Morecambe & Wise In America
- TV documentary
- Gold
- 2018 - 2019
- 3 episodes (1 series)
Jonathan Ross presents this three-part documentary series telling the story of how Eric and Ernie attempted to break America. Also features Glenda Jackson, Nicholas Parsons, Millicent Martin, Diana Rigg, Shaparak Khorsandi and more.
Episode menu
Series 1, Episode 2
Further details
After their first performances on America's top rated Sunday night broadcast The Ed Sullivan Show in 1963, Eric and Ernie are invited back to New York the following year and appear on the same night as The Beatles, being seen by over 70 million viewers.
Morecambe & Wise also realise that to appeal to the huge American viewing audience they need to concentrate on their more visual comedy rather than the 'cross talk' so loved by their British fans, so present routines that do just that.
They also get the opportunity to become movie stars when they are offered a three-film deal in Britain - might this be their fast track to Hollywood?
Broadcast details
- Date
- Thursday 3rd January 2019
- Time
- 8pm
- Channel
- Gold
- Length
- 60 minutes
Cast & crew
| Jonathan Ross | Host / Presenter |
| Nicholas Parsons | Self |
| Diana Rigg (as Dame Diana Rigg) | Self |
| Shaparak Khorsandi (as Shappi Khorsandi) | Self |
| Gina Yashere | Self |
| Penn Jillette (as Penn & Teller) | Self |
| Teller (as Penn & Teller) | Self |
| Michele Lee | Self |
| Michael Grade | Self |
| Gary Morecambe | Self |
| Graham McCann | Self |
| Joan Morecambe (as Joan Morecambe OBE) | Self |
| Gail Morecambe | Self |
| Debra Supnik | Self |
| Steve Punt | Self |
| Barry Cryer | Self |
| Jon Culshaw | Self |
| William Cook | Self |
| Eric Morecambe | Self (Archive Material) |
| Ernie Wise | Self (Archive Material) |
| Fiona Castle | Self |
| Simon Lloyd | Series Director |
| Simon Lloyd | Series Producer |
| Mark Wells | Executive Producer |
| Andrew Solt | Executive Producer |
| Joe McVey | Executive Producer |
| Helen Nightingale | Executive Producer |
| Greg Vines | US Producer |
| James Norton | Edit Producer |
| Catherine Arend | Editor |
| Paul King | Director of Photography |
Press
Jonathan Ross continues his series on Eric and Ernie's attempts to break into the US market in the early 1960s. It includes members of the Morecambe family seeing some of the duo's Ed Sullivan Show appearances for the first time, while also touching on their early steps into film and colour TV.
Graeme Virtue, The Guardian, 3rd January 2019