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Bernard Manning

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Bernard Manning
Born13 August 1930
Ancoats, Manchester, England
DiedTemplate:Euro death date and age
North Manchester General Hospital, Crumpsall, Manchester, England
MediumStand-up
NationalityBritish[1][2]
Years active1950s - 2007
Subject(s)Ethnicity, Stereotypes, Minority groups
Websitehttp://www.bernardmanning.com/

Bernard John Manning (13 August 1930 – 18 June 2007) was an English stand-up comedian. He was born and brought up in Manchester in Lancashire.

Manning courted controversy because his act often contained material involving ethnic stereotypes and minority groups. This type of material was commonplace among stand-up comedians in the United Kingdom in the 1970s, but was largely excluded from television in the 1980s. Manning continued to perform in theatres and pubs until his death. Critics of his humour described much of it as racist, although Manning himself denied this.[3][4]

Biography

Born in the Ancoats district of Manchester, Manning was of working class Irish Catholic extraction but also claimed Jewish roots.[5] Manning's house in Alkrington, Greater Manchester[6] was called "Shalom",[7][8] the Hebrew for "Peace".

National Service

Manning left school aged 14, and joined his father's greengrocery business and then worked in a Gallaher's tobacco factory[9] before joining the British Army to serve his National Service.[10] Like many other comedians of the time (including the cast of The Goon Show), Manning held little thought of entertainment as a career, until posted to Germany. Guarding Nazi war criminals (Rudolf Hess, Albert Speer etc) at Spandau Prison just post World War II,[11] to pass the leisure time, Manning began to sing popular standards to entertain his fellow soldiers. Manning's ability to achieve this led him to put shows on at the weekends when he began to charge admittance and, when audiences did not decrease, he then realised that there was the possibility of making money from showbusiness.

Professional career

On returning to England, Manning continued to sing professionally, and also working as a compere. He was an effective singer of popular ballads and fronted many big bands in the 1950s, such as the Oscar Rabin Band.[6] Over the years, Manning began to introduce humour into his compering. This went down well, and Manning slowly moved from being a singer/compere to a comedian.[10]

After much work in comedy clubs and northern Working Men's Clubs in the 1950s and 1960s, Manning made his television debut in the 1970s on Granada TV's stand-up comedy show The Comedians.[10] He went on to compere The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club.

The dawn of political correctness led to television companies reducing their bookings of Manning, but his appearances on the Northern Working Men's Club circuit continued, playing to packed audiences which, as he claimed, often included people from ethnic minorities.[10]

Manning's style never abated, but the rediscovery of the 1970s led to a minor television revival, including Channel 4 taking him to Bombay, India to perform. In October 2002, Manning presented one of the Great Lives programmes for Radio 4. He chose to honour the Albanian Roman Catholic nun, Mother Teresa.[10]

In 2003, Manning was initially reported to have been booked to play a British National Party rally. However, he denied this, telling The Mirror; "It's a lot of bollocks. I don't know where I'm working. Speak to my agent. I don't know about any BNP nonsense. I would not do it anyway. Do you think I'm fucking barmy?"[12]

In 2006, he made the headlines again when he made Madonna laugh at the 40th birthday party of chef Marco Pierre White.[8]

Embassy Club

In his later life, although he still toured Britain, he tended to appear most frequently at The Embassy, the club on the A664 Rochdale Road. Set up with his father in 1959, Manning owned the club in Harpurhey, Manchester, although his son, Bernard Jnr. managed it. The club is reputed to have played host to many a rising star - Manning claimed The Beatles performed there early in their career.[8]

Personal life

Manning's wife Vera died of a heart attack in 1986, and as his son Bernard Jnr. had moved out of the family home, Manning moved back in with his mother. His brother John had died during the 1944 attack on Arnhem, while in 1995, both his mother and his other two brothers Jackie and Frank also died.[8][10] Manning was a life-long Manchester City F.C. supporter.[13]

For many of his later years, Manning was tee-total, and a diabetic.[14] Admitted two weeks earlier for a kidney complaint, Manning died in North Manchester General Hospital at 3:10pm on Monday, 18 June 2007 at the age of 76.[15][4] He wrote his own eulogy which appeared as an obituary in the Daily Mail two days later.[16]

Style

Manning's detractors including Esther Rantzen said he was a bigoted racist, although Darcus Howe once stated that he felt he had more in common with Manning than with Tony Blair.[17] Manning's family and friends insisted it was all a stage-based act.

Race, sex and religion were part of the material for many jokes, but Manning considered tampons and disabled people unacceptable subjects; although he was pulled up on the Russell Harty show by guest Rupert Everett when he told a joke about a wheelchair-user.[18] Manning felt the word "wog" was "a horrible, insulting word I've never used in my life" and yet would defend use of "niggers" and "coons" as historical terms with respectable roots.[10] Manning came second in a television interview to Caroline Aherne's character Mrs Merton when he supposedly confirmed that he was a racist, but also in the same program said: "I tell jokes. You never take a joke seriously."[10]

In interviews with journalists, having his Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit parked strategically outside but sitting inside in vest and Y-fronts, he would remind them of appearing with Dean Martin in Las Vegas and meeting the Queen. Manning claimed to be a great believer in family values, who never swore in front of his mother:[10]

"I dragged myself up by my bootlaces. I don't drink or smoke, I don't take drugs. I have never been a womaniser. I was brought up right with good parents and I have never been in trouble or harmed no-one. And I love my family."

Trivia

In March 2007 he was ranked 29th on the list of the 100 Greatest Stand Up comedians in a poll conducted by the television station Channel 4.[19]


References

  1. ^ PR-inside.com (2007-06-18). "Controversial British comedian Bernard Manning dies at 76". Retrieved 2007-06-19.
  2. ^ "Race-row comedian Bernard Manning dies". The Independent. 2007-06-19. Retrieved 2007-06-19. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ "Family Notices: Bernard Manning". Manchester Evening News. 2007-06-18. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
  4. ^ a b "Comedy star Bernard Manning dies". BBC News. 2007-06-18. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
  5. ^ The Guardian (2007-06-18). "Comedian Bernard Manning dies at 76". Retrieved 2007-06-18.
  6. ^ a b Nigel Bunyan (2007-06-18). "Bernard Manning dies aged 76". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2007-06-18. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ Mark Hodkinson (1999-03-29). "Interview with Bernard Manning". The Times. Retrieved 2007-06-18. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ a b c d "'It's an act, innit'". Guardian Unlimited. 2003-06-23. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
  9. ^ Bernard Manning - racist in peace The Sun, By James Clench & Guy Patrick - June 19, 2007
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Obituary: Bernard Manning". BBC News. 2007-06-18. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
  11. ^ Manning penned his own obituary BBC News - 19 June 2007
  12. ^ Anon (2003-08-04). "Manning to play BNP rally... but he denies the booking". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
  13. ^ Nick Harper (2003-05-16). "Bernard Manning". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
  14. ^ Hannah Bayman (2003-09-19). "Carry on drinking?". BBC NEWS. Retrieved 2007-06-19. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ "Bernard Manning dead". Manchester Evening News. 2007-06-18. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
  16. ^ "Bernard Manning: his own obituary in his own words". Daily Mail. 2007-06-20. Retrieved 2007-06-26.
  17. ^ "JOURNEY TO THE HEART OF DARCUS". The Independent. 2000-01-14. Retrieved 2007-06-18. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ 'Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins' Rupert Everett 2006
  19. ^ "One hundred greatest stand-ups". Channel 4. Retrieved 2007-06-18.

Audio clips

Video clips

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