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Lady Anne Dodd

80th birthday show: ‘You could sense and feel the love from the audience’ 150 150 mhamer

80th birthday show: ‘You could sense and feel the love from the audience’

Famous funnyman Jimmy Cricket has described the charity show to celebrate his 80th birthday as an "absolute joy".

Famous funnyman Jimmy Cricket described the charity show to celebrate his 80th birthday as an “absolute joy”.

A full theatre and a host of top comedians helped to give Jimmy a night to remember at the Lowry in Salford.

Hundreds of people packed  for the Big Birthday Gala Show on 1 November to pay tribute to the Northern Irish entertainer.

Jimmy said on social media: “Hi Friends, what an absolute joy it was last Saturday night at the #quaystheatre in the Lowry, Salford with so many friends and family members to help me celebrate turning ‘80 Years Young’.

“You could sense and feel the love from the audience.

“My huge thanks to the very funny lineup of fellow comics who shared the stage with me, and who brought so much laughter to the show.

“#roywalker, #timvine #sydlittle, #steveroyle, #adrianwalsh #missbarbaranice, #frfrankiemulgrew, #katiemulgrew and organising the raffle (with family members), my son #dalemulgrew.

“The big surprise of the night was Lady Anne Dodd who brought the cake on and a big thank you also goes to my son-in-law Lee Martin and colleagues at #gagreflex who managed the gig.

Very special

“They did an absolutely wonderful technical job with the screen behind, alongside the brilliant #quaytheatrestaff and volunteers who made us all feel so welcome, while raising funds for #FrancisHouseChildrensHospice.”

Go to Jimmy’s Facebook page here to see photographs from the event.

The performers were:

  • Tim Vine (Not Going Out, Live at the Apollo)
  • Steve Royle (Britain’s Got Talent, Phoenix Nights)
  • Roy Walker (Catchphrase, The Comedians)
  • Syd Little (The Little and Large Show, Shooting Stars)
  • Adrian Walsh (Today with Des and Mel)
  • Barbara Nice (Coronation Street, Britain’s Got Talent)
  • Katie Mulgrew (Coronation Street, Lovefix, The Dog Ate My Homework)

Lady Anne Dodd – whose famous comedian husband, the late Sir Ken Dodd, was a good friend of Jimmy’s – made her special appearance just before the interval.

At the end of the show, Jimmy’s family played a video on the big screen of some of the most memorable moments of his career.

And he told the appreciate audience: “You’ve made it very special for us.”

Read about his illustrious life here.

The event raised funds for Francis House Children’s Hospice, based in Didsbury, south Manchester.

Proceeds from a raffle held on the night raised £1,144.

‘Loads more legends’

Steve Royle, a Britain’s Got Talent finalist in 2020, said on social media: “Such a huge honour to be asked by a legend to perform at his 80th Birthday celebration show.

“Alongside loads more legends too!!

“Happy Birthday Jimmy Cricket.”

A full theatre and a host of top comedians helped Jimmy Cricket celebrate his 80th birthday on an evening of love and laughter.

Steve Royle posted photographs on social media of himself, Jimmy & fellow performers

Jimmy turned 80 on 17 October.

He has raised many thousands of pounds over many years for Francis House.

The charity cares for children and young adults with life-threatening conditions.

It provides a home from home where families receive professional care, support and friendship.

Sister Aloysius and Fr Thomas Mulheran set up the Rainbow Family Trust in the early 1990s as a charity.

They were concerned about the lack of palliative care for the families of children with a short-life expectancy.

The late Diana, Princess of Wales, officially opened the seven-bedroom Francis House in November 1991.

Also read: Francis House benefits from Rochdale ‘jam’ night

Below: Applause all round at the end of the show.

‘Huge honour to be asked by a legend to perform at his birthday celebration show’ 150 150 mhamer

‘Huge honour to be asked by a legend to perform at his birthday celebration show’
A full theatre and a host of top comedians helped “legend” Jimmy Cricket celebrate his 80th birthday in style.

Hundreds of people packed into the Lowry at The Quays in Salford on Saturday (1 November) to pay tribute to the Northern Irish funnyman.

Tim Vine (Not Going Out, Live at the Apollo), Steve Royle (Britain’s Got Talent, Phoenix Nights), Roy Walker (Catchphrase, The Comedians) and Syd Little (The Little and Large Show, Shooting Stars) were among the comics appearing in the Big Birthday Gala Show.

Adrian Walsh (Today with Des and Mel), Barbara Nice (Coronation Street, Britain’s Got Talent) and Jimmy’s daughter, Katie Mulgrew (Coronation Street, Lovefix, The Dog Ate My Homework), completed the star-studded line-up.

Lady Anne Dodd – whose famous comedian husband, the late Sir Ken Dodd, was a good friend of Jimmy’s – made a special, surprise appearance during the show.

Jimmy’s family played a video on the big screen of some of the most memorable moments of his career.

And he told the audience at the end of the show: “You’ve made it very special for us.”

Read about his illustrious life here.

The event raised funds for Francis House Children’s Hospice, based in Didsbury, south Manchester.

‘Loads more legends’

Proceeds from a raffle held on the night raised £1,144.

Steve Royle, a Britain’s Got Talent finalist in 2020, said on social media: “Such a huge honour to be asked by a legend to perform at his 80th Birthday celebration show.

“Alongside loads more legends too!!

“Happy Birthday Jimmy Cricket.”

A full theatre and a host of top comedians helped Jimmy Cricket celebrate his 80th birthday on an evening of love and laughter.

Steve Royle posted photographs on social media of himself and fellow performers

Jimmy turned 80 on 17 October.

He has raised many thousands of pounds over many years for Francis House.

The charity cares for children and young adults with life-threatening conditions.

It provides a home from home where families receive professional care, support and friendship.

Sister Aloysius and Fr Thomas Mulheran set up the Rainbow Family Trust in the early 1990s as a charity.

They were concerned about the lack of palliative care for the families of children with a short-life expectancy.

The late Diana, Princess of Wales, officially opened the seven-bedroom Francis House in November 1991.

Also read: Francis House benefits from Rochdale ‘jam’ night

Happiness exhibition is ‘wonderful tribute to Ken’ 150 150 mhamer

Happiness exhibition is ‘wonderful tribute to Ken’

What a wonderful visit to the ‘Happiness Exhibition’ today when we went to the @MuseumLiverpool and met up with Lady Anne Dodd and the curator Karen O’ Rourke, what a fantastic tribute to Ken!

Jimmy Cricket enjoyed a “wonderful visit” to a special exhibition held in honour of his great friend, the late Sir Ken Dodd.

Sir Ken is being remembered with a nostalgic display of memorabilia in his beloved hometown of Liverpool.

A famous comedian and singer, Sir Ken died in March 2018 at the age of 90.

He often did very long stand-up shows, which would last until the early hours of the morning!

People will also remember him fondly for his Diddy Men from Knotty Ash (where he was born and died) and his tickling stick.

The Museum of Liverpool exhibition, entitled Happiness!, celebrates his life and career.

It is running for six months until 3 March 2024.

The website promoting the event says: “Ken’s unique blend of whimsical, physical, surreal and theatrical humour transformed the UK’s comedy scene.

‘Natural gift for making people laugh’

“Using memorabilia from Ken Dodd’s personal archive, this show will explore Ken’s career and how his comedic approach continues to be used and adopted by some of the UK’s most well-known and emerging comedians.

“Fondly remembered for the magical world he created, including Ken Dodd’s Diddymen, his tickling stick and the jam butty mines, his true passion was his natural gift for making people laugh.

“The exhibition will build on Ken’s passion, looking at the science of comedy, happiness and why laughter is good for our health.”

You can book tickets here for the exhibition.

Fellow funnyman Jimmy visited the exhibition yesterday (Thursday, 19 October).

He said: “What a wonderful visit to the ‘Happiness Exhibition’ today when we went to the @MuseumLiverpool and met up with Lady Anne Dodd and the curator Karen O’ Rourke.

“What a fantastic tribute to Ken!”

Signature song

The son of a coal merchant, Ken Dodd had been a comedian since 1954.

He made it into the Guinness Book of Records for telling 1,500 jokes in three-and-a-half hours.

Sir Ken was also a ventriloquist and an established singer.

He had many recording hits, charting on 18 occasions in the UK Top 40.

His version of Bill Anderson’s Happiness, which reached 31 in the charts in 1964, became his signature song.

And his recording of Tears topped the UK singles chart for five weeks in 1965.

It was the biggest hit single in Britain that year, selling more than one million copies in the UK alone.

Autobiography

Don’t forget that Jimmy’s autobiography is on sale.
Memoirs Of An Irish Comedian is priced at £11.99 as a paperback.

It is also available as an ebook priced £9.99 (unless you have subscribed to Kindle Unlimited, in which case it is free).

Amazon Kindle allows users to read ebooks purchased on Amazon.

Jimmy has said he is happy to sign copies of the book at his live shows, where they are available for a discounted price of £10.

The autobiography tells the heart-warming story of his 50 golden years in showbusiness – told in his own words.

Recognisable for wearing a funny hat and green wellies marked L and R on the wrong feet, Jimmy has been making people laugh as a professional comedian for half a century.

And he proudly keeps his comedy clean – increasingly rare these days –  making him the perfect family entertainer.

The book is available from online retailer Amazon here.

Mary’s Meals

His best-known catchphrases include ‘And there’s more!’ and ‘Come closer!’

He is also famed for reading out Letters from his Mammy, which have provided the material for two published books.

One pound from the sale of every book goes to Mary’s Meals.

The charity supports feeding projects in some of the world’s poorest communities where hunger and poverty prevent children from gaining an education.

Also read: Mary’s Meals: 20 years serving global communities

From bingo caller to 50 Golden Years in showbiz!

Jimmy Cricket’s play delights Blackburn Empire Theatre audience 150 150 mhamer

Jimmy Cricket’s play delights Blackburn Empire Theatre audience

Jimmy Cricket tweeted: My thanks to Jonathan Young and @ColinMeredith52 for tonight’s performance of, “No More Fiffing and Faffing” and to the great reception we got from the audience @ThwaitesEmpire!

Jimmy Cricket’s first play got a great reception from the audience on its debut performance – and was watched by a special guest.

No more Fiffing and Faffing was staged for the first time at the Blackburn Empire Theatre on Sunday evening.

Appearing with funnyman Jimmy was Jonathan Young from The Bachelors, and actor Colin Meredith, who has had several notable appearances in ITV’s Coronation Street over the years.

Among the audience was Lady Anne Dodd, widow of famous comedian Sir Ken Dodd who died aged 90 in May this year.

Jimmy tweeted after the show: “A big thank you to my friends , neighbours and supporters for coming to my new play last night at the Blackburn Empire.. A special thanks to Lady Anne Dodd. To see you all there was heart warming.”

He also posted on social media: “My thanks to Jonathan Young and for tonight’s performance of, “No More Fiffing and Faffing” and to the great reception we got from the audience !”