Eric Morecambe

Date of Birth

14 May 1926, Morecambe, Lancashire, England, UK

Date of Death

28 May 1984, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England, UK

Birth Name

John Eric Bartholomew

He collapsed and died on-stage at The Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury in May 1984, watched by his wife, immediately after appearing in a show with Stan Stennett.

He was a lifelong fan of Luton Town Football club, and often wrote material about them for comedy sketches. Eric Morecambe Suite named in his honor at the ground.

Morecambe was one of five comedians pictured on a set of UK postage stamps issued 23 April 1998. His caricatured likeness was on the 26p stamp. The other comedians honored were Tommy Cooper (20p), Joyce Grenfell (37p), Les Dawson (43p), and Peter Cook (63p).

He is the father of Gail and Gary and adoptive father of Stephen.

His wife, Joan, was a former dancer and model.

He appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show", with his partner in comedy, Ernie Wise, numerous times during the 1960s.

He called himself 'Morecambe' after his home town in England, UK

He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in 1976 for his services to entertainment.

He worked as a Bevin boy (i.e. was drafted into coal mining) during World War II, in Accrington, Lancashire.

Has a ward at Harefield Hospital, Middlesex in the UK named after him.

Ernie Wise

Date of Birth

27 November 1925, Bramley, Leeds, Yorkshire, England, UK

Date of Death

21 March 1999, Wexham, nr. Slough, Berkshire, England, UK

Birth Name

Ernest Wiseman

Ernie Wise's wife, Doreen, was a former dancer.

Appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show", with his partner in comedy, Eric Morecambe, numerous times during the 1960s.

He began a comedy partnership with Eric Bartholomew when he was 16. "Wiseman and Bartholomew" was too long for theater marquees, so they changed it to "Morecambe and Wise". They became comedy legends in the UK, with a mix of self-deprecating charm and schoolboy humor. Their Christmas specials became a national institution. They were awarded OBEs in 1976.

He made the first mobile phone call in the UK on 1 January 1985, from St Katherine's Dock, near Tower Bridge in London, to Vodafone's headquarters in Newbury

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