| Jimmy James (comedian) | |
|---|---|
| Born | James Casey 20 May 1892 Portrack, Stockton-on-Tees, England |
| Died | 4 August 1965 (aged 73) Blackpool, Lancashire, England |
| Occupation | music hall, stage, film, radio and television comedian and comedy actor |
| Spouse | Isabelle Darby, son James Casey |
Jimmy James (20 May 1892 - 4 August 1965)[1][2][3][4] was a music hall, film, radio and television comedian and comedy actor. Jimmy had limited use for jokes as such, preferring to say things in a humorous manner, sometimes in surreal situations and as such was seen by some as well ahead of his time. He was often hailed as a 'comedian's comedian'.[3][5]
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Jimmy James was born James Casey on 20 May 1892 the eldest of four sons of Jeremiah Casey an iron puddler or steelmaker[2][6] and Polly Gartland.[1] Many sources state he was born in Portrack, Stockton-on-Tees[1][4][5][7] although other sources consider that he was born in South Bank, Middlesbrough and moved to Stockton-on-Tees at the age of seven in 1899.[2][6] At the age of ten he won a boy soprano contest at the Stockton Hippodrome and shortly afterwards ran away, hitching a ride to Darlington to join a travelling show.[6] The police located him a few years later at the age of twelve by which time he had become a seasoned performer.[6] His father, an amateur clog dancer himself, encouraged his son's show business talents.
At the Sunderland Empire Jimmy met Isabelle Darby a music hall dancer, married her in 1921[1][6] and they had one son. Although Jimmy appeared on stage as a convincing drunk, often with a cigar or cigarette in his mouth, he was teetotal[3][6][8] and did not smoke off stage.[2] His weaknesses were gambling and his famed generosity[2] which may account for his declared bankruptcies in 1936, 1955 and 1963.[6] Jimmy was last on stage in 1964, retiring that year.[6] He died in Blackpool of pulmonary congestion on 4 August 1965[5][6] following a heart attack and is buried in Oxbridge Cemetery, Stockton-on-Tees.[1]
Jimmy James's son James Casey (1922–2011)[9] was a light entertainment executive producer at the BBC producing shows such as The Clitheroe Kid for radio and television.
Jimmy began his stage career in 1904 joining Willy Netta's Singing Jockeys, a singing group, as "Terry the blue-eyed Irish boy" with popular songs of the day[6] and gained experience with a number of other juvenile troupes.[1] In the First World War 1914 to 1918 Jimmy was a sergeant in the Northumberland Fusiliers but was invalided out after being gassed on the Western Front.[6] Jimmy appeared in Stockton as a double act with his great uncle Jimmy Howells and they were known as the Two Jimmies.[10]
Jimmy became a comedian by chance. In 1925 he took over as comedian for one night at Longton in Staffordshire standing in when the regular comedian walked out.[6] Later on his next big break came when he took over from a young Max Miller who had walked out of a show.[6] In 1929 Jimmy was talent spotted at the Sunderland Empire by impresario George Black,[6] taken to London and by 1930 he was appearing at the London Palladium, earning £100 a week[2] and he also appeared at the London Coliseum.[6] In the forties Jimmy developed one of the funniest stage routines in variety history with his two stooges, Bretton Woods, later known as Eli Woods, 'Our Eli', and Hutton Conyers, played by members of the Casey family and more famously from 1956 to 1959 by a young Roy Castle.[6] Eli Woods's real name is Jack Casey and he is Jimmy James's nephew.[6] Bretton Woods was named after Bretton Woods, a ski resort near Mount Washington, New Hampshire, USA that gave its name to a United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference resulting in the Bretton Woods Agreement during July 1944. Jimmy James named the character of Hutton Conyers after seeing a signpost on the Great North Road to the small village of Hutton Conyers, north-east of Ripon in Yorkshire.[2][6]
In Jimmy's first film for Mancunian Films in 1950, he starred with Norman Evans in Over The Garden Wall with Evans playing the role of his wife.[11] His second film was Those People Next Door where he and Eli reprise James’s drunk routine.
With his act Jimmy toured the musical halls, theatres and clubs around the country. Jimmy appeared at the Royal Variety Performance in 1953 and stole the show with his routine The Chipster—a lecture on the occupational hazards of preparing chips.[1] While at the Barnsley Catholic Club Jimmy found Bernard Manning an agent, who was able to find him a job as a singer with a band.[12]
In 1952 Jimmy James starred on radio in Don't Spare the Horses[6][13][14] and later The Mayor's Parlour[15][16] written by himself and Frank Roscoe.[15]
In 1956 Jimmy appeared on television in his own series, Home James[4][6] and Meet the Champ in 1960 as a boxing promoter[4][17] as well as making appearances in many TV programmes including Billy Cotton Bandshow, Northern Showground (1956), Showtime (1959–1961), Comedy Bandbox (1962–1963) and Saturday Bandbox (1962).[18]