Ernie Wise


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Ernie Wise

Born Ernest Wiseman
27 November 1925(1925-11-27)
Bramley, Leeds, Yorkshire, England
Died 21 March 1999 (aged 73)
Nuffield Hospital Gerrards Cross, Wexham Street, Buckinghamshire, England
Spouse(s) Doreen Blythe (1953–his death)

Ernest Wiseman OBE (27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), better known by his stage name of Ernie Wise, was an English comedian, best known as one half of the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise, who became an institution on British television, especially for their Christmas specials.

Contents

Career

Ernest Wiseman changed his name (as did his partner) to go into show business. He joined the industry at an early age, appearing as an actor and singer in music hall, his father, Harry, a railway lamp man, was also a semi-professional singer, and they appeared together under the name "Bert Carson and his Little Wonder". In 1939, while still a teenager, he appeared with top British comedian Arthur Askey in his famous Band Waggon show, billed as England's Mickey Rooney.

Ernie joined forces with Eric Morecambe in 1941, and they became one of the greatest comedy double acts of all time. During World War II , whilst Morecambe was a Bevin Boy, Wise served in the Merchant Navy.

They made their name in radio, transferring to television in 1954. In 1961 they got their own series on Associated TeleVision, transferring to BBC 1 in 1968. Over a period of nearly twenty years, they had regular series with both ITV and BBC. In 1976, they were both appointed OBEs.

Wise was commonly regarded as the straight man of the partnership, although his role gradually and subtly changed over the years. When Eddie Braben took over as their chief writer, he enriched Wise's persona by making him more pompous and naive. Wise's character changed from being a conventional straight man into a pretentious and self-satisfied idiot. Braben also made Wise a would-be writer; their classic BBC shows in the 1970s would always climax with an extended sketch, introduced by Ernie as "a play what I wrote." It was in just such a "play" that Glenda Jackson, at the height of her career, was made to speak the line "All men are fools, and what makes them so is having beauty like what I have got."

Following Morecambe's death from a heart attack in 1984, Ernie Wise spent some of his time at Boca Raton, Florida where he had a holiday home. In the UK, he lived in Peterborough for many years next door to singer Edmund Hockridge, before moving to a luxury home on the banks of the River Thames in Maidenhead, Berkshire.

Wise appeared regularly as a panellist on the ITV revival of the popular panel show What's My Line?. He was a guest several times on Countdown, had a gardening column in the News of the World newspaper and also appeared in a few West End plays. In 1990 he wrote his autobiography, called "Still on my way to Hollywood" but he suffered a minor stroke in December 1993, which was followed by a second minor stroke in August 1995. With his health declining, Wise announced his retirement from showbusiness on 27 November 1995, his 70th birthday.

Three years later, in December 1998 his health seriously began to falter when he suffered two heart attacks within a week, and had to undergo a triple heart bypass in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on 22 January 1999. Wise was due to take part in a BBC 1 tribute to Eric Morecambe but had to withdraw due to ill health. In March 1999 he was flown back to the UK by air ambulance and taken to hospital.

Ernie Wise died from heart failure and a chest infection at the Nuffield Hospital, Gerrards Cross, Wexham Street, Buckinghamshire on 21 March 1999.[1]

He was married to the dancer Doreen Blythe from 18 January 1953 until his death;they had no children.

Promotional work and appearances

  • Ernie Wise was an active and long-time participant in the "Keep Britain Tidy" campaign. He once posed for a publicity photo, grinning cheerfully while two boys in "Keep Britain Tidy" T-shirts stuffed him into a rubbish bin.

Autobiography

  • Eric and Ernie (1973)
  • Still on my Way to Hollywood (1990)

References

  1. ^ Comedian Ernie Wise dies
  2. ^ BBC News - Mobiles rack up 20 years of use

External links

v • d • e
Morecambe and Wise
Starring
Eric Morecambe • Ernie Wise
Associates
Television
Film
The Intelligence Men (1965) • That Riviera Touch (1966) • The Magnificent Two (1967) • Night Train To Murder (1983)
Books by and about
Tributes
Misc.






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