Syd Little (born Cyril John Mead; 19 December 1942) is an English comedian who was the

straight man The straight man is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically, the straight man is expected to maintain composure. The direct contribution to the ...

in the

double act A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases f ...

Little and Large ''Little and Large'' were a British comedy double act comprising straight man Syd Little (born Cyril John Mead; 19 December 1942) and comic Eddie Large (born Edward Hugh McGinnis; 25 June 1941 – 2 April 2020). Comedy duo They formed their p ...

, with

Eddie Large Edward Hugh McGinnis (25 June 1941 – 2 April 2020), better known by the stage name Eddie Large, was a British comedian. He was best known as one half of the double act Little and Large, with Syd Little (the stage name of Cyril Mead). Early l ...

Life and career

Born in

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 ...

, Little was raised in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. After leaving Yew Tree Secondary Modern School,

Wythenshawe Wythenshawe () is a district of the city of Manchester, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Cheshire, Wythenshawe was transferred in 1931 to the City of Manchester, which had begun building a massive housing estate there in the ...

, and working as an interior decorator, Little began his performing career as a singer and guitarist in

pubs before teaming up with Large. Originally titled ''Cyril Mead and Friend'', then ''Mead and McGinnis'', after changing their name to ''Little and Large'' their double act won '' Opportunity Knocks'' in 1971 leading to a successful 20-year television career. The partnership's first television pilot was recorded in 1976, followed by a regular series in 1977. After switching to the BBC, their show was cancelled in 1991. After the cancellation of ''

The Little and Large Show ''The Little and Large Show'' was a sketch comedy series broadcast on BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broa ...

'', Little appeared occasionally on shows such as '' Shooting Stars'', until 2005 when he took part in the reality television show ''Trust Me I'm A Holiday Rep''. He also appeared in ''

The Bob Monkhouse Show Robert Alan Monkhouse (1 June 1928 – 29 December 2003) was an English comedian, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including '' The Golden Shot'', ''Celebrity Squares'', ''Family Fortunes'' and '' ''Wipeout'. Earl ...

'', ''

Wogan ''Wogan'' is a British television talk show which was broadcast on BBC1 from 1982 until 1992, presented by Terry Wogan. It was usually broadcast live from the BBC Television Theatre in Shepherd's Bush, London, until 1991. It was then broadcast ...

'' and ''

Comedy Map of Britain ''Comedy Map of Britain'' is a BBC documentary series which visits the places that have inspired many of Britain's leading comedians. It first aired on BBC Two in 2007 and 2008. Narrated by veteran broadcaster Alan Whicker, comedians included ...

''. In 2015, Little took part in

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

's ''

Celebrity MasterChef ''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking reality show produced by Endemol Shine UK and Banijay and broadcast in 60 countries around the world. In the UK, it is produced by the BBC. The show initially ran from 1990 to 2001 and was revived in 2 ...

'' and made it through to the third round. In 2018, he appeared in the fly-on-the-wall documentary ''

The Real Marigold Hotel ''The Real Marigold Hotel'' (known in Australia as ''The Indian Dream Hotel'') is a British travel documentary series created by Twofour productions, directed by Aparna Sanyal and broadcast on BBC One and BBC Two. The show, whose name is based ...

''. In 2019 he appeared on The Real Marigold Hotel on tour travelling to Vietnam. Other TV appearances in recent years include Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, Britain's Great Double Acts, Double Acts at Christmas, Bradley Walsh's When Dummies Ruled The World. Syd also appeared in a radio commercial for Specsavers with Eddie Large. In January 2019 Syd and Eddie appeared as headline guests for the Slapstick comedy festival speaking about their lives and career to a sold out audience at a Bristol theatre. In April 2020 Eddie Large died. Shortly afterwards, Syd's agent Alan Hamilton of Hamilton Management issued a statement in which Syd stated ‘I am devastated to have lost not just my comedy partner of 60 years, but my friend of 60 years’. Syd lives with his wife of 47 years and his son in

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

Bibliography

*Little, S. and Gidney, C. 2004. ''Little by Little''. Canterbury Press, Norwich. pp. 256 *Little, S. 1999. ''Little Goes a Long Way: My Own Story''. Harper Collins. pp. 176

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Little, Syd 1942 births Living people Comedians from Lancashire English male comedians People from Blackpool People from Fleetwood British television personalities