Johnnie Casson (born 29 April 1943) is an English comedian who has appeared on numerous occasions on British television, notably on ITV's '' The Comedians'' and many guest spots on ''

Des O'Connor Desmond Bernard O'Connor (12 January 1932 – 14 November 2020) was an English comedian, singer and television presenter. He was a long-time TV chat-show host, beginning with '' The Des O'Connor Show'' in 1963, which ran for ten years. He ...

Tonight''.

Early career

Casson was born 29th April 1943 in Halifax,

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

. After leaving school ( St Bede's Grammar Bradford), Casson joined a band called The Cresters as their drummer. The Cresters supported

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

on their first tour of Scotland, and worked many major cabaret venues, such as Batley Variety Club, Wakefield Theatre Club, Caesars Palace, The Maltings, where they backed Tammy Wynette on several TV specials. With The Cresters he appeared regularly on TV shows such as ''

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

& Friends'' and gaining an army of fans when the band were selected for a long residency on

Granada TV 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 its ...

. While on the cabaret circuit Casson not only drummed, but started performing comedy. The comedy gradually became more popular than the music and in 1984, whilst on a family holiday at a

Butlins Butlin's is a chain of large seaside resorts in the United Kingdom. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families. Between 1936 and 1966, ten camps were built, including one in Ireland and o ...

Holiday Camp, his wife entered him into that week's talent contest. He won the contest, which meant a free holiday to appear in the regional finals, which he again won. The grand final was held at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 a ...

and Casson was again the judges choice. Following this, and a winning slot on '' Bob Says Opportunity Knocks!'', he decided it was time to break from The Cresters, and went on the road as a solo

stand-up Stand-up comedy is a 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-liners, stories, ...

comedian.

TV Highlights

1987 ITV ''Summer Time Special''
1992 ITV ''The New Comedians'' (Featured in all five shows); ITV ''Celebrity Squares''
1993 BBC1 ''Rock With Laughter''; ITV ''Comedians Christmas Cracker''
1995 ITV ''Talking Telephone Numbers''; GRANADA/LWT ''Live From The Lillydrome''; SKY ONE ''Stand & Deliver'';
1996 BBC 1 ''Gag-Tag''; SKY ONE ''Stand & Deliver''; ITV ''Des O'Connor Tonight'', ''Talking Telephone Numbers''
1998 ITV ''Des O’Connor Tonight'', ''Bruce Forsyth's 70th Birthday Live from the London Palladium''; CHANNEL 5 ''Jack Docherty Show''
1999 ITV ''Des O’Connor Tonight''; CHANNEL 5 ''Big Stage''
2000 ITV ''Tonight at the London Palladium''; BBC 1 ''Jim Davidson Presents'' BBCTV ''Money In The Bank''
2001 ITV ''Des O’Connor Christmas Show''
2002 - 2006 ITV ''Des & Mel'' (6 appearances)
2007 Channel 4 ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

(Dictionary Corner)''
2009 Channel 4 ''

The Paul O'Grady Show ''The Paul O'Grady Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by comedian Paul O'Grady, first shown on 11 October 2004. The programme is a teatime chat show consisting of a mixture of celebrity guests, comic stunts, musical performances, a ...

References

External links

Profile at After Dinner Speakers and Comedians Ltd. Speaker Bureau
{{DEFAULTSORT:Casson, Johnnie 1943 births Living people English male comedians People educated at St. Bede's Grammar School People from Halifax, West Yorkshire Comedians from Yorkshire