Bring Me Sunshine - Morecambe and Wise Quiz

Answer: John Eric Bartholomew

He was born May 14th, 1926 and named John Eric Bartholomew. He took the stage name Eric Morecambe from the town where he was born, Morecambe, in Lancashire.

Answer: Sadie

Sadie took various jobs to raise funds for Eric to attend dance classes. He didn't really enjoy them at the time, though the lessons he learned came in very useful later in his career. As was fairly typical for that time, Eric left school at the age of 14.

Answer: Ernie Wise

This was the very first meeting between Eric and Ernie. Ernie was born Ernest Wiseman on 27th November 1925 in Leeds. His beginnings were as humble as Eric's. At the time of this first meeting Ernie was already a well known voice, featuring on the radio program, 'Bandwagon' with Arthur Askey.

Answer: He didn't

Eric became a 'Bevin Boy', one of many who worked in the coal mines to produce the essential fuel that kept the country going throughout the war years. He was later invalided out due to a heart defect, something that was going to come back and plague him in later years.

Answer: Running Wild

They made a series of shows for the BBC called 'Running Wild'. It was a total flop. One critic called television "The box they buried Morecambe and Wise in". Little did he know how wrong he was going to be in just a few years. Eric never forgot this criticism, and carried a clipping of it in his wallet for the rest of his life.

Answer: Two of a Kind

'Two of a Kind' ran for seven years on ATV. It was written by Dick Hills and Sid Green. At some point during this period, there was a falling out between the two pairs which ended in a strike by Equity. This strike left the Autumn TV schedules in tatters.

It is said that Sid Green told Eric, "You're done for." Eric's reply was, "Not at all, we're members of the VAF", a different union which at that time was not affiliated with Equity.

Answer: The shows would not be filmed in colour

The two reasons given for the change from ATV were that Lew Grade was not prepared to offer what Eric and Ernie were asking, and that the shows would continue to be filmed in black and white. Eric and Ernie moved back to the BBC.

Answer: Eric had a heart attack

On the 7th November 1968, Eric suffered his first heart attack. He was driving home from a late night appearance with Ernie. They had been doing a series of midnight concerts at Batley. He was admitted to Leeds General Infirmary, where he stayed for two weeks. [At the time, my wife was a student nurse at the same hospital, and was involved in his care. Nothing to do with the quiz, but it is one of her two claims to fame. If you want to know the second, you'll have to ask.

But I may not tell. Unless you are a fan of Hayley Mills.]

Answer: Des O'Connor

Eric poked fun at all the guests who appeared with them on the shows. He kept a special dig though, for Des. On many occasions he called him Deaf O'Connor. On one appearance Des asked "Can I sing on your show?" Eric replied," Sing on our show? You can't even sing on yours." Despite this, they were all great friends, and the three of them would meet up to devise new jokes about Des's 'talent'.

Answer: The Stripper

Known to most people as 'The Stripper Sketch', it showed Eric and Ernie preparing breakfast whilst listening to the radio. The most memorable moments were Ernie catching pieces of toast as they popped up, Eric chopping the oranges with a very large knife, and Ernie opening the fridge door, to be bathed in light, and both of them dancing with a string of sausages.

As with most of their best sketches, not a single word was spoken.

Answer: The play what I wrote

'The play what I wrote' became a catch phrase in their later years. Ernie had very few, Eric had the majority. Among the most memorable were 'short fat hairy legs', 'What do you think of it so far?', 'There's no answer to that.' and of course, 'You can't see the join.' This last one was a reference to the fact that Eric always thought Ernie's hair was a wig.

Answer: Angela Rippon

Who can forget Angela Rippon's performance? She began behind a desk reading a news item. Within seconds, she was out from behind the desk doing a dance routine with Eric and Ernie, and showing a very nice pair of legs. The routine ended with her throwing one of her legs on to Eric's shoulder - a sight I will never forget.

Answer: Grieg's Piano Concerto

Many famous people appeared on the show, only to be ridiculed by Eric. When Andre Previn appeared, Eric tried to play Grieg's "Piano Concerto". Previn told him he was playing all the wrong notes. Eric's response was to grab Andre by the jacket and say " I'm playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order."

Answer: Cheltenham

On the night he died, Eric had appeared at a theatre in Tewksbury. He did several curtain calls, and then walked into the wings and said " Thank goodness that's over." He then collapsed and was taken to Cheltenham Hospital, were he died from heart failure.

Answer: OBE

Morecambe and Wise were at the height of their popularity during the mid to late 1970s. Their Christmas Special in 1977 pulled an astonishing 28 million viewers.

Ernie survived Eric by a number of years, he finally passed away in March 1999, aged 73.

The title of this quiz comes from their theme song.

Bring me sunshine, in your smile,
Bring me laughter, all the while,
In this world where we live, there should be more happiness,
So much joy you can give, to each brand new bright tomorrow,

Make me happy, through the years,
Never bring me, any tears,
Let your arms be as warm as the sun from up above,
Bring me fun, bring me sunshine, bring me love.

Bring me sunshine, in your eyes,
Bring me rainbows, from the skies,
Life's too short to be spent having anything but fun,
We can be so content, if we gather little sunbeams,

Be light-hearted, all day long,
Keep me singing, happy songs,
Let your arms be as warm as the sun from up above,
Bring me fun, bring me sunshine, bring me love.


Words - Sylvia Dee, Music - Arthur Kent