Dick Emery
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Dick Emery | |
|---|---|
| Born | Richard Gilbert Emery |
| Years active | 1946-1983 |
| Spouse | Margaret |
Richard Gilbert "Dick" Emery (19 February 1915 – 2 January 1983) was an English comedian and actor whose career began on radio during the 1950s. After his transition to television his popularity grew and developed throughout the 1960s and 1970s. He was the brother of Ann Emery.
Brief biography
Richard Gilbert Emery was born in Bloomsbury, London in 1915 [1]. His parents were the comedy double act Callan and Emery. He tried a variety of jobs before taking to the stage: office boy, farm hand, and driving instructor. During World War II he was called up to the RAF, but joined the chorus line of The Merry Widow at the Majestic Theatre, London instead, for which he was imprisoned for desertion. Once released he joined the Gang Show ("I was better in drag than combat gear") and created Vera Thin ('the Forces' Sweetheart'). When he was not working in his profession as a comedian, he enjoyed aviation, motorcycling, model-making (he was chairman of the Airfix Modellers' Club), and wrote a review feature for Meccano Magazine during 1971. He died in Denmark Hill, London from heart failure and respiratory failure at the age of 67 [2]. Whilst the general public took him to their heart (voting him BBC TV Personality of the Year in 1972), the offscreen Emery suffered from stage fright and fear of failure. He underwent analysis, hypnosis and various sedatives to try and cure these problems. He once told friend and co-star Roy Kinnear: "I don't just envy the confidence that other comics seem to have, I resent it. I hate them for it, just like my dad did. If there's such a thing as a chip off the old block, it's on my shoulder." [citation needed]Dick Emery was married five times and left his last wife to live with a showgirl 30 years younger than him. He is survived by his four children Gil, Nick, Michael and Eliza.[citation needed]
Career
After the war he successfully auditioned for the Windmill Theatre, showcasing his vicar character.[citation needed] Radio and television beckoned and in 1952 Dick Emery gained a starring role in a fifteen minutes Radio Luxembourg series that aired on Saturday nights at 7:00 PM called Chance of a Lifetime. This was a quiz programme sponsored by Marshall Ward in which merchandise to the value of £30 was given away to contestants.
He briefly formed a double act with Charlie Drake.[citation needed]
His small screen debut came in 1950 on The Centre Show (BBC). Throughout the 1950s he popped up on a variety of programmes including Round the Bend (BBC, 1955-56) and Educating Archie (ITV, 1958-59) before joining his close friend Tony Hancock in The Tony Hancock Show (ITV, 1956-57) and Hancock's Half Hour (BBC, 1956-60).[citation needed]
He enhanced his reputation when he worked on two series with former Goon Michael Bentine: After Hours (ITV, 1958-59) and It's a Square World (BBC, 1960-64). His role as Private Chubby Catchpole in the final series of The Army Game (ITV 1957-61) led to an exclusive BBC contract, and the long-running The Dick Emery Show (BBC, 1963-81) was born.[citation needed]
The show, which ran irregularly from 1963 to 1981, consisted of sketches which mostly involved his dressing up as various characters. These included the buck-toothed vicar, sex-starved spinster Hettie, and Clarence, an 'outrageously camp' man who coined the phrase "Hallo Honky Tonk". Other well known roles were the hapless crusty pensioner "James Maynard Kitchener Lampwick" and "Mandy", a voracious busty middle-aged blonde woman whose catchphrase "Ooh, you are awful ... but I like you!" - became the title of Emery's own British Lion film release in 1972. The plot of this comedy centred on Emery hunting down a bank account number. To make it more interesting, the various digits of the number are tatooed on the bottoms of four shapely young women. The plot centres on Emery's various ploys to see the girls naked, which requires a multitude of disguises. The girls are duly undressed successfully.[citation needed]
In a sporadic film career he made his debut in the Goons' The Case of the Mukkinese Battle Horn (directed by Joseph Sterling, 1956). He also played bungling bank robber 'Booky' Binns in the comedy caper The Big Job (directed by Gerald Thomas, 1965) and was well-known for his vocal talents as an array of characters including 'The Nowhere Man Jeremy Hilary Boob' in the Beatles' Yellow Submarine (directed by George Dunning, 1968).[citation needed]
In 1979, Emery and his characters moved over to ITV for three one hour specials. He returned to the BBC in 1980 and resumed The Dick Emery Show.
Emery also appeared in several films, including The Fast Lady (1962), Baby Love (1968) and Ooh… You Are Awful (1972).
Dick Emery was also a singer with a fine voice.[citation needed] His song "If You Love Her"/"Day After Day" (Pye 7N17644) reached number 32 in the UK charts in February 1969. He released other singles and albums.
Emery Presents
Finding a new format and character, Jewish private detective Bernie Weinstock, Emery had a new outlet for his brand of comedy - two series of comedy thrillers Emery Presents (BBC, 1982-83).
- Jack of Diamonds | Jack of Diamonds
- Legacy of Murder | Legacy of Murder
The Dick Emery Show was re-aired in the UK on (the now defunct) Granada Plus, ITV4 and UKTV Drama.
The show is now being screened on the G.O.L.D. comedy channel.
Legacy
Emery's broad humour is still admired by similar comic actors such as Harry Enfield. His influence can be seen in 'The Lovely Wobbly Randy Old Ladies' played by Kathy Burke and Harry Enfield, with their catch phrase "Ooh, young man!". And also in the performances of David Walliams and Matt Lucas in 'Little Britain'. His programmes were also among the first to be shot entirely on film as long-form comedy narratives, in which Emery's various characters interacted within an hour long story.