Thomas Derbyshire (born 27 June 1938), known professionally as Tommy Cannon, is an English comic, actor and singer. He is best known as the straight man of the comic

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 fo ...

Cannon and Ball, until Bobby Ball's death in 2020, in TV programmes such as ''

The Cannon and Ball Show ''The Cannon and Ball Show'' was a successful comedy variety show on ITV featuring the double act comprising Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball. The pair were booked to perform on seven episodes of ''Bruce Forsyth's Big Night'', but not all of their ...

''.

Cannon and Ball

Cannon was one half of comedy duo Cannon and Ball opposite his friend and colleague Bobby Ball (real name Robert Harper) before his death. They first appeared on television in 1968 on the talent show '' Opportunity Knocks''. The duo's prime-time Saturday-night television series ''

'' was one of LWT's most successful series, with consistently high viewing ratings over 12 years. They starred in the film ''

The Boys in Blue ''The Boys in Blue'' is a 1982 British comedy film directed by Val Guest and starring Tommy Cannon, Bobby Ball, Suzanne Danielle and Roy Kinnear. It is loosely based on the 1939 Will Hay film ''Ask a Policeman'', which Guest co-wrote. Some poli ...

'' together in 1982 and guest starred in the

Eric Sykes Eric Sykes (4 May 1923 – 4 July 2012) was an English radio, stage, television and film writer, comedian, actor, and director whose performing career spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and performed with many other leading com ...

slapstick film ''Mr H is Late'' in 1988. Other notable guest appearances were on ''

The Kenny Everett Television Show ''The Kenny Everett Television Show'' is a comedy sketch show broadcast on BBC1 from 1981 to 1988. It was presented by its main performer Kenny Everett, who wrote the material with Barry Cryer and Ray Cameron. Later in 1986 they were joined by ...

'' in 1982 and '' Shooting Stars'' in 1996. On 28 October 2020, Cannon's comedy partner Bobby Ball died at

Blackpool Victoria Hospital Blackpool Victoria Hospital, known locally as The Vic, is the main hospital for Blackpool and the Fylde Coast in Lancashire, England. It is managed by the Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital was originally loc ...

after testing positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

Television

In late 2005, Cannon and Ball appeared in the fifth series of reality show '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''. In 2012, Cannon and Ball appeared in the third celebrity series of ''

Coach Trip ''Coach Trip'' is a British reality game show originally broadcast on Channel 4 from 7 March 2005 to 30 June 2006. The programme returned after a three-year break, from 25 May 2009 to 9 March 2012. In early 2013, the show went into hiatus agai ...

''. Cannon and Ball star in the

Safestyle UK Safestyle UK plc, part of the Style Group UK, is a provider of PVCu double glazed windows, doors, French doors, patio sliding doors, bifolding doors and conservatories in the United Kingdom. History Established on 22 December 1992 with £2,00 ...

television advertisements. He made a one-off guest appearance in the 2014 Christmas special of ''

Not Going Out ''Not Going Out'' is a British television sitcom that has aired on BBC One since 2006, and has 12 series making it the second longest running British sitcom (in series) behind the longest running sitcom worldwide, Last of the Summer Wine. It sta ...

'' on BBC One. Cannon was cast in ITV soap opera ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, ...

'' as pensioner

Derek Derek is a masculine given name. It is the English language short form of '' Diederik'', the Low Franconian form of the name Theodoric. Theodoric is an old Germanic name with an original meaning of "people-ruler". Common variants of the name ar ...

in 2019. He appears in multiple episodes and features in a story that has "serious consequences" for regular characters. The character was killed off at the conclusion of Cannon's guest stint.

Personal life

Cannon's first marriage was to Margaret; they had two daughters, Jeanette (born 1961) and Julie (1964). The couple later

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving th ...

d. He lives in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

with his second wife Hazel, by whom he has three children: Kelly-Anne (born 1991), Zoe Louise (born 1993) and Luke Thomas (born 1996). He served as Chairman of Rochdale Football Club for a term until 1988.

References

External links

* * as 'Cannon & Ball' {{DEFAULTSORT:Cannon, Tommy 1938 births Living people 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors English male comedians English stand-up comedians English male television actors English television personalities Male actors from Oldham English Christians I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants