George Colin Crompton (22 June 1931 – 24 August 1985) was an English

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...

Biography

Crompton, born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, found fame on the

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

programme '' The Comedians'' in the early 1970s. Before his big break into television, Crompton was half of a duo musical comedy act with musician and singer Edward (Eddie) Forrest (piano, ukulele and banjo), doing the rounds of the

Working Men's Club Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class me ...

s of Manchester. In ''

The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...

'', dated Thursday 26 June 1958, James Hartley wrote "Colin Crompton, who for a while has been working for the C.W.S. as a traveller and engaging in lucrative concert work in Lancashire Clubland, is not accepting a Butlin offer of a resident job commencing July 6 at Ayr Camp. Much as I love the profession, I am not resigning from a well-paid all-the-year-round job for a 10-week season" he told me. Just the same, Colin plans to motor up to Ayr every Saturday to contribute regularly in the Camp's week-end programmes: 400 miles, there and back. From 1974 to 1977 he was also the "club chairman" in another Granada programme, ''

The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club ''The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club'' was a British television variety show produced by Granada Television from 1974 to 1977. It was set in a fictional working men's club in the North of England and was hosted by comedian Colin Crompton ...

''. An attempt by producer

Johnnie Hamp Johnnie Hamp (sometimes referred to as John Hamp, or Johnny Hamp) is a British television producer, now retired. He is responsible for the early British television appearances of such acts as the Beatles, Burt Bacharach, Cannon and Ball, Paul Dan ...

to reproduce the atmosphere of the

working men's club Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class me ...

s in a television studio, Crompton was famous for ringing a hand-operated fire alarm bell and telling the audience to "give order" when making announcements from "the committee" in between acts. He wrote his own scripts, with occasional additions by

Neil Shand Neil Hodgson Shand (3 March 1934 – 14 April 2018) was a British television comedy writer. He was born in Luton to parents from Glasgow, the son of a Vauxhall employee and a dressmaker. Neil was the eldest of three boys. Raised in a "two up tw ...

. The MC for the show,

Bernard Manning Bernard John Manning (13 August 1930 – 18 June 2007) was an English comedian and nightclub owner. Manning gained a high profile on British television during the 1970s, appearing on shows such as '' The Comedians'' and ''The Wheeltappers and ...

, claimed he was cast in the role because he "had been on ''The Comedians'' and he had that gormless look about him so he was ideal". According to

: "Colin was criticised by real club chairmen for the way he acted. One actual club chairman wanted to appear and have it out with him on the show. He came along and met Colin, who was dressed in a very good suit, very smart, and here was this man looking more of a caricature than Colin ever did." Crompton also had a small role as Roughage in the film ''

Confessions from a Holiday Camp ''Confessions from a Holiday Camp'' is a 1977 British comedy film. It is the last film in the series which began with '' Confessions of a Window Cleaner''. The film was released in North America in 1978 under the title ''Confessions of a Summer ...

'' in 1977. A favourite moment during ''The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club'' was when he rang his bell to interrupt

ventriloquist Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is v ...

Ray Alan Ray Alan (18 September 1930 – 24 May 2010) was an English ventriloquist and television entertainer from the 1950s until the 1980s. He was associated primarily with the dummies Lord Charles and Ali Kat and later with the puppets Tich and Quack ...

halfway through his act: "...excuse me Mr. Allen we've had some complaints that they can't quite hear you at the back. Could you hold your dummy a little closer to the microphone please?" This particular joke, like the character of the club chairman itself, owed a heavy debt to the comedian

Norman Collier Norman Collier (25 December 1925 – 14 March 2013) was a British comedian who achieved popularity following television appearances in the 1970s. He was best known for his 'faulty microphone' routine and for his chicken impressions. Career and ...

. Crompton bought and ran a pub called the Birch and Bottle in

Whitley, Cheshire Whitley is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is surrounded by the parishes of Antrobus, Comberbach, Little Leigh and Dutton. It also borders Daresbury in Ha ...

Death

On 24 August 1985, Crompton died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

at the age of 54. He was survived by his three children, Cheryl, Erica and John.

Books

*''More Best Jewish Jokes,'' Wolfe Publishing (1970), . *''Best West Country jokes,'' Wolfe Publishing (1970), . *''Best nursing jokes (The Wolfe mini ha-ha books),'' Wolfe Publishing (1970), . *''Best motoring jokes (The Wolfe mini ha-ha books),'' Wolfe (1970), . *''Best fishing jokes (The Wolfe mini ha-ha books),'' Wolfe (1970), . *''Best Yorkshire Jokes (Mini-ha-ha Books),'' Wolfe Pub. (1970), . *''Best Seaside Jokes (Mini-ha-ha Books),'' Mosby-Wolfe (1970), . *''Best Newly-wed Jokes,'' Wolfe (1971), . *''Best Office Jokes (Mini-ha-ha Books),'' Mosby-Wolfe (1973), . *''Best After Dinner Jokes,'' Wolfe Pub. (1973), .

References

External links

*
Nostalgia Central on The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crompton, Colin 1931 births 1985 deaths English male comedians English stand-up comedians Comedians from Manchester Butlins Redcoats 20th-century English comedians Deaths from lung cancer in England