The Comedians, 1971 – 1993, What Happened Next And Where Are They Now?
A Saturday night must see show in it’s day; The Comedians was the brainchild of TV producer Johnnie Hamp who came up with the simple idea of a studio audience a comedian and a microphone.
The series kicked off in 1971 so it’s fair guess that as we look at some of the stars many will no longer be with us, but it’s interesting to see what became of the stars of the show and where they are today.
Shep’s Banjo Boys
They provided that famous theme tune throughout the full run of shows. During the 1980’s the band regularly entertained passengers on board the QE2. They reformed in 2013 touring with with Jimmy Cricket and Neil Hurst in a live show The Good Old Days of Music Hall and Variety.
Shep’s Banjo Boys stil perform but in a smaller duo sometimes trio now as Shep’s Rhythm Aces, with leader Howard “Shep” Shepherd performing with his current personnel for various events, including private functions, promotions, and on trains like the Orient Express Northern Belle.
Clearly there is a very long list of comics who performed on the show but for now we will concentrate on the better known names. So lets get stuck in, perhaps we’ll come back to other names at a future date. For today’s post we’ll look at six well known stars.
Bernard Manning
Larger than life with the humour to match. Bernard Manning owned and, until a minor stroke around 1999 (after which his son took over) managed the world famous Embassy club in Manchester.
Alongside his appearances on The Comedians he also acted as host for another successful ITV show ‘The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club’
Bernard Manning was a natural comic with excellent timing but his material which largely revolved around race, sex and religion. Whilst he never toned down his act his material fell out of favour with TV companies.
After the Comedians there was a brief starring role in a short lived TV quiz show Under Manning. Whilst his style of humour may have fallen out of favour with TV companies his audience never wained. Barnard Manning would go on to play live venues to packed houses until his death, aged 76 in 2007.
Jim Bowen
Former school teacher turned comic was a regular on The Comedians and perhaps had one of the most high profile carers after
From Saturday night to Sunday teatime
there were other TV appearances including another Sunday night classic, Last Of the Summer Wine and Phoenix Nights
He continued his comedy career and worked across various radio stations and was a regular at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Sadly we lost Jim in 2018.
Frank Carson
It’s a cracker, Frank Carson was one of the original stars of The Comedians, with his broad Irish accent and “It’s a cracker!” catchphrase he became a huge hit.
Alongside The Comedians Carson appeared in the spin of show The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club. He continued his stand up career and appeared on TV shows, including the ill feted Spike Milligan sitcom ‘The Melting Pot’ and as a regular on the cult Saturday morning kids show Tiswas
Roy Walker
Another Irish fella. After his stint on The Comedians Roy Walker followed many of his co-stars into TV game shows. For Roy it was Catchphrase
He also continued his stand up career and joined surviving co-stars for the 40th anniversary re-union shows at Blackpool Grand Theatre
Mike Reid
Before he became famous in a certain soap opera Mike Reid was a top comic
Whilst he continued his comedy career,
he made a cameo appearance as a night club comic in the first Steptoe and Son movie. Mike Reid also went into game shows but with a twist…
G….g..go,! he presented the first series of kids game show ‘Runaround’ in 1975 before returning in 1978.
His other famous role
Mike Reid died in 2007
Last one for this post…
Charlie Williams
What a career this guy had. Born in Riding in Barnsley Charlie Williams was one of Britain’s first black footballers and Britain’s first well known black comedian. He would leave audiences in hysterics as he poked fun at himself and anything else. A regular on The Comedians
Charlie continued his stand up career after The Comedians but as the 80’s turned in attitudes began to change and his brand of humour split the room.
He did a final stand up tour in 1995.
After the Comedians he presented his own show ‘It’s Charlie Williams’ and a one off BBC special the ‘Charlie Williams Show’ for the BBC.
Perhaps his most high profile work after The Comedians was a brief stint as host of ATV’s ‘the Golden Shot’
We lost Charlie Williams in 2006.