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Mbfg (Mbfg)
Username: Mbfg

Registered: 09-2010
Posted From: 212.219.63.206
Posted on Thursday, August 29, 2013 - 10:32 am:   

I know this may seem an odd subject but I was genuinely saddened by the death of the entertainer, Mike Winters. I think it is because his passing was just another bit of my childhood chipped away. I remember watching the Mike and Bernie Winters Show on TV, on Sunday evenings I think it was, correct me if I'm wrong, back in the 1960s and early 70s.
The odd thing is that I never really found them funny, but rather, a pale reflection of Morecombe and Wise. They were, however, all-rounders, as variety entertainers were in those days. They could sing, dance and tell a joke or two. They are from an era when there were precious few short cuts to fame. Instead it was a hard slog through the brutal world of Working Men's Clubs and other small smoke-filled venues with their go-on-impress-me audiences, then promotion to the windy, rainy seaside variety show circuit and so on. So, like them or not, the Winters brothers were part of a generation of true, hard-slogging, dues-paid entertainers and as such, have my undying respect.

Cheers
Terry
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Thursday, August 29, 2013 - 03:42 pm:   

I saw them live once in Butlins as a child, Terry, and remember laughing uproariously.

My most vivid memory of that day, however, was of sitting in excitement near the front asking my Mum & Dad when they were coming on and, suddenly, for one brief second, I looked to the side and caught a glimpse of Bernie Winters peering through some curtains at the audience and wondering why he looked so serious.

It was a moment that always stuck with me, as, when they appeared on stage, he was fully in character and looking just as dopey as usual. Yet something haunted the back of my mind about him after that day. It was my first introduction to the reality of illusion.

RIP Mike...
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Mbfg (Mbfg)
Username: Mbfg

Registered: 09-2010
Posted From: 212.219.63.206
Posted on Thursday, August 29, 2013 - 04:27 pm:   

A school friend of mine won the chance to perform on stage with Leslie Crowther. My friend (her name long gone) played the trumpet and this was one hell of a big deal for her. She would have been about 15 at the time.

She came back astonished by how nervous Crowther had been before going on. She described him pacing and chain-smoking and looking scared out of his wits, and yet his job as the consumate compere, was to set others at ease when they walked out into the bright lights. A job he carried out to perfection. (Mind you, perhaps he was in a state because his daughter had just brought her new boyfriend home the night before. "He's Irish Dad, and plays bass and sings in a rock band called Spin Dizzy or Tin Missy or something"!)

So, yes, an intriguing disjoint between the real and the proffessional mask.

Cheers
Terry
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Carolinec (Carolinec)
Username: Carolinec

Registered: 06-2009
Posted From: 92.237.187.186
Posted on Thursday, August 29, 2013 - 07:45 pm:   

Oh no! I didn't know about this until I read your post, Terry. You've summed it up well - they were quite a poor imitation of Morecambe & Wise but they were still a big part of my childhood too. In fact, I had a bit of a crush on Mike for a short while. Didn't the two brothers fall out at some point? Always sad when that happens.

I did chuckle at what you said about Leslie Crowther looking nervous about his daughter bringing her Irish rock star boyfriend home though!

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