Fear of losing fame caused Eric’s heart attacks says widow
ERIC Morecambe had multiple heart attacks because of the stress and worry of his career ending, his widow has revealed.
The legendary comedian died in 1984 after his third attack in 16 years, cutting short one of the greatest double acts of all time.
In their Morecambe & Wise heyday, Eric and Ernie Wise drew regular audiences of 20 million. But Eric was always anxious that their next show would be their last.
His wife of 31 years, Joan Bartholomew, 91, said: “It’s no wonder Eric had a heart attack. He was working so hard and taking so few breaks.
“He always worried the next show would be the last, always worried they wouldn’t survive.”
At their peak in 1977, more than 21 million tuned in to watch the Morecambe & Wise Christmas Special.
Two missing episodes of their BBC show, presumed lost for ever, were found recently in a derelict cinema in Sierra Leone, West Africa, and will be shown on BBC Two for the first time since the 1960s.
Meanwhile, two programmes featuring rare footage of the pair appearing on America’s The Ed Sullivan Show will be presented by Jonathan Ross on comedy channel Gold.
Between 1963 and 1968, Eric and Ernie made regular trips to New York to appear on Sullivan’s show – America’s biggest variety programme. Their US sketches drew audiences of 50 or 60 million, but they turned their back on stratospheric success stateside to stay loyal to UK audiences.
Joan said: “Ed Sullivan was over here looking for British talent, saw them at the London Palladium and offered them a show in America.
“Eric never liked to be out of the country for too long, but they went straight out of pantomime in Liverpool to filming in the US. Ed Sullivan was charming and we stayed in his private home for a few days. It was all very glamorous.”
After Eric’s first heart attack in 1968 at 42, while driving back to his hotel near Leeds after a show, they decided to curtail their US dream. Joan tells the latest issue of Radio Times, on sale today: “Ernie loved America but they knew that to be a really big hit, you need to live