Close Up To The Clown.
This rather 'home-grown' book gives us never-before-seen glimpses of one of the funniest men in the business of comedy, Eric Morecambe, half of that definitive comedy team, Morecambe and Wise. It is charming in its family feel, such as the printed letters to and from Morecambe and his son as to the progress on the book, and its lack of ego and pseudo-sophistication, instead leaning towards how it really was and giving the reader the flavour of that period when entertainers had fun together and were not afraid to chance that the audience would have fun too.
Gary Morecambe's picture of his father is of a lover of gadgetry and of fishing, and of pottering around the house in his periods at home, enjoying the countryside. It's not a completely rosy picture: Eric is seen to be irritable if things go wrong; hogs' Gary's friends when they come around, and prefers everybody to play the straight man when he's playing the fool. But he really was the ultimate clown, with a quip for every unrehearsed situation, so it's not surprising that everyone was only too pleased to play along.
This book is obviously a labour of love for the author, who visited people his father had been involved with, listing their memories, some of which are very funny. There is the hilarious account (p.122,123) of Morecambe and Wise, and Roy Castle as second and third on the bill, cheekily being asked by the star David Hughes to fill in on stage for a few minutes while he was getting into his Elvis Presley costume. What ensued was mayhem with three rampaging vaudevillians (Eric in a huge sombrero hat, a string vest and braces supporting short trousers) going crazy in the Marx Brothers style, Eric singing into the microphone "There's just one place for me...", fumbling in his pocket in silence, bringing out a crumpled piece of paper and getting out "Near you", while the star in his Elvis suit shouted from the wings, "I'm ready now boys. Come off!" to no avail. You could never not laugh at Eric, and the audience were crying with laughter, as this reader was upon reading about it.
This enjoyable read will be a pleasure for anyone who wants something slightly different.
