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Tony Hancock

June Whitfield – a ‘great actress and lovely lady’ 150 150 mhamer

June Whitfield – a ‘great actress and lovely lady’

 

Hi folks I had the great pleasure of working with this great actress and lovely lady the late June Whitfield here is my tribute to her!

Jimmy Cricket has been sharing his memories of his good friend, comedy actress June Whitfield, who died at the end of last year.

The comedian devoted his latest monthly column in the Preston-based Lancashire Evening Post to the late English radio, television and film star.

Jimmy told all his social media followers about his column, saying: “Hi folks I had the great pleasure of working with this great actress and lovely lady the late June Whitfield here is my tribute to her!”

His LEP column read: “The death of June Whitfield at the great age of 93 closes the chapter on one our best ever comedy actresses. In a career that spanned more than six decades, June brought so much joy and laughter that, for many of us, it was not just losing a brilliant performer, but losing a friend.

“You have to go right back to the 1950s to find out when June first got the nation’s chuckle muscles rippling. Radio was king then and June could be heard on a popular show called Take it From Here, penned by Frank Muir and Dennis Norden. She could also be heard on a weekly segment called The Glums, playing Eth, the daft girlfriend to equally dim witted partner Ron, (played by Dick Bentley).

“Her timing and vocal inflections were such that I almost envied the studio audience who were there to witness it in the flesh. She then went on to play straight woman to some of the best comedians of the last century. Tony Hancock, Frankie Howard, Benny Hill, to name but a few.

“So how come when comedians can be a neurotic bunch, (I should know), and always worried about other people getting to many laughs, did June get the gig, so to speak?…”

Read the full column here

 

Sharing some nostalgia on my great friend Phyllis 150 150 mhamer

Sharing some nostalgia on my great friend Phyllis

Sharing some nostalgia here with my great friend and personal manager Phylis Rounce who was with me when Variety was King on Television and out there with live performance!

Jimmy Cricket has been reminiscing on social media with some photographs relating to theatrical agent Phyllis Rounce.

In addition to managing Jimmy, Phyllis also looked after the careers of other stars such as Rod Hull and Emu, and Tony Hancock.

Hull was a comedian, best known as a popular entertainer on British television in the 1970s and 1980s. He rarely appeared without Emu, a mute, highly aggressive arm-length puppet modelled on the Australian flightless emu bird.

Hancock was a high-profile comedian and actor during the 1950s and early 1960s, enjoying major success with his BBC series Hancock’s Half Hour, first broadcast on radio and then on television.

Famous entertainer Jimmy posted the pictures above recently, adding: “Sharing some nostalgia here with my great friend and personal manager Phyllis Rounce who was with me when Variety was King on Television and out there with live performance!”

Speaking in his monthly column in the Lancashire Evening Post last summer, Jimmy said that Phyllis – known as Phil to her friends – was an “exceptional manager who went the extra mile for her artistes”.

He described her as “one of the all-time great theatrical agents in the world of showbusiness”.

Jimmy’s LEP column: My tribute to a great agent 150 150 mhamer

Jimmy’s LEP column: My tribute to a great agent

Jimmy Cricket's June column in the Lancashire Evening Post

Jimmy Cricket has been paying tribute to “one of the all-time great theatrical agents” in his latest column in the Lancashire Evening Post.

The 72-year-old comedian recalls the career of Phyllis Rounce, who also managed the likes of Rod Hull and Emu, and Tony Hancock.

Rod Hull was a comedian, best known as a popular entertainer on British television in the 1970s and 1980s. He rarely appeared without Emu, a mute, highly aggressive arm-length puppet modelled on the Australian flightless emu bird.

Hancock was a high-profile comedian and actor during the 1950s and early 1960s, enjoying major success with his BBC series Hancock’s Half Hour, first broadcast on radio and then on television.

Jimmy said Phyllis – who was known as Phil to her friends – was an “exceptional manager who went the extra mile for her artistes”.

He added that she “had a love affair with showbusiness that started during the Second World War.

“She realised the part entertainment could play in boosting soldiers’ morale and keeping their spirits up on the way to the front.

“How lucky was I to be guided by a lady with such a caring nature and such creative vision.”

On social media channel Twitter, Jimmy said the June column in the Preston-based LEP was his “dedication and tribute to one of the all-time great theatrical agents in the world of showbusiness”.