| The Comedians | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Comedy |
| Directed by | Walter Butler Dave Warwick |
| Starring | Russ Abbot Don Adams Lennie Bennett Stan Boardman Jim Bowen Jimmy Bright Duggie Brown Mike Burton Dave Butler Brian Carroll Frank Carson Johnnie Casson Eddie Colinton Mike Coyne Colin Crompton Bob Curtiss Pauline Daniels Charlie Daze Les Dennis Vince Earl Steve Faye Ray Fell Eddie Flanagan Stu Francis Mike Goddard Ken Goodwin Jackie Hamilton Jerry Harris Jimmy Jones Mike Kelly George King Bobby Knutt Bernard Manning Jimmy Marshall Mike McCabe Paul Melba Mick Miller Pat Mooney Hal Nolan Tom O'Connor Tom Pepper Bryn Phillips Don Reid Mike Reid Al Robbins George Roper Harry Scott Paul Shane Sammy Thomas Johnny Wager Roy Walker Jos White Charlie Williams Lee Wilson Lenny Windsor |
| Composer | Derek Hilton |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 11 |
| No. of episodes | 81[1] |
| Production | |
| Producers | Ian Hamilton Johnnie Hamp |
| Production locations | Granada Studios, Manchester |
| Editors | D .L. Hayes Ron Swayne |
| Running time | 30 minutes (including adverts) |
| Production company | Granada Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 12 June 1971 – 28 December 1993 |
The Comedians is a British television show of the 1970s (later reprised in the mid-1980s and early 1990s) produced by Johnnie Hamp of Granada Television. The show gave TV exposure to nightclub and working men's club comedians of the era, including Russ Abbot, Jim Bowen and Bernard Manning, many of whom went on to enjoy mainstream success in the 1980s. Filmed before a live audience in Manchester, comics each performed 20-minute sets, which were then edited together into half-hour shows featuring up to thirteen stand-up comics.
Working men's clubs were numerous in Britain, especially in the North of England and have been a useful training ground for artists, especially comedians. Most of these clubs are affiliated to the CIU (Working Men's Club and Institute Union) founded in 1862 by the Rev. Henry Solly. There are also political clubs, as well as Servicemen's Clubs affiliated to the Royal British Legion.
The Comedians began as an experiment for Granada TV and was popular during the earlier series, with an LP recording of the show reaching the best-seller charts, and several sell-out national tours following, including a season at the London Palladium. The programme won the Critics' Circle Award.
The comedy frequently took the form of anecdotes or jokes and often involved racist or sexist stereotypes. Like other British comedy successes of the day, notably, Love Thy Neighbour, this kind of entertainment was acceptable on British television during this period but would not be so today. Viewing the series in retrospect it stands as a major social document of the times.
