Jimmy Nervo and Teddy Knox were part of the original Crazy Gang. They started their stage careers as an

acrobatic Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance (ability), balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sports, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most ...

dancing team. They used this ability in many of the earlier Crazy Gang shows. Among their many routines, a

slow motion Slow motion (commonly abbreviated as slo-mo or slow-mo) is an effect in film-making whereby time appears to be slowed down. It was invented by the Austrian priest August Musger in the early 20th century. This can be accomplished through the use o ...

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

act was developed into a humorous show stopper. In December 1926, the British division of DeForest Phonofilm released a short sound film of Nervo and Knox performing their song "The Love of Phtohtenese" (pronounced "Hot Knees").SilentEra entry
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Jimmy Nervo

Jimmy Nervo was born as James Hollaway in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 2 January 1898. Both his father and grandfather were

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...

owners, and he started performing in the circus at an early age. By the time he was eight, he was in a

high wire Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...

act with his brothers. He started performing in

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 ...

as a

juggler Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipulation of one object ...

when he was sixteen, using the name Jimmy Nervo. He married Minna Scott who was in the

D'Oyly Carte Opera Company The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. Th ...

. One of his famous catchphrases, in the portent of unfavourable circumstances or the like, was 'Aye Aye, Taxi!'. He died in London on 5 December 1975.

Teddy Knox

Teddy Knox was born in

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

on 12 July 1896. His full name was Albert Edward Cromwell Knox and he also started his career as a juggler, working with his brother under the stage name of ''The Cromwells''. In 1922, he was in the USA on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in ''The

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air ...

of 1922''. He married

Clarice Mayne Clarice Mayne (6 February 1886 – 16 January 1966) was a music hall and variety theatre singer and performer. Life and career Clarice Mabel Dulley, whose stage name was Clarice Mayne, was born in London in 1886. She is best known for the s ...

who was also acting in the Music Halls. He died on 1 December 1974.

Selected filmography

* ''Nervo and Knox'' (1926) short film made in the sound-on-film process

Phonofilm Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s. Introduction In 1919 and 1920, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film process, ...

, released December 1926 * '' Alf's Button'' (1930) * ''

Skylarks ''Skylarks'' is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Jimmy Nervo, Teddy Knox and Nancy Burne.Low p.386 Nervo and Knox were a comic team, who became associated with the larger Crazy Gang grouping with whom they s ...

'' (1936) * '' It's in the Bag'' (1936) * ''

O-Kay for Sound ''O-Kay for Sound'' is a 1937 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring the Crazy Gang troupe of comedians. After falling on hard times the members of the Crazy Gang are busking on the streets of London. However, they are hired ...

'' (1937) * ''

Alf's Button Afloat ''Alf's Button Afloat'' is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen, Jimmy Nervo, Alastair Sim and Peter Gawthorne. In the film, the Crazy Gang go to sea, where one of them discovers a butto ...

'' (1938) * '' Life Is a Circus'' (1960)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nervo And Knox English male stage actors English comedy duos British male comedy actors