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The Comedians (1971 TV series)

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The Comedians
GenreComedy
Directed byWalter Butler
Dave Warwick
StarringRuss Abbot
Don Adams
Lennie Bennett
Stan Boardman
Jim Bowen
Jimmy Bright
Duggie Brown
Mike Burton
Dave Butler
Brian Carroll
Frank Carson
Johnnie Casson
Eddie Colinton
Mike Coyne
Colin Crompton
Bob Curtiss
Pauline Daniels
Charlie Daze
Les Dennis
Vince Earl
Steve Faye
Ray Fell
Eddie Flanagan
Stu Francis
Mike Goddard
Ken Goodwin
Jackie Hamilton
Jerry Harris
Jimmy Jones
Mike Kelly
George King
Bobby Knutt
Bernard Manning
Jimmy Marshall
Mike McCabe
Paul Melba
Mick Miller
Pat Mooney
Hal Nolan
Tom O'Connor
Tom Pepper
Bryn Phillips
Don Reid
Mike Reid
Al Robbins
George Roper
Harry Scott
Paul Shane
Sammy Thomas
Johnny Wager
Roy Walker
Jos White
Charlie Williams
Lee Wilson
Lenny Windsor
ComposerDerek Hilton
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of series11
No. of episodes81[1]
Production
ProducersIan Hamilton
Johnnie Hamp
Production locationsGranada Studios, Manchester
EditorsD .L. Hayes
Ron Swayne
Running time30 minutes
(including adverts)
Production companyGranada Television
Original release
NetworkITV
Release12 June 1971 (1971-06-12) –
28 December 1993 (1993-12-28)

The Comedians is a British television show of the 1970s (later reprised in the mid-1980s and early 1990s) produced by Johnnie Hamp of Granada Television. The show gave TV exposure to nightclub and working men's club comedians of the era, including Russ Abbot, Jim Bowen and Bernard Manning, many of whom went on to enjoy mainstream success in the 1980s. Filmed before a live audience in Manchester, comics each performed 20-minute sets, which were then edited together into half-hour shows featuring up to thirteen stand-up comics.

Working men's clubs were numerous in Britain, especially in the North of England and have been a useful training ground for artists, especially comedians. Most of these clubs are affiliated to the CIU (Working Men's Club and Institute Union) founded in 1862 by the Rev. Henry Solly. There are also political clubs, as well as Servicemen's Clubs affiliated to the Royal British Legion.

The Comedians began as an experiment for Granada TV and was popular during the earlier series, with an LP recording of the show reaching the best-seller charts, and several sell-out national tours following, including a season at the London Palladium. The programme won the Critics' Circle Award.

The comedy frequently took the form of anecdotes or jokes and often involved racist or sexist stereotypes. Like other British comedy successes of the day, notably, Love Thy Neighbour, this kind of entertainment was acceptable on British television during this period but would not be so today. Viewing the series in retrospect it stands as a major social document of the times.

Cast

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Comedians appearing on the show included Russ Abbot (initially as Russ Roberts, later as Russ Abbott), Lennie Bennett, Stan Boardman, Jim Bowen, Jimmy Bright, Duggie Brown, Mike Burton, Dave Butler, Brian Carroll, Frank Carson, Johnnie Casson, Eddie Colinton, Mike Coyne, Colin Crompton, Bob Curtiss, Pauline Daniels, Charlie Daze, Les Dennis, Vince Earl, Steve Faye, Ray Fell, Eddie Flanagan, Stu Francis, Mike Goddard (known as Mike Goodwin in the early years of the show), Ken Goodwin, Jackie Hamilton, Jerry Harris, Jimmy Jones, Mike Kelly, George King, Bobby Knutt, Bernard Manning, Jimmy Marshall, Mike McCabe, Paul Melba, Mick Miller, Pat Mooney, Hal Nolan, Tom O'Connor, Tom Pepper, Bryn Phillips, Al Robbins, Don Reid, Mike Reid, George Roper, Harry Scott, Paul Shane, Pat Tansey, Sammy Thomas, Johnny Wager, Roy Walker, Jos White, Charlie Williams, Lee Wilson and Lenny Windsor.[2][3]

Also featured on the series were Shep's Banjo Boys, a seven-piece band comprising (for the first five series) Charlie Bentley (tenor banjo), John Drury (sousaphone), Andy Holdorf (trombone), John Orchard (piano), John Rollings (drums), Graham Shepherd (banjo) and Howard Shepherd (lead banjo). In 1973, the line-up was Mike Dexter (banjo), Tony "Tosh" Kennedy (sousaphone), Ged Martin (drums), Tony Pritchard (trombone), Graham Shepherd (banjo) and Howard "Shep" Shepherd (lead banjo).[3]

DVD releases

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The first seven series including a DVD set (containing the first seven series broadcast 1971–74) have been released on DVD by Network.

Transmissions

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Series Start date End date Episodes
1 12 June 1971[1] 24 July 1971[1] 7[1]
2 18 September 1971[1] 30 October 1971[1] 7[1]
3 18 February 1972[1] 1 April 1972[1] 7[1]
4 14 July 1972[1] 2 September 1972[1] 7[1]
5 17 November 1972[1] 29 December 1972[1] 7[1]
6 7 April 1973[1] 2 June 1973[1] 8[1]
7 26 January 1974[1] 16 March 1974[1] 7[1]
8 22 July 1979[1] 5 August 1979[1] 13[1]
23 November 1979[1] 15 February 1980[1]
9 2 June 1984[1] 16 June 1984[1] 3[1]
10 1 June 1985[1] 13 July 1985[1] 7[1]
11 9 July 1992[1] 23 July 1992[1] 5[1]

Specials

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Date Entitle
24 December 1971[1] The Comedians' Christmas Party[1]
22 December 1973[1] Christmas Comedians' Music Hall[1]
28 December 1993[1] The Comedians' Christmas Cracker[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap "BBC - Comedy Guide - Little And Large". Archived from the original on 13 December 2004. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  2. ^ Gillespie, James. "Return of the Comedians". Daily Express. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  3. ^ a b Chris Perry (10 November 2014). The Kaleidoscope British Christmas Television Guide 1937–2013. Lulu.com. pp. 150–. ISBN 978-1-900203-60-9.
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