Of course the greatest of all time (undisputed) were Morecambe and Wise and over the other side of the pond Laurel and Hardy. But there have been others that have lit up the cosy corners of our existence. I think of Little and Large, Canon and Ball and Hale and Pace (not so great I will grant you).
But the double act that really came to mind were actually brothers. Mike and Bernie Winters had a very strong association with Norwich. Now readers of a certain age might remember what this connection was. Younger readers (do I have any of those?) won't have a clue what I am talking about.
Mike and Bernie's actual surname was Weinstein which will give you a hint as to their heritage. They were genuine brothers, born in Islington. One of their grandfathers was a Russian immigrant. Their father was a boxer and their mother came from a circus family.
So performance was always in their blood. But they weren't slouches. Mike won a scholarship to Tottenham Grammar School but was evacuated to Wiltshire with his younger brother where he eventually ended up at the City of Oxford High School. At 15 Mike won a scholarship and grant to the Royal Academy of Music to study clarinet, where he was one of the founders of the Royal Academy of Music Jazz Quintet. Bernie moved along the apprenticeship route, getting a job at the Regency Club in London's Soho where he played the ukulele and performed as a comedian. During World War II, Mike, underage, was in the Merchant Navy. Following a medical discharge he enlisted in the Canadian Legion as a musician and after a year was promoted to the honorary rank of captain. Bernie served alongside Mike as a drummer in the Canadian Legion. After the war, Bernie took drumming lessons at the London Palladium and Mike, who had studied clarinet at the Academy, formed a double act playing musical items and doing impressions.
Shortly after being discharged, the pair won a talent contest in Manchester. They won the first prize which was a one-week tour of variety theatres. Despite changing their stage name to the Winters Brothers, they were not successful at first, and went their separate ways for a time. The pair got back together in the form of a three-handed act called The Three Loose Screws where they learnt to dance and improve their skills.
They made their first television appearance in "Variety Parade" in June, 1955, and then moved onto "Sunday Night at the London Palladium" which was the most important variety show on television. Who remembers the revolving stage where all the artists would stand at the end of each show and the game show "Beat the Clock?"
Mike and Bernie went on to perform for the Queen at a number of Royal Variety Shows. As with many double acts there was the straight man (Mike) and the gormless idiot (played by Bernie). The duo had their own BBC show from 1965 until 1973. They didn't always see eye to eye, however, and eventually split up.
When Mike moved to the USA because of his wife's health, Bernie flew solo but had another partner who became famous - a massive St Bernard Dog named Schnorbitz. The brothers never worked again as a duo and both passed away many years ago.
So what of their Norwich connection? Well the boys were virtually adopted by the city because they once sold clothes on Norwich Market. When they appeared in Norwich they always got a standing ovation. They often played the Talk of the East in Oak Street as well a summer seasons in Great Yarmouth where they were renowned for supporting various charities. In other words a couple of good eggs.
It was after a show at Norwich Theatre Royal in the early 1950s that the duo fell in love with Norwich. They ran a stall on Norwich market for about five years selling stockings and clothes and lived in Unthank Road. It must have been a riot buying clothes off them.