Mike Yarwood

Mike Yarwood OBE
Born	Michael Edward Yarwood (1941-06-14) 14 June 1941 Bredbury, Cheshire, England
Occupation(s)	Actor, comedian, impressionist
Years active	1966–1995

Michael Edward Yarwood, OBE (born 14 June 1941) is an English impressionist, comedian and actor. He was one of Britain's top-rated entertainers, regularly appearing on television from the 1960s to the 1980s.

Early life

Yarwood was born and brought up in Bredbury, Cheshire. After leaving school, he worked as a messenger and then salesman at a garment warehouse. In his youth he was also a talented footballer, and almost pursued a professional career. Later he was a director of his local club, Stockport County.

Career

London Palladium

Yarwood was one of the stars of British television in the 1960s and 1970s, with his own prominent shows. Before his various eponymous BBC Television series, he worked for the ITV contractor ATV, and after he left the BBC, for Thames Television. Yarwood owed his initial success to the Sunday Night at the London Palladium variety 'spectacular', on which he first appeared in 1964. His appearance coincided with the senior political career of his best known impression, that of Labour Party leader and the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson.

Topping the TV ratings

At their height, Yarwood's BBC TV shows, which were based on a variety mix of comic sketches, guest musicians and a closing song sung by Yarwood (introduced by the line, "and this is me", which became the title of his first autobiography), regularly attracted 18 million viewers.

Among the prominent personalities he portrayed were:

• Eddie Waring - rugby league commentator
• Brian Clough - controversial football manager
• Robin Day - then top political interviewer on the BBC
• Magnus Pyke - eccentric TV science presenter
• Alf Garnett - Warren Mitchell's character from Till Death Us Do Part
• Columbo - Peter Falk's American detective in the series of the same name
• Frank Spencer - the comic creation of sitcom actor Michael Crawford
• Ted Heath - Wilson's Conservative Party rival

Using colour-separation overlay and video editing, Yarwood frequently staged set-pieces in which he appeared as several characters at the same time using pre-recorded segments. An example of this might be a panel game or discussion featuring his versions of Robin Day, Harold Wilson and Brian Clough.

Yarwood's performance as Harold Wilson became his instantly recognisable trademark. He briefly caused some controversy by including Prince Charles as one of his regular impressions.

The Mike Yarwood Christmas Show in 1977 was watched by 21.4 million people, was the highest-rated British television programme of that year, and remains one of the most-watched television programmes (excluding news and sport) in British history.

Yarwood was the subject of a This Is Your Life special, presented by Eamonn Andrews on 31 May 1978.

Characters' catchphrases

Yarwood's characterisations also created catchphrases which came to be identified with famous figures, even if they never actually used them. However, the two most famous were spoken by the people he caricatured. "Silly Billy", spoken by his caricature of Chancellor of the Exchequer Denis Healey, was actually used by Healey to describe strikers. It was rumoured that "I mean that most sincerely, folks", spoken by his caricature of Opportunity Knocks presenter Hughie Green, was made up by Yarwood but, in reality, it was first spoken by Green himself.

Part of the Cotton Crew in the BBC

Yarwood's career peaked during the 1970s when he was one of a stable of stars under the BBC Light Entertainment impresario Bill Cotton, alongside Bruce Forsyth, Dick Emery, Morecambe and Wise, Val Doonican and the Two Ronnies, all these performers having started their careers on ITV during the preceding decade. By the late 1970s some of them left the BBC and returned to independent television.

Both Yarwood and Morecambe and Wise signed up with Thames TV, Morecambe and Wise went to Thames in 1978 with Yarwood signed by Thames in 1982, with mixed results; Morecambe and Wise fared better than Yarwood and their ratings remained relatively high. Forsyth signed to LWT and suffered a terrible start when his Big Night series was cancelled. However, unlike Yarwood, Forsyth bounced back and enjoyed success with Play Your Cards Right.

Late career

Yarwood's Thames TV show was cancelled at the end of 1987, and he concentrated on stage work. However, subsequent attempts to resurrect his television career failed, although he did make an appearance on the satirical show Have I Got News for You in November 1995.

In the mid-1990s, Yarwood had the chance to return to the stage as prime minister John Major, but failed to re-establish himself before Major's premiership ended. He claimed that one of the difficulties in impersonating John Major and Tony Blair was that they were "nice guys".

In 2003, Yarwood made a rare public appearance at the Albany Comedy Club in London, at the invitation of Bob Monkhouse, whose last show it was.

Personal life

He was married to the dancer Sandra Burville from 1969-1985. They had two children.

In October 1999, Yarwood underwent treatment for depression at the Priory Clinic in Roehampton, London.

Since 2007, Yarwood has lived alone in Weybridge, Surrey.

Filmography

• Three of a Kind (BBC) (1967)
• Will the Real Mike Yarwood Stand Up? (ATV) (1968–1969)
• Look: Mike Yarwood (BBC) (1971–1976)
• Mike Yarwood in Persons. (BBC) (1976–1981)
• The Mike Yarwood Show (Thames) (1982–1987)
• Yarwood's in Town (Thames) (1982) Live on stage show

Bibliography

• And This is Me (1974)
• Mike Yarwood Confession Album (1978)
• Impressions of My Life (1986)

External links

• Mike Yarwood discography at Discogs
• Mike Yarwood at the BFI's Screenonline
• Mike Yarwood in pantomime at the Coventry Theatre, Coventry, 1968–69
• Mike Yarwood appearing on This Is Your Life
• Mike Yarwood review mentioning British television comedy in the 1970s, in The Guardian