Jackie Wright
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Jackie Wright (1905—January 1989) was an Irish comedian known for being the bald-headed sidekick of Benny Hill on his television programme for three decades. In many of the show's trademark accelerated-motion scenes, Hill would often pat Wright's bald head rapidly, the motion being accompanied by dubbed-in smacking sounds. Actress Suzy Mandel recently told Gram Pontante’s website "Jackie Wright was a chain smoker and he would often hide his cigarette in his mouth or behind his back during scenes. In fact, you could often see a little plume of smoke rising behind him if you looked close enough. Benny would slap his head to fan the smoke away."
Born in Belfast as the oldest of twelve children, Wright first worked as an automobile bodybuilder, even working in the United States for Cadillac. When the Great Depression took hold, Wright returned to Belfast and then began working in the field of entertainment, first as a musician and then as a supporting comedian.
He did not get into television until the 1960s, when Hill discovered him and persuaded him to join his troupe. At the time, Hill was wrapping up his stint with the BBC, and starting a 15 year relationship with Thames Television. Hill usually referred to him as "Little Jackie" on the television programme. Wright also appeared on the short-lived programme Whoops Baghdad.
Wright gained a cult following when edited-down versions of the Benny Hill programmes began airing in syndication in the US in the late 1970s.
Wright left the show in 1983 owing to poor health. Five and a half years later, Wright died at age 83 in Belfast after battling a long yet unknown illness.
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