David Morris (5 July 1896 – 8 June 1960) was a British

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

comedian who made a successful transition to radio and television.

Biography

He was born on 5 July 1896, son of Samuel Morris and Lily Reubens. Samuel, a tailor, lived at 110 Wilson Street,

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. His first stage appearance was on 10 December 1908 at the Oxford Playhouse, Middlesbrough and his first London appearance in 1913 at the London

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

. He started with a juvenile troupe, "Phil Reece and his Stable Lads",Roy Hudd and Philip Hindin, ''Roy Hudd's Cavalcade of Variety Acts'', Robson Books, 1998, , pp.127-128 then as a

blackface Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...

comic. He was called up into the Army in World War 1 and resumed his stage career in 1918, touring constantly in variety and revue. He lived in the

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

area from the early 1930s, and in 1940 began a thirteen-year run in the resort's summer season shows, starting at the

North Pier North Pier is the most northerly of the three coastal piers in Blackpool, England. Built in the 1860s, it is also the oldest and longest of the three. Although originally intended only as a promenade, competition forced the pier to widen its ...

, as a northern comic in his famous straw hat and very thick glasses. He had extremely bad eyesight as a result of having been gassed in the trenches in World War I and thus was not conscripted for the Second World War. After nine years, he refused to go on playing matinees and transferred to a long run at the Blackpool Palace for George and Alfred Black. He worked as a sketch comic, also doing some stand-up material.Roger Wilmut, ''Kindly Leave the Stage: The Story of Variety 1919-1960'', Methuen, 1985, , pp.199-201 In 1948, he toured with ''Paradise on Parade'' after a summer season at the

South Pier, Blackpool South Pier (originally known as Victoria Pier) is one of three piers in Blackpool, England. Located on South Promenade on the South Shore, the pier contains a number of amusement and adrenaline rides. It opens each year from March to November an ...

. In January 1950, he was resident comedian of the BBC North Country variety feature, ''Variety Fanfare''. He also toured with his own stage show, ''The Dave Morris Show'', for several years. In 1950

Joe Gladwin Joseph Gladwin (22 January 1906 – 11 March 1987) was an English actor, best known for his roles as Fred Jackson in Coronation Street, Stan Hardman in Nearest and Dearest, and Wally Batty in the world's longest-running sitcom, ''Last of the ...

joined him as "Cedric", a ' feed', and stayed with him for ten years. The radio series ''Club Night'' was launched in the

BBC Home Service The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4. History 1922–1939: Interwar period Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...

north region on 7 November 1950 where it ran for 52 editions until 6 June 1955. The programme was set in a fictitious workingmen's club "'oop north." With his trademark cigar, straw hat and glasses, Dave Morris was the somewhat loudmouthed 'know all' club treasurer, ably assisted by Gladwin as Cedric and by

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

comedian Fred Ferris as 'The Wacker' whose primary ambition seemed to be to scrounge a drink. The scripts were written by Morris with James Casey and Frank Roscoe. He moved to television for six programmes of the sitcom '' The Artful Dodger'' from 28 September to 2 November 1959. The show was based on ''Club Night'' and used the character he developed there. It also featured Joe Gladwin as his comic foil. Morris died in Blackpool in 1960, aged 63. "Famous Blackpool Entertainers: Dave Morris", ''Blackpool Postcards'', 18 October 2012
Retrieved 16 February 2021 Writer

Roger Wilmut Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ...

said of him:

Morris has been largely forgotten since his death... partly because of his relative lack of appeal in the south
f England F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. Hist ...
and also because no recordings seem to have survived of him; he was one of the finest
northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...
comedians.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Dave British comedians Music hall performers People from Middlesbrough 1896 births 1960 deaths 20th-century British comedians