|
Murgatroyd And Winterbottom
The comedy act Mr Murgatroyd and Mr Winterbottom ("Two minds with not a single thought") was a popular feature of BBC radio in the 1930s and 1940s. It was written and performed by Ronald Frankau (Murgatroyd) and Tommy Handley. Handley's biographer Barry Took describes the act as "a sophisticated crosstalk of quickfire word and idea association"; the combination of the Eton College, Old Etonian Frankau's patrician tones as Murgatroyd and Handley's fast-talking Scouse patter as Winterbottom became one of the BBC's most popular comedy features. Took quotes a typical example of Murgatroyd and Winterbottom's rapid cross-talk: :Murgatroyd: How are you, Mr Winterbottom? :Winterbottom: I feel a bit funny. :Murgatroyd: Only a bit? Oh, I feel frightfully funny. :Winterbottom: Well, it ought to be a good act tonight. :Murgatroyd: It won't be appreciated by the audience in the studio. :Winterbottom: Why not? :Murgatroyd: Well, ''look'' at them – there's a fellow there eating a bit of cheese. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ronald Frankau
Ronald Hugh Wyndham Frankau (22 February 1894 – 11 September 1951) was an English comedian who started in cabaret and made his way to radio and films. Family Frankau was born in London, the third child of Arthur Frankau, son of Joseph Frankau, a German Jew who came to London from Frankfurt in the late 1830s and started a cigar trading business. His mother was Julia Davis Frankau, who would later become a celebrated writer of satirical novels. His mother's siblings included Henry Irving's mistress Eliza Aria and theatre critic and librettist Owen Hall, whilst their sister Florette was married to architect Marcus Collins, a brother of Drury Lane Theatre manager Arthur Collins. His brother Gilbert Frankau, in his memoirs, states that it was "obscure" why their mother "tacked the stage-famous ' Wyndham' onto the 'Ronald Hugh'" in Frankau's name. Frankau's siblings were Gilbert, Jack and Joan. Gilbert went into the family cigar business (living and working in Germany throug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |