Graham McCann
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Graham McCann features - page 5
Comedy Chronicles: Classical gas - Galton & Simpson's Le Pétomane
Sunday 7th February 2021
This edition of Comedy Chronicles turns to one of Galton & Simpson's least-well-known works: a short comic film biopic of a famed French farter.
Comedy Chronicles: Ill-advised revivals - The sitcom's living dead
Sunday 24th January 2021
Over the decades, television sitcoms have been revived, remade, and reimagined. Some work; but many fall far short of the much-loved originals.
Comedy Chronicles: Opportunity Knocked - Auditions, comedians and the BBC
Sunday 10th January 2021
The need to audition is a common obstacle in many a performer's career; but for comics hoping to secure BBC airtime from the 1940s onwards, they could be particularly demanding - and with little chance of success.
Comedy Chronicles: Freddie Frinton's Dinner For One
Sunday 27th December 2020
A once much-loved British comedy sketch has acclaimed cult status on the continent whilst fading into obscurity in its home nation. This is the story of Freddie Frinton and Dinner For One.
Comedy Chronicles: The Prelude of Mr Preview: How André Previn won over Morecambe & Wise
Sunday 13th December 2020
We've all seen André Previn on the 1971 Morecambe & Wise Christmas special countless times. The recorded Grieg sketch, however, is but the tip of the iceberg.
Comedy Chronicles: Are you talking to me? How Al Read held up a mirror to Britain
Sunday 29th November 2020
Comedy was 'alternative' decades before 'alternative comedy' was even dreamt of: (re-)introducing Salford sensation, Al Read.
Comedy Chronicles: Hello, I must be going: Groucho Marx on British TV
Sunday 15th November 2020
Groucho Marx was a superstar of American comedy who could do no wrong, but when he made a British TV series in the mid-1960s, very little went right.
Comedy Chronicles: Desperately seeking Sid
Sunday 1st November 2020
Sid Field is perhaps the single greatest and most influential comic the western world has ever produced - but there's a very good chance you've never heard of him until now.
Comedy Chronicles: Happy birthday, Eddie Braben
Sunday 18th October 2020
Graham McCann pays tribute to Eddie Braben, an exceptionally prolific and talented comedy writer best remembered for The Morecambe & Wise Show.
Comedy Chronicles: Aye aye, Cap'n - Arthur Lowe at sea
Sunday 4th October 2020
The off-screen sitcom legend Arthur Lowe could be no less self-important than his on-screen characters, but in real life he also sought to sail the ocean blue...
Comedy Chronicles: Can't touch this - Comedy and cancel culture
Sunday 20th September 2020
With growing concerns over censorship, intolerance and cultural revisionism, Graham McCann looks at comedy's historical urge to break free.
Comedy Chronicles: The Other One - Could've done, should've done
Sunday 6th September 2020
Despite starring both Richard Briers and Michael Gambon, one late 1970s sitcom - from the writers of The Good Life and Ever Decreasing Circles - failed to make any public impression whatsoever. This was the other The Other One.
Comedy Chronicles: Strained Relationships - Wilfrid Brambell & Harry H Corbett
Sunday 23rd August 2020
Father and son, Albert and Harold Steptoe rarely stopped bickering on screen; and the off-screen relationship between stars Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett could be rather tempestuous at times, too...
Comedy Chronicles: Strained Relationships - Hylda Baker & Jimmy Jewel
Sunday 9th August 2020
As the Strained Relationships series continues, Graham McCann recounts the tale of another sitcom duo: comedians Hylda Baker and Jimmy Jewel.
Comedy Chronicles: Strained Relationships - Bewes & Bolam
Sunday 26th July 2020
In the first of a new series looking at the truth behind notoriously strained relationships between comedy stars, Graham McCann sets the record straight on the infamous falling out between Likely Lads icons Rodney Bewes and James Bolam.
Comedy Chronicles: Terry-Thomas - The Ibiza years
Sunday 12th July 2020
Thirty years since his death, Terry-Thomas remains the most English of screen stars. From 1968, however, the comedy icon lost his heart to a Spanish island in the middle of the Mediterranean...
Comedy Chronicles: The many meals of Robert Morley
Sunday 28th June 2020
Actor Robert Morley was a food-loving, larger-than-life physical on-screen presence; something from which his real, personal life would rarely waver.
Comedy Chronicles: The ever-intriguing Fenella Fielding
Sunday 14th June 2020
We delve deep into the career of Fenella Fielding, the icon who eschewed the limelight at every possible opportunity.
Comedy Chronicles: The Mission of Miles Malleson
Sunday 31st May 2020
In this week's Comedy Chronicles, Graham McCann looks at the remarkable life and mission of prolific screen actor Miles Malleson.
Comedy Chronicles: Joan Turner's many songs for Europe
Sunday 17th May 2020
Joan Turner was once a multi-talented comic star, but alcohol and gambling lead to a sad decline in her fortunes - summarised in one not-so-succinct Eurovision endeavour...