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Quiz about Morecambe  Wise IV  Tea Ern
Quiz about Morecambe  Wise IV  Tea Ern

Morecambe & Wise (IV) - Tea Ern? Quiz


In 1978, Morecambe & Wise began the last stage of their careers. How much do you know about the time after they left the BBC?

A multiple-choice quiz by Red_John. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
Red_John
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
392,325
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
131
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Question 1 of 10
1. In January 1978, one month after the broadcast of their phenomenally successful Christmas show on BBC1, Morecambe & Wise announced that they had signed a deal to move to ITV. Which ITV company did they sign with? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. On their move, Eric & Ernie were unable to bring with them a number of their regular collaborators, most notably their writer Eddie Braben. Which writing duo were recruited to write their first shows for ITV? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. In March 1979, Eric Morecambe suffered a second heart attack. Following tests, he was informed that he would require a heart by-pass operation, which took place in May 1979. Undertaken by the world renowned heart surgeon Magdi Yacoub, at which hospital did the operation taken place? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. In December 1979, Morecambe & Wise put out their second Christmas show on ITV. Unlike the previous year, this was not an ordinary show, but was more of an extended interview, with the addition of a small amount of new material. Which noted interviewer hosted the show and conducted the interview with Eric & Ernie? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. In 1980, Morecambe & Wise finally began work on their first full series in four years. Which of their former collaborators also returned at this time to work on the new series? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. During the time at ITV, it was felt that the shows being produced were not of the quality that had been both accepted and expected at the BBC. What was the primary reason given for this? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. The 1983 Christmas show proved to be the last television episode Eric & Ernie worked on, but why wasn't it broadcast on Christmas Day? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. In late 1983, Eric & Ernie entered the studio to finally make the film that they had been promised when they had left the BBC almost six years earlier. Planned as a pastiche of 1940s murder mysteries, what was it called? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. On 27th May 1984, Eric took part in a special charity show hosted by his old friend, Stan Stennett, which would prove to be his final public appearance. Where did the show take place? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. In 1998, while at his holiday home, Ernie suffered two separate heart attacks in a week, and had to undergo a triple bypass. In which country was Ernie staying when this took place? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. In January 1978, one month after the broadcast of their phenomenally successful Christmas show on BBC1, Morecambe & Wise announced that they had signed a deal to move to ITV. Which ITV company did they sign with?

Answer: Thames Television

The announcement that Eric & Ernie were leaving the BBC for ITV was such a bombshell that it made front page news in the United Kingdom. The duo had been pursued by Thames for much of 1977, and had actively discussed the fact that they had received an offer during the production of the Christmas show. Bill Cotton, who had recently been appointed Controller of BBC1, had found out about the offer at Christmas 1977, and had hurriedly put together a financial package that would match Thames's in an attempt to get them to stay.

However, Thames were able to offer Morecambe & Wise the opportunity to make a film, something they had sought to do since the 1960s, which the BBC were unable to do.
2. On their move, Eric & Ernie were unable to bring with them a number of their regular collaborators, most notably their writer Eddie Braben. Which writing duo were recruited to write their first shows for ITV?

Answer: John Junkin and Barry Cryer

When Morecambe & Wise moved, both Braben and producer/director Ernest Maxin declined to accompany them to ITV, as both were happy remaining at the BBC. As a consequence, Junkin and Cryer, who had written the 1972 and 1976 Christmas shows on the BBC, were brought in to script both the first ITV special and the 1978 Christmas show.
3. In March 1979, Eric Morecambe suffered a second heart attack. Following tests, he was informed that he would require a heart by-pass operation, which took place in May 1979. Undertaken by the world renowned heart surgeon Magdi Yacoub, at which hospital did the operation taken place?

Answer: Harefield Hospital

For the second time in just over a decade, Eric was forced to take a considerable amount of time off to recuperate from a heart attack just when he and Ernie had begun a new contract with a new broadcaster. However, just like Bill Cotton had done a decade before at the BBC, Philip Jones, the Head of Light Entertainment at Thames, reassured the pair that the contract they had so recently signed would be honoured. So worried were the public about his partner's health that, once it was clear that Eric was well on the road to recovery, to avoid the almost inevitable question "How's Eric?", Ernie took to wearing a badge stating "Eric's much better, but I'm not feeling too good".
4. In December 1979, Morecambe & Wise put out their second Christmas show on ITV. Unlike the previous year, this was not an ordinary show, but was more of an extended interview, with the addition of a small amount of new material. Which noted interviewer hosted the show and conducted the interview with Eric & Ernie?

Answer: David Frost

The lack of a normal Christmas show was due to Eric's continued recuperation from his heart operation. The extended interview programme was intended as something of a retrospective on the duo's career, which by then had lasted almost 40 years. There was some new sketches produced for the show as well, most notably a performance of "I Tawt I Taw A Puddy Tat", with Ernie as Tweety Pie and Eric as Sylvester the Cat.
5. In 1980, Morecambe & Wise finally began work on their first full series in four years. Which of their former collaborators also returned at this time to work on the new series?

Answer: Eddie Braben

When Eric & Ernie had left the BBC, Eddie Braben had said that he wouldn't follow them as he was happy where he was, in addition to having an exclusive contract. However, he was contacted by producer John Ammonds and, having been made aware just how much he was missed, agreed to write for the duo as soon as his BBC contract expired.
6. During the time at ITV, it was felt that the shows being produced were not of the quality that had been both accepted and expected at the BBC. What was the primary reason given for this?

Answer: The shows had been reduced in length to 30 minutes

During Eddie Braben's time writing for Eric & Ernie at the BBC, he had never had less than 45 minutes per episode to work with. But, at Thames the duration of each episode, during the series at least, had been reduced to 30 minutes, which was in reality only 25 minutes once the ad break was removed, which Braben found incredibly restrictive compared to what he had done before.

In addition, he also found it difficult to continually come up with fresh, new material, leading to increasing numbers of sketches and routines from the BBC days being reused.
7. The 1983 Christmas show proved to be the last television episode Eric & Ernie worked on, but why wasn't it broadcast on Christmas Day?

Answer: Christmas Day 1983 was a Sunday

Because Thames only held the franchise to broadcast during the week in London, with weekend viewing in London was the responsibility of a separate franchise, London Weekend Television. As a consequence, because Thames did not want one of their guaranteed ratings winners broadcast by another franchise, from 1981 onward the Morecambe & Wise Christmas Show was not broadcast on Christmas Day.
8. In late 1983, Eric & Ernie entered the studio to finally make the film that they had been promised when they had left the BBC almost six years earlier. Planned as a pastiche of 1940s murder mysteries, what was it called?

Answer: Night Train to Murder

The prospect of making another film, and putting to bed the disappointment of their 1960s efforts with Rank, had been the primary motivation for Morecambe & Wise to leave the BBC and move to Thames. However, the end result was a crushing blow for both of them. Eric in particular was upset with how it had turned out, even going so far as to suggest that Thames should permanently shelve the piece, or else show it in a mid-afternoon slot usually reserved for children's programming.

In the end, "Night Train to Murder", the last piece that Morecambe & Wise worked on together, received its first broadcast on 3rd January 1985, just over seven months after Eric's death.
9. On 27th May 1984, Eric took part in a special charity show hosted by his old friend, Stan Stennett, which would prove to be his final public appearance. Where did the show take place?

Answer: Tewkesbury

Eric had been suffering from a chest complaint for some weeks prior to the event at the Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury, and had made arrangements to visit the Harefield Hospital for tests. However, he had felt confident about his appearance, as he planned to use it as a test for the kind of public event he envisaged doing from that point onward in his semi-retirement.

Although intended as a leisurely question and answer session, at the end of the night Eric engaged in some increasingly hectic banter with the on-stage band. Almost as soon as he had finally left the stage, he collapsed with another heart attack.

This proved too much for his already weakened heart, and he died in the early hours of 28th May 1984.
10. In 1998, while at his holiday home, Ernie suffered two separate heart attacks in a week, and had to undergo a triple bypass. In which country was Ernie staying when this took place?

Answer: United States

Ernie had suffered a minor stroke in 1993, which was followed by a second in 1995, at which point he announced his final retirement from show-business. While holidaying in Boca Raton, Florida in late 1998, he had a pair of heart attacks, which, in January 1999, led him to undergo an operation similar to that Eric went through in twenty years previously.

He was returned to the UK approximately two months later, and died on 21st March 1999.
Source: Author Red_John

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Pagiedamon before going online.
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