Mike Walling
Encyclopedia
Mike Walling is an English
comic actor
and screenwriter
.
He began his career as an English teacher at Holland Park School
in London
. In the mid-1970s, while still a teacher, he won a British TV talent contest, New Faces
, with a comedy double act called "Mr Carline & Mr Walling." He immediately quit teaching and embarked on launching his new career in comedy. When the comedy duo split up, Walling moved into situation comedy
, appearing in several series—"Just Liz", "Bootle Saddles" and then the very successful "Brush Strokes
". He was also starting to get more work as a screenwriter when he teamed up with Tony Millan. The two of them wrote screenplay
s for a number of different shows, as well as their own series.
In the early 1980s Walling teamed up with session bass player Mo Foster
for various comedy music projects, with Walling writing the lyrics and Foster writing the music and producing the resulting songs.
One of their songs, "The Papadum Song", a novelty song revolving around two men visiting an Indian restaurant (one of them for the first time) was repeatedly played on BBC Radio 1
and featured them live on several TV shows (including the BBC's Blue Peter
) and was very popular at the time, but fate and industrial action decreed that it wouldn't sell. A three week strike at the distributors (Phonogram Records
) meant that the records never actually got to the shops. The song was eventually re-released in 2006 as part of a collection of comedy/parody songs called Make Tea, Not War by the imaginary, but ill-fated and tragic, RJ Wagsmith Band. Another song from the same album, "Chalk Dust", which was written for Roger Kitter
who released it under the pseudonym "The Brat", did hit the top ten all over Europe
. Walling has recently appeared in shows such as "The Smoking Room
", "Coronation Street
" and My Family.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
comic actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
.
He began his career as an English teacher at Holland Park School
Holland Park School
Holland Park School was opened in London, UK, in 1958. It became the flagship for comprehensive education, and in its heyday had over 2000 in the student body. It became known as the "socialist Eton", and a number of high-profile socialists sent their children to Holland Park School, adding to its...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. In the mid-1970s, while still a teacher, he won a British TV talent contest, New Faces
New Faces
New Faces was a British television talent show popular in the 1970s and 1980s, presented originally by Derek Hobson. It was produced by ATV Network Limited for the ITV Network. The first run of the show was from 29 September 1973 to 2 April 1978 and was recorded at the ATV Centre, Birmingham...
, with a comedy double act called "Mr Carline & Mr Walling." He immediately quit teaching and embarked on launching his new career in comedy. When the comedy duo split up, Walling moved into situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
, appearing in several series—"Just Liz", "Bootle Saddles" and then the very successful "Brush Strokes
Brush Strokes
Brush Strokes is a British television sitcom, broadcast on BBC television from 1986 to 1991. Written by Esmonde and Larbey and set in South London, it depicted the amorous adventures of a good-looking, wisecracking house painter, Jacko...
". He was also starting to get more work as a screenwriter when he teamed up with Tony Millan. The two of them wrote screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
s for a number of different shows, as well as their own series.
In the early 1980s Walling teamed up with session bass player Mo Foster
Mo Foster
Mo Foster is a British session musician, playing primarily jazz, jazz-fusion and rock bass guitar. He is also a music producer and songwriter/composer. In over 40 years as a musician Foster has played on and produced countless albums, singles, and film soundtracks...
for various comedy music projects, with Walling writing the lyrics and Foster writing the music and producing the resulting songs.
One of their songs, "The Papadum Song", a novelty song revolving around two men visiting an Indian restaurant (one of them for the first time) was repeatedly played on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
and featured them live on several TV shows (including the BBC's Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
) and was very popular at the time, but fate and industrial action decreed that it wouldn't sell. A three week strike at the distributors (Phonogram Records
Phonogram Records
Phonogram Records was started in 1962 as a joint venture between Philips Records and Deutsche Grammophon. In 1972, Phonogram was merged with Polydor Records into PolyGram....
) meant that the records never actually got to the shops. The song was eventually re-released in 2006 as part of a collection of comedy/parody songs called Make Tea, Not War by the imaginary, but ill-fated and tragic, RJ Wagsmith Band. Another song from the same album, "Chalk Dust", which was written for Roger Kitter
Roger Kitter
Roger Kitter is a British actor best known for playing Captain Alberto Bertorelli in season seven of the British sitcom TV series Allo 'Allo!. He also recorded a song "Chalk Dust - the Umpire Strikes Back" using the moniker 'The Brat'...
who released it under the pseudonym "The Brat", did hit the top ten all over Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Walling has recently appeared in shows such as "The Smoking Room
The Smoking Room
The Smoking Room is a British television sitcom written by Brian Dooley, who won a BAFTA for the series in 2005. The first series, consisting of eight episodes, was originally transmitted on BBC Three between 29 June and 17 August 2004. The Christmas Special was first transmitted on the same...
", "Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
" and My Family.
Filmography
Mike Walling appeared in the following TV shows and films:- Just Liz, UK TV (1980)
- The Disappearance of Harry, UK TV (1982)
- Badger by Owl-Light, UK TV (1982)
- The Pirates of Penzance, UK TV (1983)
- Bootle Saddles, UK TV (1983) UK Film (1984)
- Brush StrokesBrush StrokesBrush Strokes is a British television sitcom, broadcast on BBC television from 1986 to 1991. Written by Esmonde and Larbey and set in South London, it depicted the amorous adventures of a good-looking, wisecracking house painter, Jacko...
, UK TV (1986) - Harry's Mad, UK TV (1993)
- Last of the Summer WineLast of the Summer WineLast of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom written by Roy Clarke that was broadcast on BBC One. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973 and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. From 1983 to 2010, Alan J. W. Bell produced and...
, UK TV (2001) - Ep. – The Missing Bus of Mrs Avery, UK Film (2003)
- The Smoking RoomThe Smoking RoomThe Smoking Room is a British television sitcom written by Brian Dooley, who won a BAFTA for the series in 2005. The first series, consisting of eight episodes, was originally transmitted on BBC Three between 29 June and 17 August 2004. The Christmas Special was first transmitted on the same...
, UK TV (2004) - Ep. – "Last Night a Graphic Designer Saved My Life"
- Ep. – "Quitters"
- Ep. – "1987"
- Ep. – "Happy Birthday"
- Ep. – "Feeding Time"
- Coronation StreetCoronation StreetCoronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
, UK TV (2006) - My Family, UK TV (2007)
- Ep. – "Abi Ever After"
- Ep. – "Once More with Feeling"
- Ep. – "Four Affairs and a Funeral"
- Ep. – "The Heart of Christmas", UK Film (2008)
Scriptwriter
He wrote or co-wrote scripts for the following comedy shows:- Me & My Girl, UK TV, 1984
- Relative StrangersRelative Strangers-Plot:Thirty-four year old psychologist, Richard Clayton parents reveal to him that he was adopted. He then sets out to find out who his biological parents are, but disaster ensues when it turns out that his parents, Frank and Agnes Menure , are crude, lower class carnies...
, UK TV, 1985 - A Small ProblemA Small ProblemA Small Problem is a British sitcom originally broadcast on BBC2 in 1987. Intended as a satire on prejudice, the show was set in a Britain with a form of apartheid based on people's height. Anyone below 5ft tall was forced to live in tower-block ghettos south of the River Thames...
, UK TV, 1987 - ChuckleVisionChuckleVisionChuckleVision is a popular British television series shown mainly on CBBC. New episodes are always first aired on BBC One, and occasionally episodes are shown on BBC Two. The first episode was shown on 26 September 1987. It follows the adventures of the Chuckle Brothers & the Patton Brothers, who...
, UK, 1987 - Ep. - "Breakfast Telly"
- Valentine Park, UK TV, 1987
- Birds Of A FeatherBirds of a FeatherBirds of a Feather was a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC1 from 1989 until 1998. Starring Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph, it was created by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, who also wrote some of the episodes along with many other writers.The first episode sees sisters...
, UK TV, 1989 - Ep. – "In at the Deep End"
- Ep. – "First-Time Caller"
- Ep. – "Suspicious Minds", UK TV, 1990
- Ep. – #1.3
- Ep. – #1.4
- Ep. – #1.5
- Ep. – #1.6
- Ep. – #1.7
- The Brittas EmpireThe Brittas EmpireThe Brittas Empire is a British sitcom created and originally written by Richard Fegen and Andrew Norriss. Chris Barrie plays Gordon Brittas, the well-meaning but incompetent manager of Whitbury New Town Leisure Centre....
, UK TV, 1991 - Ep. – "The Disappearing Act"
- Ep. – "Reviewing the Situation"
- Ep. – "Surviving Christmas"
- Ep. – "A Walk on the Wildside"
- Ep. – "Body Language"
- Trouble in Mind, UK TV, 1991
- A Prince Among Men, UK TV, 1997