Morecambe and Wise (II) - You Can't See the Join Quiz

Answer: Manchester

The relative failure of "Running Wild" led to Morecambe & Wise being forced to accept variety bookings lower down the bill than they had been used to up to that point. However, although their first post-television variety date, at the Ardwick Hippodrome in Manchester, saw them only fourth on the bill, they received a standing ovation which saw their morale significantly improved, and the offers of work continue unabated.

Answer: Johnny Speight

During their first appearance on ATV, Eric and Ernie did a sketch that involved having to have a taxi pulled off the stage (as if driven). However, this did not work properly, which led to them thinking that they had taken part in another disastrous television appearance.

However, during the stressful period on stage with the taxi, the ad-libbing they had done while trying to get the vehicle to move had gone down so well with the audience that, in subsequent weeks, the production team ensured that more props would fail, without telling the pair, so as to replicate their reactions.

Answer: Australia

The six-month tour of Australia in 1958 proved extremely successful for Morecambe & Wise, introducing their act to a brand new audience that was extremely enthusiastic. But, they felt a worry that so long away from home would lead to their renewed success in the UK to wane. Additionally, by the end of the tour, it was becoming apparent to them that live variety in the UK was dying, and they would need to find work in other areas of entertainment.

It was at this point that they elected to have another attempt at mastering television themselves.

Answer: Two of a Kind

The first series on ATV was broadcast under the banner of "Sir Bernard Delfont Presents Morecambe & Wise" (Bernard Delfont was the impresario brother of Lew Grade, the head of ATV). From the second series onwards, the show became known as "Two of a Kind", taken from the song by Bobby Darin and Johnny Mercer which became Morecambe & Wise's signature tune during their time at ATV.

Answer: Dick Hills and Sid Green

Hills and Green had worked in television for a number of years up to that point, writing for the likes of Jewel & Warriss, Charlie Drake, Dave King and Anthony Newley, as well as two series of the BBC sitcom "Citizen James". As such, they were seen as a safe bet for providing good material for Morecambe & Wise, who felt that they had been hampered on "Running Wild" by the presence of a large team of writers.

Answer: They were members of a different union.

During the first show, Hills & Green had written a number of sketches featuring large numbers of extras that Morecambe & Wise felt were not right for them, and sought to have the writers change their style. Although Hills & Green refused, the strike by Equity meant that extras were no longer available.

Morecambe & Wise were unaffected by the strike, as they were members of the Variety Artistes Federation, and so could continue working. As a result, Hills & Green were forced to rework their scripts to feature far fewer performers - this was usually just Morecambe & Wise, although the writers were occasionally brought in as a pair of "general purpose stooges" named Sid & Dick.

Answer: Moonlight Bay

The performance saw Ernie, together with the four Beatles, don straw boater hats and striped blazers, while Eric appeared in a mop top wig doing a medley of popular contemporary songs. The entire set by The Beatles (who had also performed two of their own songs), including the skit with Morecambe & Wise, was subsequently released on the 1995 Beatles compilation album "Anthology 1".

Answer: Three

Eric and Ernie made three films over three years for Rank; "The Intelligence Men" (1965), "That Riviera Touch" (1966) and "The Magnificent Two" (1967), with all three filmed at Pinewood Studios. Despite their success on television, and even with the scripts penned by Hills & Green, none of the three movies were particularly well received by critics, although they were reasonably successful financially. Nevertheless, Eric in particular regarded their three films as failures, hampered by a number of factors, including the money available to make them - the total budget of "The Magnificent Two" was less than the total for the volcano set of the "James Bond" film "You Only Live Twice" (1967), which was being shot at the same time at Pinewood.

Answer: Millicent Martin

Morecambe & Wise had been appearing on and off in the US for some years, most notably with their appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on CBS, of which they made a dozen between 1963 and 1968. Despite this, they never achieved great success in America, which was largely seen as due to Eric's reluctance to leave behind the success that the duo had achieved in the UK.

The ABC series, which was broadcast as a summer replacement for the variety show "The Hollywood Palace" (and was broadcast as "The Piccadilly Palace" in the US) achieved strong ratings in Canada, but was unsuccessful in the US.

Answer: They wanted the shows to be made in colour.

The negotiations with Lew Grade, the Head of ATV, did not go well, with Eric & Ernie adamant that they had outgrown the limitations of black & white television. At the time though, ITV was not broadcasting in colour, and Lew Grade famously told the duo "you'll have colour when I say you have colour".

The Head of Light Entertainment at the BBC, Bill Cotton, became aware of the impasse and, as BBC2 was, at the time the only TV station in the UK that WAS broadcasting in colour, he offered them a package that fulfilled their wish - not only would they get the shows broadcast in colour on BBC2, but they would get a subsequent repeat on the more widely available BBC1. Consequently, Morecambe & Wise signed a three-year deal with the BBC in 1968.