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Jimmy James (comedian)
Encyclopedia
Jimmy James was a music hall, film, radio and television comedian and comedy actor.
Jimmy had limited use for jokes as such, preferring to say things in a humorous manner, sometimes in surreal situations and as such was seen by some as well ahead of his time.
He was often hailed as a 'comedian's comedian'.
or steelmaker and Polly Gartland.
Many sources state he was born in Portrack
, Stockton-on-Tees
although other sources consider that he was born in South Bank
, Middlesbrough
and moved to Stockton-on-Tees at the age of seven in 1899.
At the age of ten he won a boy soprano contest at the Stockton Hippodrome and shortly afterwards ran away, hitching a ride to Darlington
to join a travelling show.
The police located him a few years later at the age of twelve by which time he had become a seasoned performer.
His father, an amateur clog dancer himself, encouraged his son's show business talents.
At the Sunderland Empire
Jimmy met Isabelle Darby a music hall dancer, married her in 1921 and they had one son.
Although Jimmy appeared on stage as a convincing drunk, often with a cigar or cigarette in his mouth, he was teetotal and did not smoke off stage.
His weaknesses were gambling and his famed generosity which may account for his declared bankruptcies in 1936, 1955 and 1963.
Jimmy was last on stage in 1964, retiring that year.
He died in Blackpool
of pulmonary congestion
on 4 August 1965 following a heart attack and is buried in Oxbridge Cemetery, Stockton-on-Tees.
Jimmy James's son James Casey (1922–2011) was a light entertainment executive producer at the BBC producing shows such as The Clitheroe Kid
for radio and television.
In the First World War 1914 to 1918 Jimmy was a sergeant in the Northumberland Fusiliers but was invalided out after being gassed on the Western Front
.
Jimmy appeared in Stockton as a double act with his great uncle Jimmy Howells and they were known as the Two Jimmies.
Jimmy became a comedian by chance.
In 1925 he took over as comedian for one night at Longton
in Staffordshire standing in when the regular comedian walked out.
Later on his next big break came when he took over from a young Max Miller who had walked out of a show.
In 1929 Jimmy was talent spotted at the Sunderland Empire
by impresario
George Black
, taken to London and by 1930 he was appearing at the London Palladium
, earning £100 a week and he also appeared at the London Coliseum.
In the forties Jimmy developed one of the funniest stage routines in variety history with his two stooges, Bretton Woods, later known as Eli Woods
, 'Our Eli', and Hutton Conyers, played by members of the Casey family and more famously from 1956 to 1959 by a young Roy Castle
.
Eli Woods's real name is Jack Casey and he is Jimmy James's nephew.
Bretton Woods was named after Bretton Woods
, a ski resort near Mount Washington
, New Hampshire, USA that gave its name to a United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference resulting in the Bretton Woods Agreement during July 1944.
Jimmy James named the character of Hutton Conyers after seeing a signpost on the Great North Road to the small village of Hutton Conyers
, north-east of Ripon
in Yorkshire.
in 1950, he starred with Norman Evans
in Over The Garden Wall with Evans playing the role of his wife.
His second film was Those People Next Door
where he and Eli reprise James’s drunk routine.
Jimmy appeared at the Royal Variety Performance
in 1953 and stole the show with his routine The Chipster—a lecture on the occupational hazards of preparing chips.
While at the Barnsley Catholic Club Jimmy found Bernard Manning
an agent, who was able to find him a job as a singer with a band.
Web links
Jimmy had limited use for jokes as such, preferring to say things in a humorous manner, sometimes in surreal situations and as such was seen by some as well ahead of his time.
He was often hailed as a 'comedian's comedian'.
Biographical details
Jimmy James was born James Casey on 20 May 1892 the eldest of four sons of Jeremiah Casey an iron puddlerPuddling (metallurgy)
Puddling was an Industrial Revolution means of making iron and steel. In the original puddling technique, molten iron in a reverberatory furnace was stirred with rods, which were consumed in the process...
or steelmaker and Polly Gartland.
Many sources state he was born in Portrack
Portrack
Portrack is a housing estate in Stockton-on-Tees. It is situated close to Billingham opposite Thornaby and just West of Middlesbrough. Portrack was the site of a large municipal incinerator which took in and burned waste from all over Teesside. The incinerator was closed in 1996 and demolished in...
, Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in north east England. It is the major settlement in the unitary authority and borough of Stockton-on-Tees. For ceremonial purposes, the borough is split between County Durham and North Yorkshire as it also incorporates a number of smaller towns including...
although other sources consider that he was born in South Bank
South Bank, Middlesbrough
South Bank is a small town which forms part of the Middlesbrough urban area that lies 2.3 miles from Middlesbrough centre, in North East England. As the name suggests, it lies on the south bank of the River Tees. Although it is part of the Middlesbrough conurbation, it is a ward of Redcar and...
, Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
and moved to Stockton-on-Tees at the age of seven in 1899.
At the age of ten he won a boy soprano contest at the Stockton Hippodrome and shortly afterwards ran away, hitching a ride to Darlington
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
to join a travelling show.
The police located him a few years later at the age of twelve by which time he had become a seasoned performer.
His father, an amateur clog dancer himself, encouraged his son's show business talents.
At the Sunderland Empire
Sunderland Empire
The Sunderland Empire Theatre is a large theatre venue located in High Street West in Sunderland, North East England. The theatre, which opened in 1907, is owned by City of Sunderland Council and operated by Ambassador Theatre Group Ltd, on behalf of Sunderland Empire Theatre Trust.-Background:The...
Jimmy met Isabelle Darby a music hall dancer, married her in 1921 and they had one son.
Although Jimmy appeared on stage as a convincing drunk, often with a cigar or cigarette in his mouth, he was teetotal and did not smoke off stage.
His weaknesses were gambling and his famed generosity which may account for his declared bankruptcies in 1936, 1955 and 1963.
Jimmy was last on stage in 1964, retiring that year.
He died in Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
of pulmonary congestion
Pulmonary edema
Pulmonary edema , or oedema , is fluid accumulation in the air spaces and parenchyma of the lungs. It leads to impaired gas exchange and may cause respiratory failure...
on 4 August 1965 following a heart attack and is buried in Oxbridge Cemetery, Stockton-on-Tees.
Jimmy James's son James Casey (1922–2011) was a light entertainment executive producer at the BBC producing shows such as The Clitheroe Kid
The Clitheroe Kid
The Clitheroe Kid was a long-running BBC radio comedy show featuring diminutive Northern comedian Jimmy Clitheroe in the role of a cheeky schoolboy, who lived with his family at 33 Lilac Avenue in an un-named town in the north of England. Jimmy's best friend was Ozzie, alias Oswald Higginbottom, a...
for radio and television.
Career
Jimmy began his stage career in 1904 joining Willy Netta's Singing Jockeys, a singing group, as "Terry the blue-eyed Irish boy" with popular songs of the day and gained experience with a number of other juvenile troupes.In the First World War 1914 to 1918 Jimmy was a sergeant in the Northumberland Fusiliers but was invalided out after being gassed on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
.
Jimmy appeared in Stockton as a double act with his great uncle Jimmy Howells and they were known as the Two Jimmies.
Jimmy became a comedian by chance.
In 1925 he took over as comedian for one night at Longton
Longton, Staffordshire
Longton is a southern district of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and is known locally as the "Neck End" of the city. Longton is one of the six towns of "the Potteries" which formed the City of Stoke-on-Trent in 1925.-History:...
in Staffordshire standing in when the regular comedian walked out.
Later on his next big break came when he took over from a young Max Miller who had walked out of a show.
In 1929 Jimmy was talent spotted at the Sunderland Empire
Sunderland Empire
The Sunderland Empire Theatre is a large theatre venue located in High Street West in Sunderland, North East England. The theatre, which opened in 1907, is owned by City of Sunderland Council and operated by Ambassador Theatre Group Ltd, on behalf of Sunderland Empire Theatre Trust.-Background:The...
by impresario
Impresario
An impresario is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays or operas; analogous to a film producer in filmmaking, television production and an angel investor in business...
George Black
George Black (Producer)
George Black was a British theatrical impresario who controlled many entertainment venues during the 1930s.Black was born in Birmingham. When young he helped his father set up some of the first permanent cinemas in Britain. In 1928 he took over the management of GTC which was a chain of...
, taken to London and by 1930 he was appearing at the London Palladium
London Palladium
The London Palladium is a 2,286 seat West End theatre located off Oxford Street in the City of Westminster. From the roster of stars who have played there and many televised performances, it is arguably the most famous theatre in London and the United Kingdom, especially for musical variety...
, earning £100 a week and he also appeared at the London Coliseum.
In the forties Jimmy developed one of the funniest stage routines in variety history with his two stooges, Bretton Woods, later known as Eli Woods
Eli Woods
Eli Woods is an English comedian and comic actor, born in Stockton-on-Tees, possibly best known for his work with stage comedian Jimmy James , and particularly for his part in the famous 'elephant-in-the-box' routine. Woods's birth name is actually Jack Casey.Jimmy James developed his famous act...
, 'Our Eli', and Hutton Conyers, played by members of the Casey family and more famously from 1956 to 1959 by a young Roy Castle
Roy Castle
Roy Castle OBE was an English dancer, singer, comedian, actor, television presenter and musician. He attended Honley High School, where there is now a building in his name...
.
Eli Woods's real name is Jack Casey and he is Jimmy James's nephew.
Bretton Woods was named after Bretton Woods
Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
Bretton Woods is an area within the town of Carroll, New Hampshire, USA, whose principal points of interest are three leisure and recreation facilities...
, a ski resort near Mount Washington
Mount Washington (New Hampshire)
Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at , famous for dangerously erratic weather. For 76 years, a weather observatory on the summit held the record for the highest wind gust directly measured at the Earth's surface, , on the afternoon of April 12, 1934...
, New Hampshire, USA that gave its name to a United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference resulting in the Bretton Woods Agreement during July 1944.
Jimmy James named the character of Hutton Conyers after seeing a signpost on the Great North Road to the small village of Hutton Conyers
Hutton Conyers
Hutton Conyers is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated near the River Ure and northeast of Ripon....
, north-east of Ripon
Ripon
Ripon is a cathedral city, market town and successor parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located at the confluence of two streams of the River Ure in the form of the Laver and Skell. The city is noted for its main feature the Ripon Cathedral which is architecturally...
in Yorkshire.
Film
In Jimmy's first film for Mancunian FilmsMancunian Films
Mancunian Films was a British motion picture production company organized in 1934.Founded by John E. Blakeley, the company originally produced films in London on extremely low budgets. Blakeley's first studio consisted of a single soundstage in a loft space above a taxi garage...
in 1950, he starred with Norman Evans
Norman Evans
Norman Evans , was a variety and radio artiste, born in Rochdale, Lancashire, England.Evans was discovered by fellow Rochdale entertainer Gracie Fields...
in Over The Garden Wall with Evans playing the role of his wife.
His second film was Those People Next Door
Those People Next Door
Those People Next Door is a 1953 British comedy film directed by John Harlow and starring Jack Warner, Charles Victor and Marjorie Rhodes.-Cast:* Jack Warner ... Sam Twigg* Charles Victor ... Joe Higgins* Marjorie Rhodes ... Mary Twigg...
where he and Eli reprise James’s drunk routine.
Stage
With his act Jimmy toured the musical halls, theatres and clubs around the country.Jimmy appeared at the Royal Variety Performance
Royal Variety Performance
The Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance...
in 1953 and stole the show with his routine The Chipster—a lecture on the occupational hazards of preparing chips.
While at the Barnsley Catholic Club Jimmy found Bernard Manning
Bernard Manning
Bernard John Manning was an English comedian and nightclub owner. He was born and raised in Manchester in northwest England....
an agent, who was able to find him a job as a singer with a band.
Radio
In 1952 Jimmy James starred on radio in Don't Spare the Horses and later The Mayor's Parlour written by himself and Frank Roscoe.Television
In 1956 Jimmy appeared on television in his own series, Home James and Meet the Champ in 1960 as a boxing promoter as well as making appearances in many TV programmes including Billy Cotton Bandshow, Northern Showground (1956), Showtime (1959–1961), Comedy Bandbox (1962–1963) and Saturday Bandbox (1962).Jimmy's main sketches
- The drunk sketch - a variant of this appeared in the film Over the Garden Wall and can be seen on YouTube
- The shoebox or elephant-in-the-box routine - an early version occurs on YouTube. A later Roy Castle version also appears on YouTube
- The chipster sketch - a lecture on the occupational hazards of preparing chips.
Filmography
- Stars on Parade (1936) as himself
- Those People Next DoorThose People Next DoorThose People Next Door is a 1953 British comedy film directed by John Harlow and starring Jack Warner, Charles Victor and Marjorie Rhodes.-Cast:* Jack Warner ... Sam Twigg* Charles Victor ... Joe Higgins* Marjorie Rhodes ... Mary Twigg...
(1953) as Joe Lawton starring Jack WarnerJack Warner (actor)Jack Warner OBE was an English film and television actor. He is closely associated with the role of PC George Dixon, which he played until the age of eighty....
and with Eli WoodsEli WoodsEli Woods is an English comedian and comic actor, born in Stockton-on-Tees, possibly best known for his work with stage comedian Jimmy James , and particularly for his part in the famous 'elephant-in-the-box' routine. Woods's birth name is actually Jack Casey.Jimmy James developed his famous act... - Over the Garden Wall (1950) with Norman EvansNorman EvansNorman Evans , was a variety and radio artiste, born in Rochdale, Lancashire, England.Evans was discovered by fellow Rochdale entertainer Gracie Fields...
and Eli Woods.
Further reading
Books- Midwinter, Eric; Make 'em Laugh (1979); Allen & Unwin - essays on famous comedians of the time
Web links
- Biographies: Swalwell, IMDB and Oxford Biography Index
- Photographs: Swalwell, Its a hot'un and Demon.