Morecambe and Wise Writer Eddie Braben Dies

Eddie BadgerEddie Badger Posts: 6,005
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RIP. The man behind some of TV's funniest moments http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22607531

Comments

  • stvn758stvn758 Posts: 19,656
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    Never realised someone actually wrote their stuff, they always made it look like a couple of blokes having a laugh and making it up as they went along.
  • codebluecodeblue Posts: 14,072
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    stvn758 wrote: »
    Never realised someone actually wrote their stuff, they always made it look like a couple of blokes having a laugh and making it up as they went along.

    Absolutely not.
  • Eddie BadgerEddie Badger Posts: 6,005
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    Everything they did was very carefully rehearsed over and over. They had the skill and timing to make it look like they were ad-libbing.
  • iaindbiaindb Posts: 13,278
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    Sad news. And one of M&W's BBC producers, John Ammonds, died in February. It really feels like the end of an era.

    :(
  • Evs814Evs814 Posts: 286
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    This is so sad. What a genius. He refined the on screen relationship and created the personas of M & W so it was required viewing through the 70s and early 80s
  • soundchecksoundcheck Posts: 351
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    Everything they did was very carefully rehearsed over and over. They had the skill and timing to make it look like they were ad-libbing.

    Saw a programme a year or so after Eric's death, where Eddie Braben was talking about what it was like working with the pair. He talked about the famous piano sketch, featuring Andre (Mr Preview) Previn, and said that Eric in particular spent HOURS just walking backwards and forwards on the set, moving the piano and stool backwards and forwards, tripping on different steps, until he was satisfied that he had made the whole thing as funny as it could be. Braben said that this was fairly common.
  • dorydaryldorydaryl Posts: 15,927
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    Seen him interviewed a few times. Likeable chap. Sad to read this. R.I.P, Eddie.
  • BluejuBlueju Posts: 773
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    dorydaryl wrote: »
    Seen him interviewed a few times. Likeable chap. Sad to read this. R.I.P, Eddie.

    Very much so. The Morecambe and Wise vintage years were a result of Eddie's superb writing and reflected how he "got" the duo completely. From one Scouse to another, Goodnight and God bless Eddie...you brought us sunshine.
  • mrblankmrblank Posts: 5,687
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    stvn758 wrote: »
    Never realised someone actually wrote their stuff, they always made it look like a couple of blokes having a laugh and making it up as they went along.

    oh come off it you didnt really th:mad:ink that
  • konebyvaxkonebyvax Posts: 9,120
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    soundcheck wrote: »
    Saw a programme a year or so after Eric's death, where Eddie Braben was talking about what it was like working with the pair. He talked about the famous piano sketch, featuring Andre (Mr Preview) Previn, and said that Eric in particular spent HOURS just walking backwards and forwards on the set, moving the piano and stool backwards and forwards, tripping on different steps, until he was satisfied that he had made the whole thing as funny as it could be. Braben said that this was fairly common.



    And i remember seeing an interview with Andrew Preview :D who said at the time he was too busy to rehearse the sketch as much as M&W wanted and that stressed Eric out. The genius of the two of them was to make everything look so ad libbed when in actual fact the show was rehearsed to within an inch of its life.
  • stvn758stvn758 Posts: 19,656
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    mrblank wrote: »
    oh come off it you didnt really th:mad:ink that

    Obviously, but when they were just stood there chatting, really didn't look like someone would have written it.

    Next you'll be telling me Ant & Dec have writers.
  • NotaTypoNotaTypo Posts: 4,253
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    stvn758 wrote: »
    Never realised someone actually wrote their stuff, they always made it look like a couple of blokes having a laugh and making it up as they went along.
    And that was down to the genius of Morcambe and Wise and Braben.

    I saw The Play What I Wrote a few years ago and I not only was it very funny, but it had a warmth and affection to it that moved me.

    RIP Mr Braben. You brought me sunshine.
  • DavetheScotDavetheScot Posts: 16,623
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    RIP. Thanks for all the laughs.
  • BungitinBungitin Posts: 5,356
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    Without Eric Braben the M&W act would have been just like other duos. M&W changed when they went back to ITV and left EB behind.
  • SalbatesSalbates Posts: 2,259
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    R.I.P Eric :(
  • Nesta RobbinsNesta Robbins Posts: 30,594
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    mrblank wrote: »
    oh come off it you didnt really th:mad:ink that

    but the fact people think that, is a compliment to the man himself, such a good writer that their pairing seemed completely natural and the dialogue flowing and effortless!
  • pothuthicpothuthic Posts: 47,099
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    RIP Braben :(
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