Morecambe & Wise in America

We’re used to seeing Eric and Ern at Christmas, but it’s a rarity to see the beloved duo knocking out gags to utter silence from a live audience. The first in a three-part series about their American adventure (first shown in 2018) features the pair’s nervous 1963 debut on The Ed Sullivan Show (the cadaverous US impresario invited the boys over after seeing them at the London Palladium). Happily, after a drastic re-think about their routine, their next appearance the following week went a lot better. Normal service was resumed.

With home-movie footage of a smiling M&W with their wives in 60s New York, and jokes that work as well today as they did then, this affectionate look back is a must for comedy fans. Though it’s a stressful, dry-mouth experience seeing Sullivan first introduce them as “a team of comedians” and “More-CAM and Wise”.

Widow Joan Morecambe and children Gail and Gary find it a tough watch, too. But slowly the audience warms up, and the laughs come. And it was definitely an accolade if Sullivan called an act back onto the stage to shake their hands.

Presenter Jonathan Ross, celebrity fans including Anita Harris, Glenda Jackson and Penn & Teller all chip in, and Gary Morecambe has a lovely memory of his dad leaving the home to watch Luton FC play, carrying comedy props in his pockets: “He felt he should give back. He really felt privileged that he had the job he had.”