Vincent Earl (born 11 June 1944) is an English singer, comedian and actor most famous for his portrayal of the character Ron Dixon in the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

Brookside Brookside may refer to: Geography Canada * Brookside, Edmonton * Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador * Brookside, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Brookside, Berkshire, England * Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England United States * Br ...

'', a role which he played from 1990 until the show's demise in 2003. He was involved in the Merseybeat scene of the 1960s as singer with the Vince Earl and the Talismen, and Vince Earl & the Attractions. He also played in the band "

Rory Storm and the Hurricanes Rory Storm (born Alan Ernest Caldwell; 7 January 1938 – 28 September 1972) was an English musician and vocalist. Born in Liverpool, Storm was the singer and leader of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, a Liverpudlian band who were contempora ...

" and The Wirral band The Zero's who played in the Majestic nightclub Conway street Birkenhead in the early 1960s. He is a

stand up comedian 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, ...

who appeared 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 ...

show '' The Comedians'' before landing the ''Brookside'' part. As Frank in the film ''

No Surrender No Surrender may refer to: Politics * "No Surrender!", a British Unionist slogan originating from Siege of Derry now used in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and England *No Surrender (to the IRA), a political chant since used by England football fans ...

'' his performance was both menacing and hilarious at the same time. He also appeared in ''

Boys from the Blackstuff ''Boys from the Blackstuff'' is a British drama television series of five episodes, originally transmitted from 10 October to 7 November 1982 on BBC2. The serial was written by Liverpudlian playwright Alan Bleasdale, as a sequel to a televisio ...

''. In 2001, while still appearing in ''Brookside'', Earl appeared on ''

Lily Savage's Blankety Blank ''Blankety Blank'' is a British comedy game show which started in 1979 and is still running today, albeit with some sizeable gaps. The original series ran from 18 January 1979 to 12 March 1990 on BBC1, hosted first by Terry Wogan from 1979 un ...

''. In November 2007, Earl returned to the set of ''Brookside'' in

West Derby West Derby ( ) is an affluent suburb of Liverpool, England. It is located East of the city and is also a Liverpool City Council ward. At the 2011 Census, the population was 14,382. History West Derby Mentioned in the ''Domesday Book'', Wes ...

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 ...

for an interview with ITV Local News to celebrate 25 years since the show started on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

. He showed reporters around the Close, showing them his character's house, and the infamous patio where

Trevor Jordache Trevor Jordache is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside'', played by Bryan Murray (actor), Bryan Murray. The character debuted on-screen during the episode broadcast on 8 March 1993. The ...

was found. Michael Starke, who played Sinbad Sweeney, also featured in the interview from the set of his new soap home at ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

''. He is a supporter of

Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...

In 2010, he was hospitalised with

Goodpasture's syndrome Goodpasture syndrome (GPS), also known as anti–glomerular basement membrane disease, is a rare autoimmune disease in which antibodies attack the basement membrane in lungs and kidneys, leading to bleeding from the lungs, glomerulonephritis, ...

which resulted in the need for regular dialysis. In the summer of 2012, he successfully underwent a kidney transplant.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Earl, Vince 1944 births English male comedians English male soap opera actors People from Birkenhead Living people Rory Storm and the Hurricanes members