Stanley Boardman (born 7 December 1937) is an English comedian.

Early life and career

Boardman was evacuated with his family to

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and after the family returned to their Merseyside home mistakenly thinking the area had escaped the German bombs, his elder brother Tommy was killed in a bombing raid. Boardman had been a keen footballer in his youth and was an apprentice at

Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founded in ...

He signed for Tranmere Rovers as a teenager. Boardman ran a

haulage Haulage is the business of transporting goods by road or rail between suppliers and large consumer outlets, factories, warehouses, or depots. This includes everything humans might wish to move in bulk – from vegetables and other foodstuffs, to c ...

firm before winning a

holiday camp A holiday camp is a type of holiday accommodation, primarily in the United Kingdom, that encourages holidaymakers to stay within the site boundary, and provides entertainment and facilities for them throughout the day. Since the 1970s, the term ...

talent contest and breaking into television on '' Opportunity Knocks'' and '' The Comedians''. Boardman became known for his anti-German jokes, with his claim that "the Germans bombed our chippy" during the Second World War. His later involvement in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

includes being invited by

Ron Atkinson Ronald Frederick Atkinson (born 18 March 1939) is an English former football player and manager. Nicknamed "Big Ron", he was regarded as one of Britain's best-known football pundits in the 1990s and early 2000s. Nicknamed "The Tank" during his ...

to entertain his

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

and

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

players before the League Cup finals in 1991 and 1994.

Controversies

An incident during a live edition of '' Des O'Connor Tonight'' on

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

in the mid-1980s gained publicity. A joke – about the

reminiscences of a Polish pilot who flew in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

– made play on the word "focke", referring to the German

Focke-Wulf Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG () was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft before and during World War II. Many of the company's successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. It is one of the ...

aeroplanes. Boardman's comedic style has led to controversy several times; after telling racist jokes at a

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

Player of the Year Award dinner in 2002 (months after two Leeds players had been arrested for assaulting an Asian student), the club withheld his fee, describing his act as "inappropriate and unacceptable", banning him from performing at the club in future. This led to a planned appearance at a Leicester City event being cancelled.

Other appearances

Boardman took part in an episode of

Through the Keyhole ''Through the Keyhole'' is a British comedy panel game show created by the TV producer Kevin Sim and originally presented by David Frost, Sir David Frost in the studio and Loyd Grossman on location. The location presenter explores celebrities' h ...

in 1987. Boardman appeared in the 2000 gangster film set in Liverpool, '' Going Off Big Time''. In June 2006 he had a hit with " Stan's World Cup Song", which reached No. 15 in the UK Singles Chart. Fellow comedian

Peter Kay Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. Born and raised in Farnworth, Kay studied media performance at the University of Salford and later began working part-time as a stand-up comedian. In 199 ...

wrote about him in his second autobiography ''Saturday Night Peter''; in it he describes his early days on the comedy circuit and being on the bill with Boardman who at the time had the nickname Stan "The German Fokker" Boardman. In June 2009, Boardman appeared on '' Celebrity Wife Swap'', and in October 2011 he appeared with his daughter, Andrea Boardman, on the celebrity version of '' Coach Trip''.

References

Notes Bibliography * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boardman, Stan 1937 births Comedians from Liverpool English male comedians English stand-up comedians Living people People from Huyton Controversies in the United Kingdom