''Slapstick and Old Lace'' is a British television

sketch show Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and i ...

which originally aired on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

in 1971. Starring

Charlie Drake Charles Edward Springall (19 June 1925 – 23 December 2006), known professionally as Charlie Drake, was an English comedian, actor, writer and singer. With his small stature (5' 1"/155 cm tall), curly red hair and liking for slapstick, h ...

, it was his follow-up to his hit television comedy '' The Worker'' which had lasted from 1965 to 1970. Also appearing in the show were

Anna Dawson Anna Dawson (born 27 July 1937) is an English actress and singer. Born in Bolton, Lancashire, Dawson spent part of her childhood in Tanganyika, where her father worked. She attended the Elmhurst Ballet School and after training at the Central ...

and

Henry McGee ''For the American businessman and academic, see Henry W. McGee.'' Henry James Marris-McGee (14 May 1929 – 28 January 2006) was a British actor, best known as straight man to Benny Hill for many years. McGee was also often the announce ...

. The title is a reference to the play '' Arsenic and Old Lace''. In 1976 Drake appeared in a stage show of the same name, which failed due to the extraordinary hot summer during which audience numbers dramatically fell.Goldman p.329

References

Bibliography

* Lawrence Goldman. ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2005–2008''. OUP Oxford, 2013. * Howard Maxford. ''Hammer Complete: The Films, the Personnel, the Company''. McFarland, 2018.

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0066715 1971 British television series debuts 1971 British television series endings 1970s British comedy television series 1970s British television sketch shows ITV sketch shows Television series by ITV Studios Television shows produced by Associated Television (ATV) English-language television shows