Eric, Ernie and US trip that didn’t bring them sunshine
POSING in front of the iconic New York skyline in 1963, the figure on the left could pass for a typical American in his bow tie, checkered coat and trilby hat. The figure on the right? Well, that’s unmistakably Eric Morecambe.
This picture is one of several never-beforeseen images showing Morecambe and Ernie Wise during their frequent trips to try to make it big in America in the Sixties.
Despite going on to become the undisputed kings of light entertainment in Britain, with half the country tuning in to enjoy their Christmas specials, the pair never broke into the notoriously difficult comedy circuit in the States.
But it wasn’t for want of trying, as this picture taken in front of the Manhattan skyscrapers and the other images released yesterday prove.
They are also seen, along with a ventriloquist’s doll, appearing on the Ed Sullivan show in 1967, the programme on which the likes of The Beatles first performed to American audiences.
The duo turned up on the long-running variety show several times in the 1960s because it often helped British acts to launch their career Stateside. In 1968 they returned to perform a sketch with actress Michele Lee, who went on to star in Dallas spin-off Knots Landing.
The pictures are part of a documentary hosted by Jonathan Ross on the Gold channel on Thursday, December 27, which features more than an hour of footage that has never been seen in Britain.
Ross said: ‘As a fan of both Morecambe and Wise and vintage American TV, it’s been a real joy to discover all this footage of their performances in the States in the Sixties.
‘I’m looking forward to telling the story for Gold’s viewers of how Eric and Ernie’s work in America became a tantalising foretaste of their very best shows here in Britain.’
Channel director Gerald Casey said: ‘The discovery of this footage amounts to a treasure chest of essential new material for any comedy fan. We hope Gold viewers will be as enthralled by the on-stage routines and offstage revelations in these shows as we have been.’
Also this Christmas, the BBC will broadcast two Morecambe And Wise episodes not seen since they were first shown in 1968.
The tapes were wiped after broadcast but copies were found in a derelict cinema in Sierra Leone by archive preservation expert Philip Morris.
The 1968 series was Eric and Ernie’s first for the BBC after it poached them from ITV. Back then money-saving regulations meant that recordings would be wiped so the tape reels could be used for new recordings. But copies of the shows were sent to overseas broadcasters.
The two recovered episodes will be broadcast on BBC2 from 7.50pm on Boxing Day.
‘A treasure chest of new material’