Final curtain for comic

Press, 29 May 1984, Page 1

Final curtain for comic

NZPA-PA London The comedian, Eric Morecambe, died yesterday after collapsing earlier at a performance in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. His son Gary, aged 28, said he had suffered a heart attack and did not regain consciousness. Mr Morecambe was rushed to the intensive care unit of the Cheltenham General Hospital in a “critical” condition at 11 p.m. (local time). A hospital spokesman said later “Mr Morecambe died at 4 a.m.” The comedian, who was 58, had suffered two previous heart attacks and had undergone open-heart surgery. He had just finished a performance at the Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury, when he collapsed in the wings. His wife, Joan, was among the audience of 400 and travelled with him to hospital. She was at his bedside when he died. Mr Morecambe had been doing the show with the “Crossroads” actor, Stan Stenett, when he collapsed. Staff at the theatre called for a doctor and soon after Mr Morecambe was taken hv ambulance to the Chel-

tenham hospital about 15km away. Mr Morecambe was the tall one with the glasses of the famous comedy duo Morecambe and Wise. He teamed up with Ernie Wise in 1943—an idea of his mother’s. The pair had to wait until they had both been in show business almost 25 years before they rocketed to the big time with their television shows. Their Christmas television specials became as much a part of the festive tradition as turkey and Christmas pud—and have starred such famous names as Glenda Jackson, Harold Wilson, and Sir Alec Guinness. Ernie Wise paid tribute “on the saddest day of my life” to his friend and comic partner. “We have lost a great comedian,” he said. “Everywhere I went people—from Royalty to the poorest—always said they felt Eric was one of the family. “He was a natural comedian, and I am very, very proud to have been his partner. Through the years people will realise how great he was.”