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monthly column

Paying tribute to Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy 150 150 mhamer

Paying tribute to Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy

pay tribute to a fellow Irishman, and to the Silver Screen's Stan and Ollie, with a great performance from @Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly

Jimmy Cricket writes about his admiration for a legendary comedy duo in his latest newspaper column.

In the 1 April edition of the Lancashire Post, the popular Northern Irish entertainer reviews a recent film about the careers of Englishman Stan Laurel and American Oliver Hardy.

They acted during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema and became well known during the late 1920s to the mid-1940s for their slapstick comedy. Laurel played the clumsy friend of the pompous Hardy.

Jimmy’s column begins: I’ve just come back from doing my one man show at the Slapstick Comedy Festival in Bristol at the Studio adjoining the Old Vic Theatre. The festival was started by a guy called Chris Daniels who just loves visual and silent comedy.

“I did my live set sandwiched between movies of Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy up on the big wide screen. There’s been a resurgence of interest in Laurel and Hardy, mainly due to a biopic of the duo which went on general release in our cinemas recently called Stan and Ollie.

“In fact, I’ve been to see it twice. Well folks, our local Odeon Cinema here in Rochdale only charges a fiver to get in. It’s a moving, tender tribute to one of the funniest double acts ever to grace the silver screen; not only do Steve Coogan as Stan Laurel, and John C Reilly as Oliver Hardy get into the skin of these two lovable clowns, but the ladies that played their wives both give stunning performance as well.

“Nina Arianda plays Stan’s other half and Shirley Henderson is Ollie’s. I had a little inside information on this film. Steve Coogan’s Uncle Bernard takes his grandkids to the same school in Rochdale that I take mine, so I get some tasty nuggets of gossip in the playground.

“I looked at him enviously as he told me about getting the red carpet treatment when he got invited to the premiere of the movie up at the local cinema in Ulverston where Stan Laurel grew up. The only time I get to see a red carpet is when Mrs Cricket hands me the Hoover.”

Read Jimmy’s full column here

 

Johnny Vegas to also feature in film 150 150 mhamer

Johnny Vegas to also feature in film

Johnny Vegas is appearing in the Womble film

Famous actor and comedian Johnny Vegas is to appear in the Womble movie, which is being filmed on location in North Wales and also features entertainer Jimmy Cricket. 

St Helens-born Johnny is well known for his appearances in the hit ITV comedy drama Benidorm and also for popping up in adverts for tea brand PG Tips with a stuffed puppet monkey!

His addition to the cast is another major coup for the people behind Womble the movie, as it also includes top comedian Jimmy, 69, who will play himself as a talent contest judge.

The film is about a man called Aloysius Rupert Womble (played by actor and comedian Tom Spencer), who is in his 30s and living with Asperger’s Syndrome in a typical seaside resort town.

Children and adults affected by Asperger’s Syndrome have difficulty with social interactions and exhibit a restricted range of interests and/or repetitive behaviours.

Aloysius’s dream is to become a stand-up comedian. The film is a week-long snapshot of his life as he goes through the trials of living with a cognitive disorder, while dealing with the injustices forced upon him by society and parts of his community.

Over the seven-day period he prepares for the biggest night of his life – a talent show in his local pub.

The film will feature songs from the Beautiful South’s former lead singer Briana Corrigan and American Pie star Thomas Nicholas, as well as a string of original songs written by songwriters especially for the movie.

My movie debut – as a dream maker 150 150 mhamer

My movie debut – as a dream maker

Jimmy Cricket's column in the Lancashire Evening Post

Jimmy Cricket says he is looking forward to his role as a talent show judge on his  forthcoming silver screen debut.

But the famous veteran entertainer insists he will not be like Simon Cowell in The X Factor, telling readers of the Preston-based Lancashire Evening Post in his monthly column he will be a “dream maker, not a dream breaker”.

Womble, one of the biggest independent movies to be made in North Wales, is being shot over the summer and will be set for release in 2016.

It is about a man called Aloysius Rupert Womble (played by actor and comedian Tom Spencer) who is in his 30s and living with Asperger’s Syndrome in a typical seaside resort town.

Children and adults affected by Asperger’s Syndrome have difficulty with social interactions and exhibit a restricted range of interests and/or repetitive behaviours.

Aloysius’s dream is to become a stand-up comedian. The film is a week-long snapshot of his life as he goes through the trials of living with a cognitive disorder, while dealing with the injustices forced upon him by society and parts of his community.

Over the seven-day period he prepares for the biggest night of his life – a talent show in his local pub.

Jimmy says in the Lancashire Evening Post: “Hopefully, the film will be shown in 2016 at the Cannes Film Festival.”

The time I nearly met a footballing legend 150 150 mhamer

The time I nearly met a footballing legend

Jimmy Cricket talks about how he nearly met the late Sir Tom Finney in his latest Lancashire Evening Post newspaper column

Jimmy Cricket recalls in his latest newspaper column the time he nearly met a footballing legend.

The well-known comedian says in the Lancashire Evening Post that he was asked to do the corporate entertainment a few years ago at Deepdale, home of Preston North End for whom Sir Tom Finney made 473 competitive appearances, scoring 210 goals.

Tony Jo, a friend and fellow comedian, said during the evening that he would go and get Sir Tom so Jimmy could meet him.

However, Sir Tom was not feeling too well and had to go home early.

Jimmy recalls: “My big moment to meet a remarkable man and footballer, who had done so much for his home town of Preston, had gone.”

Sir Tom, who scored 30 goals in 76 appearances for England, died 12 months ago aged 91.

 

The show must go on… despite a bomb next door 150 150 mhamer

The show must go on… despite a bomb next door

Jimmy Cricket's latest column in the Preston-based Lancashire Evening Post

Jimmy Cricket has recalled the time that a pantomime in which he was starring went ahead despite the fact that a bomb had been planted next to the theatre.

The famous entertainer was appearing in Jack and the Beanstalk at the Grand Opera Theatre in Belfast at the time.

Looking back at the incident in 1992, Jimmy told the Lancashire Evening Post in his latest column for the Preston-based newspaper: “With the help of great architects and engineers, we got the theatre ready just in time for the pantomime, even though we had to get ready and change in portakabins!

“The fact the people from Northern Ireland didn’t want the terrorists to succeed meant we did sellout business all the way through.”

Thanks to Ted Robbins for theatre sofa! 150 150 mhamer

Thanks to Ted Robbins for theatre sofa!

Jimmy Cricket's Christmas column in the Lancashire Evening Post

Jimmy Cricket talked in his latest newspaper column about how a gift to a theatre from an old friend helped him to relax in between panto performances during the festive season.

The famous Irish comedian said that when he first arrived at the Charter Theatre in Preston for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, he noticed a reclining sofa in his dressing room.

And he told readers in his most recent Lancashire Evening Post monthly column that he discovered it had been bequeathed by fellow entertainer and old chum Ted Robbins.

Jimmy also describes how BAE Systems employees and their families took over the first Saturday matinee performance of the pantomime.

He included a Christmas letter from his Mammy in his column, in which she talked about who gets what on the festive turkey and a nephew being arrested for picking blackberries in a computer shop.

Jimmy to have monthly newspaper column 150 150 mhamer

Jimmy to have monthly newspaper column

Jimmy Cricket gets front page coverage ahead of his latest pantomime at the Charter Theatre in PrestonJimmy Cricket is to write a monthly newspaper column in the lead-up to his latest pantomime season.

The Lancashire Evening Post has commissioned the articles to coincide with the well-known comedian headlining Snow White and the Seven Dwarves at the Charter Theatre in Preston – where he made his panto debut in 1981 – over the Christmas and New Year period.

When the Lancashire Evening Post contacted Jimmy through his website editor Martin Hamer – former digital editor at the LEP – about the idea, he thought it was a “very flattering request”.

Jimmy said: “As a result, I did not hesitate to respond positively and am thrilled that my first monthly article is due to be published in the paper’s edition on Monday (22 September).”

He intends to use the article to describe some of the many stories he has collected from more than 30 years of performing in pantomimes.

This includes appearing in many of the major cities and towns across the UK and has also included working with a variety of celebrities from stage and screen.

Added Jimmy: “Hopefully the monthly articles will set the scene for my forthcoming appearance in Snow White at the Charter Theatre at the end of the year.”