Jimmy Clitheroe
| James Robinson Clitheroe | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 December 1921 Clitheroe, Lancashire, England |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Blackpool, Lancashire, England |
| Cause of death | Overdose of sleeping tablets |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Comedian |
James Robinson "Jimmy" Clitheroe (24 December 1921 – 6 June 1973) was an English comic entertainer.[1] He is best remembered for his BBC Radio programme, The Clitheroe Kid, a version of which was produced for television under the title Just Jimmy.
Life and career
He was born in Clitheroe, Lancashire,[2] England, to weavers Emma Pye and James Robert Clitheroe, who had married in 1918 and named their son after Emma's brother, James Robinson Pye, who had been born in Clitheroe in 1894 and killed in World War I).[3] Brought up in Blacko, near Nelson,[2] Jimmy Clitheroe started out in variety and theatre, but moved into films, pantomime, and radio, and finally onto ITV television during the 1960s. His long-running radio programme on the BBC, The Clitheroe Kid, which aired from 1956 to 1972, is still regularly repeated on BBC Radio 4 Extra. His catchphrase was "Don't some mothers 'ave 'em!"[4]
He never married, and lived with his widowed mother, latterly in Blackpool, to whom he was very close.[4] He never grew any taller than 4 feet 3 inches, and until later life[4] could easily pass for an 11-year-old boy, the character he played in The Clitheroe Kid.[5] He died at 51 in 1973 from an overdose of sleeping pills, on the day of his mother's funeral.[6][7] His funeral was held at Carleton Crematorium, Blackpool, where for many years he was commemorated by a plaque attached to memorial tree Number 3.
Mollie Sugden (who played Mrs. Slocombe in the TV series Are You Being Served?) played Clitheroe's mother on stage and in his ITV shows.[8]
Selected filmography
- Old Mother Riley in Society (1940)[9] - as Boots
- Much Too Shy with George Formby (1942) - as Jimmy
- School for Randle with Frank Randle (1949) - as Jimmy
- Stars in Your Eyes (1956) - as Joey
- Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon (1967) - as General Tom Thumb
- The Magic Christian (1969) - as Passenger on Ship (uncredited)
References
- ↑ JIMMY CLITHEROE Popular radio entertainer. The Times (London, England), Thursday, 7 June 1973; pg. 21; Issue 58802
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- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0163458/fullcredits
- ↑ Old Mother Riley
