Unforgettable Ernie Wise
On the television...
Ernie and his Father
After the first section, covering his young life in Leeds and journey from amateur to professional, there is a tendency to drift into Morecambe and Wise. It would of course be very difficult if not impossible not to, but by the end it did feel like we had watched a very well put together Morecambe and Wise documentary.
Having said that, it was still a very good program and finally got his birthplace correct -how long it has taken. There were some unique photographs from various collections with home movie footage from Doreen.
The show did miss out quite a lot of elements of Ernie’s life such as the string of Nignog reviews he did in Bradford and the large amount of charity work he did in both Australia and New Zealand in his later life. There was also no mention of his many childhood homes with only Bramley and Ardsley getting brief mentions.
Another omission was the statue of Ernie, erected in Morley, Leeds. It isn’t the most popular tribute to him, but I would have thought a mentioned would have been in order.
All along there are contributions from well-known friends and colleges like Teddy and Perl, Barry Cryer, Eddie Braben, Michael Grade, Ann Hamilton, John Ammonds and Ernest Maxim. Also the boys wives, Joan and Doreen gave their accounts, and the overall end result was good viewing.
Great care has been taken with this project and it comes across in the final result. A great documentary well worth watching.
© morecambeandwise.com 2011