As comedy duos in the world of British comedy go, historically, most U.S. viewers are only familiar with the more recent juggernauts of Fry and Laurie or French and Saunders. As is particularly the case in the UK, comedy duos are not unfamiliar to U.S. audiences given the success of Martin & Lewis, Laurel & […]
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Following Monday’s sad news of the untimely passing of producer/director, John Howard Davies, it started me thinking more about some of the individuals that have been a part of all of our British comedy lives for decades that we aren’t even aware of. We all know the talents of John Inman, Mollie Sugden, Richard Briers, […]
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Seems odd to celebrate Rowan Atkinson’s birthday given the fact that he’s the one that, along with Richard Curtis, has given us the timeless gift of laughter over the years. We all know about the gifts of Blackadder, Mr. Bean and Inspector Fowler in Thin Blue Line. I remember first seeing Atkinson along with Mel […]
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Over the past several months there seems to have been a number of well-deserved programs revisiting classic British comedy series such as the celebration of the 30th anniversary of A Bit of Fry and Laurie, a look at the early days of Morcambe and Wise and the return of Ronnie Corbett in The One Ronnie. For my […]
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Unbeknownst to David Frost, he was key to laying the groundwork for one of the greatest British comedy duos of all time. After inviting both Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker to work on his new show, The Frost Report, it was a quick fill-in appearance by the duo to cover a technical issue during a 1970 […]
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Hard to believe that one half of the brilliant British comedy duo almost hung it up before he got started. Ronnie Corbett says he thought long and hard about abandoning show business before he met his long-time professional partner, Ronnie Barker. As the story goes, Corbett thought about giving up a career in show business […]
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We’ve written recently about Ronnie Corbett showcasing his culinary talents on Ronnie Corbett’s Supper Club, but now, to celebrate his 80th, Ronnie returns to his comedy roots for The One Ronnie, a sketch comedy special with James Corden, Rob Brydon and Miranda Hart set for a Christmas Day transmission on the BBC. English freelance writer […]
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British comedy has seen a number of changes over the years. Whether it takes the form of stand-up, sketch or situation comedy, it’s all comedy that draws on the past and the roots of comedy in general. One can’t help but think of the comedy troupes like Monty Python, The Goodies and The Young Ones […]
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The holidays usually signal two things. First, families getting together and, second, some great football bowl games. Ok, three things. Food. And lots of it. Whether you spend weeks getting that perfect dinner menu together from books or magazines you haven’t opened all year or you go out to eat, one thing is clear: there […]
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