Shows ran from May to November and twice-nightly in those days and I had a plum spot in the second half of Let’s Have Fun.
I used to watch Morecambe & Wise from the wings each night for the first few months of the long run and watched the duo perform their quick-fire humour. This was a time when comedy was becoming far more sophisticated and was leaving the red-nosed comedians behind. I believe this was helped along by performers like Danny Kaye and Bob Monkhouse.
Eric was like a playful imp. He had the perfect foil in Ernie. The foil or the ‘feed’ is the man who builds the structure of the act – and Morecambe & Wise were an excellent double act. I liked what they did and they liked my act.
Comedians have to build their own base when they’re on stage. Double acts are different as they build a situation. A solo comedian can’t do that as they have to feed off the audience. The audience is their straight man.