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eric morecambe

The late, great Paul Melba was one of the finest 150 150 mhamer

The late, great Paul Melba was one of the finest

Sad to hear of the passing of one of showbiz finest comedians and impressionist the great Paul Melba, known for his classy mimicking of the great stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood, alongside his acclaimed James Mason voice, amongst others! R.I.P.

Jimmy Cricket described Paul Melba, who has died aged 84, as one of the finest comedians and impressionists in showbusiness.

Paul Melba, whose real name was Francis ‘Frank’ Staunton, passed away on 11 August from heart failure.

The dad-of-three grew up in Huyton on Merseyside and went on to enjoy a  successful career on stage and television.

It included him performing at the Royal Variety Performance and he became friends with some famous celebrities.

He was known for voice impressions of stars such as James Mason, John Wayne, Eric Morecambe, Ken Dodd and Billy Connolly.

Paul also did memorable singing impressions of the likes of Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jnr among many others.

Northern Irish entertainer Jimmy said on social media: “Sad to hear of the passing of one of showbiz’s finest comedians and impressionists the great Paul Melba.

‘Great entertainer and gentlemen‘

“Known for his classy mimicking of the great stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood, alongside his acclaimed James Mason voice, amongst others! R.I.P.”

Jimmy’s post prompted tributes from others.

They included:

:: Met him once lovely talented man Jimmy will be greatly missed!

:: A great entertainer and gentlemen, RIP

:: Thank you, he will be sorely missed #PaulMelba x
Jimmy found out there was a fund-raising appeal in the wake of Paul’s death.
He said: “We’re living in difficult times folks, but if you can help financially, by donating a little for this worthy cause! Paul’s Melba’s Funeral Expenses.”

Paul’s daughter, Kate Richards, 50, organised the fundraiser, saying: “I am so sad to say that my Father passed away peacefully at his home in Spain on the 10th of August.

“Unfortunately his financial circumstances were not great and he left no will.

‘Dad would have been so overwhelmed’

“I am sorry to say that we are struggling to find the money to cremate my Father and need to raise the funds to do this due to our own personal financial circumstances.

“Anything you can donate would help towards easing the financial responsibility which has been placed solely with me.

“Many thanks for anything you can spare.

The target was £3,000 and Kate posted again several days later.

She said: “Thank you so much for all of your help, Dad would have been so overwhelmed.

“We have reached the goal with further donations from The Royal Variety Charity & The Water Rats charity.”

Also read: Lord Alton’s ‘wonderful tribute’ to John Hume

From the archives: Norman Wisdom and Ernie Wise 150 150 mhamer

From the archives: Norman Wisdom and Ernie Wise

Jimmy Cricket, Ernie Wise and Norman WisdomHere’s a golden memory from the archives – when our very own Jimmy Cricket teamed up with two of his comedy heroes, Norman Wisdom and Ernie Wise.

The three comedians are each donning a smart suit of their own choice from a range of styles to model them.

It was part of a promotional build-up to the International Mens & Boys Wear Exhibition (Imbex), which took place at the Savoy hotel in London.

The date the photograph was taken was 16 February 1989.

This newspaper article the following day carried the headline of Comics put fun into male fashion.

And the story began: “Comedians got all dressed up to kill yesterday”.

Jimmy recalls: “This was fun when I got the chance to meet two of my comedy heroes!

Sir Norman died in October 2010 in a nursing home on the Isle of Man aged 95.

Cult figure in Albania

The London-born star was famous for his slapstick film roles in the 1950s and 1960s, famously playing Norman Pitkin against the frustrated boss Mr Grimsdale.

He was a cult figure in Albania, where his were the only films from the West allowed in the country.

Ernie was one half of the Britain’s most popular comedy duo with Eric Morecambe, Morecambe and Wise.

He died in March 1999 at the age of 73.

Also read: Golden Memories – performing in front of Princess Diana

LEP column: Here’s to the king of comedy writers 150 150 mhamer

LEP column: Here’s to the king of comedy writers

Jimmy Cricket's Lancashire Evening Post columnJimmy Cricket remembers legendary comedy writer and close friend, the late Eddie Braben, in one of his recent newspaper columns.

Edwin ‘Eddie’ Charles Braben was best known for providing material for Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise. He also worked for David Frost, Ronnie Corbett and Ken Dodd.

He was credited with changing the profile of Morecambe and Wise, helping to turn them into one of the most popular and enduring comedy acts in the history of British entertainment.

Belfast-born entertainer Jimmy, who has lived in Rochdale for many years, recalls in the Lancashire Post how Eddie started out as a market trader, selling fruit and veg from a stall in Liverpool’s St John precinct. In his spare time, he made up jokes.

Jimmy says how nervous he was when he first met Eddie, adding: “That was the start of a beautiful friendship that spanned two TV series, five radio series and even a book of letters from my Mammy.”

Northern Irish comedian Jimmy developed a lasting friendship with Eddie who sadly died aged 82 in May 2013. Below is a newspaper article in which Jimmy paid tribute to his old pal at the time.

Jimmy Cricket pays tribute to Eddie Braben in the Rochdale Observer

LEP readers, come closer to hear about the wellies! 150 150 mhamer

LEP readers, come closer to hear about the wellies!
wellJimmy Cricket's column in the Lancashire Evening Post
Jimmy Cricket has told readers of his newspaper column how he came to end up with his trademark wellingtons – and why they were recently the subject of a photo shoot.

The Northern Irish entertainer is famous for wearing the green wellies – marked with the letters R and L – on the wrong feet during his acts.

Jimmy, 70, said in the Lancashire Evening Post (LEP) that he first donned them in a Manchester club in an effort to “get a laugh on my entrance by being visually funny… to help me win over some of the more hostile audiences”.

He added that an old pair of his boots were currently on display at a footwear exhibition in Nottingham.

Jimmy also told of the time a pair of concrete wellingtons presented to him by fellow funnyman Ken Dodd were stolen from his garden in Rochdale (they still haven’t been found).

And he also related the story of how recently they were the focus of a photo shoot by Andy Hollingworth,  a photographer who specialises in comedy.

Andy wanted to capture an image of Jimmy’s wellies for an exciting project, which involves him photographing iconic artefacts linked to famous comedians – either from mainstream or alternative comedy.

He has already photographed Eric Morecambe’s glasses, Norman Wisdom’s cap, Mr Bean’s teddy, Alan Carr’s glasses and he even flew over to Los Angeles to meet Harpo Marx’s family, who gave him permission to photograph his famous harp.

Famous wellingtons get their own photo shoot! 150 150 mhamer

Famous wellingtons get their own photo shoot!

Jimmy Cricket's famous wellingtons

Jimmy Cricket’s famous trademark wellies were recently the subject of a photo shoot!

It followed a request from Andy Hollingworth,  a photographer who specialises in comedy.

Andy wanted to capture an image of Jimmy’s wellies (above, in black and white) for an exciting project, which involves him photographing iconic artefacts linked to famous comedians – either from mainstream or alternative comedy.

Well-known Northern Irish entertainer Jimmy, 70, is famous for wearing the green wellington boots – marked with the letters R and L – on the wrong feet during his acts.

Andy has already photographed Eric Morecambe’s glasses, Norman Wisdom’s cap, Mr Bean’s teddy, Alan Carr’s glasses and he even flew over to Los Angeles to meet Harpo Marx’s family, who gave him permission to photograph his famous harp.

Andy met Jimmy at his house in Rochdale to snap the famous wellies – and the two (pictured below) had a great chat about comedy, which lasted longer than expected!

* Photos are copyright of Andy Hollingworth Archive

Jimmy Cricket and Andy Hollingworth

Tribute to a friend and a legend 150 150 mhamer

Tribute to a friend and a legend

Jimmy Cricket pays tribute to Eddie Braben in the Rochdale ObserverJimmy Cricket has paid tribute to legendary comedy writer Eddie Braben who has died aged 82.

Edwin ‘Eddie’ Charles Braben was an English writer and performer best known for providing material for Morecambe and Wise. He also worked for David Frost, Ronnie Corbett and Ken Dodd.

He was credited with changing the profile of Morecambe and Wise, helping to turn them into one of the most popular and enduring comedy acts in the history of British entertainment.

Belfast-born entertainer Jimmy, who has lived in Rochdale for many years, started working with Eddie on his TV show, And There’s More, in the 1980s and 90s, and then his radio show, Jimmy’s Cricket Show.

They developed a lasting friendship and Jimmy recalled: “He was so funny, even in his hospital bed, and had this incredible surreal sense of humour.

“Eddie was a wonderful radio writer, as it was more relaxing for him rather than having to do the Christmas specials for 28 million people.”

A full tribute from Jimmy appeared in the Rochdale Observer (above is a copy of the article).