblings then formed a double act named the Comer Brothers. In 1957 the brothers began a regular slot at the Manchester Apollo, performing a variety act entitled Comer's Cottage.

In 1958 the Comer Brothers participated in an ITV talent show called Bid for Fame and began working for Butlin's. In 1959 they won first prize in the Butlin's National Talent Contest, winning £1,000 and a film contract with the Boulting Brothers.

In 1959 the Boulting Brothers cast John and Tony Comer in the film I'm All Right Jack, in which they starred alongside Peter Sellers and Richard Attenborough as trade union shop stewards. Their next film roles were in 1961, when they featured alongside Rita Tushingham in A Taste of Honey. However shortly afterwards Tony decided to leave showbusiness and returned to full-time work at Metropolitan-Vickers, while John decided to continue pursuing his film career. He appeared in the Boulting Brothers' 1967 film The Family Way as a father-of-the-bride to Hayley Mills's character, whose father John Mills portrayed her father-in-law.