People who describe someone as ‘A Cheeky Chappie” probably have no idea it was comedian Max Miller (1894-1963) who was first given that title.
Considered the greatest comedian of his generation, his ‘cheeky’ material, (innocuous by today’s standards), endeared him to his fans, one of whom, Roy Hudd, described him as “The Pure Gold Of The Music Hall”.
Max developed a conspiratorial style in which he held up a white joke book and blue one.
With a twinkle in his eye, he’d tell his audience the white book contained clean jokes, the blue one ‘naughty’ jokes.
He’d reveal that the theatre manager, who’d warned him not to use the blue book, had popped out to the ‘pub.
Max would then glance into the wings to ‘check’ – before asking the audience which book they’d like him to use.
Take a wild guess!
He never swore or told dirty jokes on stage, instead preferring double-entendres. Or he’d leave out a word at the end of a gag. When the audience laughed, he’d jokingly say “It’s people like you who give me a bad name!”
I’m smiling as I remember the brilliantly worded double entendre that allegedly caused the BBC to ban him.
You’ll find it with a little research.
Max said of himself, “There’ll never be another!” And that’s also true of Tommy Cooper.
April the 15th was the 40th anniversary of Tommy’s death, during the ITV Sunday night show “Live From Her Majesty’s” hosted by Jimmy Tarbuck.
Tommy’s demise in front of millions of viewers has been chronicled in TV documentaries and newspaper articles.
I once related the memories of a comedy writer friend who witnessed the event from the wings of the theatre.
He still vividly recalls that night – from the running order of comedian Adrian Walsh; The Flying Pickets’; Tommy Cooper; Les Dennis & Dustin Gee; Howard Keel; and Donny Osmond and The Brian Rogers Dancers – to the chaos backstage when Tommy collapsed.
But he finds it hard to comprehend it happened four decades ago!
Max and Tommy are irreplaceable – but let’s be grateful they brought laughter to an often-cruel old world. Pure gold indeed!