Pebble Mill At One
On the television...
Before the interview
Serious conversation
This solo appearance makes this one different though, there is no Ernie to feed or bounce jokes off, and maybe because of this, we get a glimpse of a more serious Eric.
Yes there are jokes, starting even before his allotted slot, when he appears behind the announcer doing his ‘invisible man’ gag with a white hanky over his face. But the majority of the following interview he seems quite happy to discuss the book and how elements of the story were drawn from real life.
Describing how he made the main character from London to try and stop readers assuming it was actually Eric, he knew there would always be comparisons though, “.. no matter what I did.”
Eric describes how playing clubs is tough, especially for comedians, and how he and Ernie were lucky to play only several clubs instead of the mass of theatres the main character has to endure.
Eric goes on to describe how after his heart attack, he felt that he had to do something whilst waiting for the OK to get back on stage. A book was a logical choice despite his wife having doubts. He saw this as a challenge and so got work straight away.
Pictures from the book are shown, and Eric reveals that the people in the shots are all connected in some way to the book. Staff from the publishing company pose alongside Eric and the fictitious main character, Sid Lewis who is really Charlton Lamb.
Interestingly, Eric shows how even for his first novel, he understands how to pace his writing and not force a joke in like he did with sketches. The more jokes he could get into a four minute sketch the better, but he explains how two gags a chapter is sufficient for a novel.
As the interview comes to an end, Eric mentions the new Morecambe and Wise biography (presumably There's No Answer To That) due out in September, and how he and Ern sat in a room with a tape recorder talking about their lives. This was then taken away and written up into the book.
Overall this is a rare glimpse of Eric, not only without Ernie, but also talking about his work seriously. There are sections where it looks like he knows he is expected to be funny and throws in the odd joke. This is the curse of all comedians really, and in a way it is sad that the people who love him are the same ones who inadvertently put pressure on him to make us laugh.
This aside, it is so refreshing to see the serious side of the man and it’s a shame these kinds of interview are so rare.
Thanks to Bob for help with this one.
© morecambeandwise.com 2010