'The Crazy Gang' - Collectively, the best loved bunch of pensioners
ever to tramp the boards, sing a song or raise a laugh. When they
first came together in 1931 it was, perhaps, the most unlikely
troupe of acts ever assembled on the stage for a single show. A
pair of slapstick artists, an acrobatic high-wire act and a
couple of comics who laced their jokes with schmaltzy songs
wasn't really designed to set the stage on fire. Not even if you
threw in a juggler with a red nose and a peculiar line of patter
consisting of a little fractured French and a heck of a lot of
cockney. But succeed they did and, by the time they made the very
final of their many final appearances at the Victoria Palace
Theatre in 1962, they had topped the bill for over 30 years.
They were, of
course, all very well established acts before they came together
at the London Palladium in 1931 and their names read like a
litany of the all time greats of variety.
Jimmy
Nervo and Teddy Knox - who
combined the agility of their high-wire training with the skill
and hilarity of their slow motion wrestling and a spoof ballet
act.
Charlie
Naughton and Jimmy Gold - a
pair of slapstick comics who, for two decades, had been an
integral part of the London pantomime scene. Although they were
ten years older than the other members of The Gang, their humour
blended incredibly well with Nervo and Knox and Charlie's
incredible mastery of the art of double-talk is something that
will not be forgotten by everyone who knew him.
Then there was a
pair of comics who had worked with a variety of other partners
before they eventually came together for the very first time with
that great music hall star of the 1920s Florrie Ford - Bud Flanagan and Chesney
Allen.
Three double acts -
but there was someone else too! A man who started his show
business life a serious juggler and was later described often by
fellow comics simply as "The funniest man in the
World". A man who did more to ruin the french language than
any cheap Cognac - 'Monsewer' Eddie Gray.
Together they
became a real comedy phenomenon, packing theatres and also
appearing in a number of films.
'Crazy' was what
they were! Their antics combining verbal gymnastics with farce
and elaborate physical comedy and accompanied by slapstick and,
usually, custard pies.
Off stage too they
developed an infamous reputation as practical jokers, and played
many pranks on one another and fellow guest stars; hoaxes that
ranged from the harmless to the cruel and, on some occasions, the
downright dangerous.
The team remained
hugely popular for many years, Flanagan in particular being
adored by the British public. It was an obvious idea to bring
them to TV, and at least two of their first seven television
shows featured extracts from a Crazy Gang theatre production,
Jokers Wild, which Jack Hylton had mounted at the Victoria Palace
in London since the end of 1954.
'The Crazy Gang' - Collectively, the best loved bunch of pensioners
ever to tramp the boards, sing a song or raise a laugh. When they
first came together in 1931 it was, perhaps, the most unlikely
troupe of acts ever assembled on the stage for a single show. A
pair of slapstick artists, an acrobatic high-wire act and a
couple of comics who laced their jokes with schmaltzy songs
wasn't really designed to set the stage on fire. Not even if you
threw in a juggler with a red nose and a peculiar line of patter
consisting of a little fractured French and a heck of a lot of
cockney. But succeed they did and, by the time they made the very
final of their many final appearances at the Victoria Palace
Theatre in 1962, they had topped the bill for over 30 years.
