Funnyman was larger than life
Eddie Large Comedian BORN JUNE 25, 1941 - DIED APRIL 2, 2020, AGED 78
AS THE gregarious half of double act Little and Large, Eddie Large provided the belly laughs as “straight man” Syd Little simply looked on perplexed. Together, they ruled the primetime airwaves back in the 1980s, commanding audiences of 15 million at their peak for their slapstick performances.
Large, famed for his impressions of cartoon character Deputy Dawg, would regularly interrupt his frustrated partner as he attempted to play a song on the guitar.
The humour may have been formulaic but it was extremely successful. The physical comedy of Large’s mop of curls and tubby figure alongside Little’s slim, bespectacled frame only added to the pantomime effect.
Their big break came on talent show Opportunity Knocks in 1971 and their long-running BBC Saturday show was only dropped in 1991 after ratings crashed to eight million – an enviable number by today’s standards.
Large was born Edward Hugh McGinnis in Glasgow. His father, Teddy, was a petty officer in the
Royal Navy during the Second World War. The family moved to Manchester when Large was nine where he first attended Claremont Road Primary School followed by grammar school.
He came to regard the city as his home and was a lifelong Manchester City fan.
While he had a talent for football, he was destined to spend his career as an electrician until a chance encounter with Little in 1963 at aWythenshawe pub.
At that time, Little played electric guitar in a one-man show. Large began heckling him while on stage and was challenged to come up to do better. He did and the pair’s subsequent ditty won them rapturous applause and a star pairing was born.
After launching their careers on Opportunity Knocks, they
headlined their own primetime slot The Little & Large Show and the impressionist sketch programme Who Do You Do? on ITV.
After their humour began to fall flat in the early 1990s, Large moved to Bristol. He underwent life-saving heart transplant surgery in 2003 but continued to have underlying health problems. In
2010, he revealed that he and his former buddy had not seen one another for years, as he lived in Bristol while Little resided in Blackpool.
Large’s family confirmed he had died from coronavirus after being treated for heart failure in hospital.
He is survived by his second wife Patsy, a son and two daughters.
HONOURED: Joe Ashton
SMASH HITS: Bill Martin