Morecambe & Wise

British comedy double act Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise. Active 1938-1984 (Morecambe's death). Resuming their collaboration after the War they began as music hall comedians. In the 1950s an early television flop nearly finished them. (TV was "the box they buried Morecambe and Wise in.") They obtained more mainstream success in the 1960s with a half hour show on ITV. This led to a brief flirtation with cinema, making three theatrical comedy movies. But it wasn't until the BBC gave them a one hour variety show that they achieved British comedy icon status. Their Christmas Day shows became must-see viewing.