Eric Morecambe Statue

One thing that had completely passed me by until the recent Morecambe and Wise documentary was the existence of a statue of Eric in his home town. I have never been to Morecambe but maybe now I would like to pay it a visit. The statue has become not only a famous landmark but perhaps more pertinently the most photographed place for many a mile.I would like to go see it on a hot sunny Bank Holiday afternoon. Not to have my own photograph taken in front of it you understand but more to measure whether people make the trip as some kind of homage.The town is understandably proud of Eric though I assume he spent little of his adulthood there.The statue,a result of a public appeal and unveiled by the Queen in 1999 looks suitably grand and is adorned with binoculars (Eric was a keen bird-watcher).The Lake District provides a suitable back-drop and the area is lit at night. I just pray there is not a little box at the foot of the statue, where for a pound coin you get a 'wahey' or 'what do you think of it so far'. I am sure there isn't!

I guess it is now relatively well known that Eric adopted the name of his home town for his stage career (he was born John Eric Bartholomew). But I had a thought earlier. Imagine a contestant on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Asked 'where was Eric Morecambe born ? a) Manchester b) Bristol c) Morecambe d) Reading ,those without the slightest clue would immediately dismiss c) as ridiculous. Would be fun if it was the million pound question. Maybe the question has been used on the show ( I don't watch it much anymore). Whenever I learn the real name of a celebrity I am often left wondering how their more famous stage name came about. Eric's choice could not have been simpler. Much like his comic genius I think.

Being so fantastically popular (over 28 million viewers watched their 1977 Christmas Show) for so long, there is plenty of resource on the net dedicated to Eric & Ernie. It's all worth checking out. Their sketches are so vivid in the old grey matter that just reading about them is funny. I caught Des O'Connor on Countdown this afternoon (and a splendid job he is doing). Next thought Eric!! Fans waited (and often not too long) for the next Des O'Connor joke. Ernie: I've got some great news Eric:What? Has Des O'Connor got a sore throat?

Relentless character assassination. O'Connor of course allowed it to go on and it could have fatally destroyed the reputation of many a lesser man.He went on to become a great friend to both Eric and Ernie and is reputed to have helped come up with ideas for jokes about himself. But what a top man our Des was and still is. He asked Eric and Ernie if he could sing on their show. 'Sing on our show'? responded Eric. 'You can't even sing on your own show'.