Hicks is someone who will grow and grow through the work he has left now. Sean Hughes, comedian
And then I saw a big ungainly man with a fez who wasn’t like any other magician I’d ever seen. He seemed to be getting everything wrong. The audience loved him. And he’d suddenly get something right … There was only one. Comedy Legends with Barry Cryer s1e1: Tommy Cooper, Barry Cryer, Sky Arts 2019
He did make an impact when he first appeared on television. ibid.
Suddenly the table was full of fifteen bottles. How did he do that? ibid.
That attention to detail. He was obsessed with that. ibid.
They’re always restless before they go on. ibid.
Disciplined chaos. ibid.
Frankie Howerd was one of the most amazing characters and talented man I ever wrote for. And he was a one off … Fate propelled him into being a comedian. Comedy Legends with Barry Cryer s1e2: Frankie Howerd
He was immaculate. He rehearsed every syllable. ibid. Stephen Armstrong, journalist
Ye may titter. Titter ye may. ibid. Frankie
‘Never as funny as Frankie Howerd shambling all over the place.’ ibid. Clive Anderson
‘He was a very very mixed up depressive human being.’ ibid. critic
The church was packed and a lot of fellow comedians. ibid.
No subject was taboo. She went for it. Comedy Legends with Barry Cryer s1e3: Joan Rivers
She was not interested in political correctness. ibid.
I worked in clubs. You passed the hat. The hat wouldn’t come back. ibid. Joan
Joan Rivers’ stand-up was quite satirical but it was also self-mocking. ibid. Stephen Armstrong, journalist
She was a good writer. ibid. Tony Hawks
Fearless in her own life, fearless in her comedy. ibid. Neil Norman, writer and critic
I don’t think I’ve ever met an actor who was also a born comedian. Ronnie Barker was. Ronnie Barker was a character actor who had such a flair for comedy. Comedy Legends with Barry Cryer s1e4: Ronnie Barker
Ronnie Barker was incorporated into The Frost Report. ibid.
‘Fork ‘andles is not Ronnie Barker’s joke. It’s something that was sent into him by a view to whom it had actually happened.’ ibid. Steve Punt
Bob Hope had the amazing idea of embracing everything … He was still gonna work at it. Comedy Legends with Barry Cryer s1e5: Bob Hope
When I first started in Vaudeville the only thing that kept me alive was the vegetables the audience threw at me. ibid. Bob Hope
He made over fifty films … And then his greatest success in films was with Bing Crosby. ibid.
The loveliest warm man to work with. Comedy Legends with Barry Cryer s1e6: Jack Benny
Jack doesn’t come on the stage, he commands it. ibid. Bob Hope
Jack Benny became a star on radio in America because of his immaculate timing. ibid. Barry Cryer
His television show was just something else. ibid.
This relaxed slow style, never rushing anything. ibid.
George Burns: amazing character. When he was in his 80s he made an album of country songs. And he said, I’ve made an album of country songs because I’m older than most countries. Comedy Legends with Barry Cryer s1e7: George Burns
I guess you’re a little disappointed that I didn’t come out of a cake wearing a bikini. I didn’t want to get you too excited. ibid.
They [George & Gracie] created this very strong bond that really took them from the Vaudeville stage all the way through to television sitcoms and gave them a huge career. ibid. Stephen Armstrong
The shadow of Gracie hung over. ibid. Barry Cryer
Jack Benny brought him back to life … finding his interaction. ibid. Stephen Armstrong
That brain was still as active as ever. ibid. Barry Cryer
Eric & Ernie were not a one-off, two-off, a sort of four-legged animal … Comedy Legends s1e8 with Barry Cryer: Morecambe & Wise
They knew each other as boys. ibid.
Their first venture into television was with the BBC; it was called Running Wild … an absolute flop. ibid.
Andre Previn: You’re playing all the wrong notes.
Eric Morecambe: I’m playing all the right notes. But not necessarily in the right order. ibid.
Nobody has ever managed to imitate them or create anything even close to that accelerated physical comedy and verbal wit. Comedy Legends with Barry Cryer s2e1: The Marx Brothers, Sky Arts 2019, Neil Norman
A classic example of adults behaving like children. ibid. Cryer
Lily Tomlin – one of that great army of great support artists, the utterly reliables who are in everything. You could cast her as almost any comedy character and knew she’d come through. Comedy Legends with Barry Cryer s2e2: Lily Tomlin
Not only a great comic she’s a great comic actress. ibid. Neil Norman
I remembered seeing him in earlier years in television shows in America: a much warmer, more conventional character … He became more edgy and fierce with the issues, and to see the change in the man was absolutely fascinating. Comedy Legends with Barry Cryer s2e3: Richard Pryor
He was his own character … and it was quite complex and quite confrontational. ibid. Neil Norman
Probably one of the greatest stand up shows ever to be recorded. ibid. critic
Precision: every movement, every detail was thought through and done immaculately. Comedy Legends with Barry Cryer s2e4: Madeline Kahn
‘An instinctive understanding of how to do over the top for the screen.’ ibid. Steve Punt
The really great one have done it all … He had the one-off quality: quiet insanity. Comedy Legends with Barry Cryer s2e5: Steve Martin
This amazing range of talents. ibid. Jo Caulfield
The Frost Report: Amazing conglomeration of people. And in there, having done Cambridge Footlights and everything were people like John Cleese. Comedy Legends with Barry Cryer s2e6: John Cleese
An archetype in the brain of my generation. He’s just the tall shouty man … He can carry off those sort of upper-class figures, and so you kind of believe it. It’s just a perfect combination of script and performers and height, length of spine. ibid. Steve Punt
Fawlty Towers: Just about the most perfect comedy series I think that has ever been written. ibid. Neil Norman
An escalation sketch: where it works by getting more and more exaggerated. ibid. Steve Punt
This court is now in session. Comedy Legends with Barry Cryer s2e7: Phyllis Diller
Meeting Phyllis was a joy because I didn’t know a lot about her and I soon got tuned into her, and what a pleasure it was. ibid. Cryer
A pioneer of American stand up. She was the first real female stand up comic. ibid. Neil Norman
She was a game-changer in comedy. ibid. Steve Punt
She had bought up five children … They had grown up in vaudeville. ibid.
She wrote her own material … and what she knew was domestic life. ibid. Armstrong
The kids demand a hot breakfast. So I set fire to their cereal. ibid. Diller
She was a comedy actress. ibid. Cryer
American comedy is line-based. ibid.
I’ve never seen anything like it … They just come one after the other. ibid. Punt
She fitted right into Rowan & Martin’s Laugh In, which was probably the wackiest of the American comedy shows at the time. It was real sixties, seventies buzz, and she fitted right in there … And they loved her. ibid.