Arthur Tolcher
Arthur Tolcher (9 April 1922 – 9 March 1987),[citation needed] born Arthur John Stone-Tolcher in Bloxwich, Staffordshire, England, was a virtuoso British harmonica player and child star who started his career in the British music halls in the 1930s.[1]
Career
He appeared at the London Palladium at 15 and was an early friend and colleague of Morecambe and Wise. Tolcher was managed by his mother Beatrice ("Beef"), who knew Eric Morecambe's mother well. When the double act became successful, Eric and Ernie did not forget their friend and he appeared for many years in their TV shows. He would come on stage in evening wear and start to play his harmonica (always "España cañí/Spanish Gypsy Dance"), only to be stopped by Eric and Ernie saying, "Not now, Arthur!" He also played in some longer sketches on their show.
In a BBC Radio 4 programme in August 2007, Tolcher's life story was narrated by Stewart Henderson.[2] Although he had applied to work for the BBC many times in the 1950s, he was dismissed as "amateurish". This did not stop him from performing many backing tracks on hit records for singers such as Frank Ifield.
Personal life
Tolcher often worked away from home, but his home was in Bloxwich, in the West Midlands, for many years.[citation needed]
Tolcher, who was a lifelong and devout Roman Catholic, died in March 1987 aged 64.[1]
References
- ^ a b "Not Now Arthur!". Morecambeandwise.com. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 Programmes – Not Now Arthur". BBC. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
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- Eric Morecambe
- Ernie Wise
- Hills and Green
- Eddie Braben
- John Ammonds
- Ernest Maxin
- Barry Cryer
- John Junkin
- Running Wild (1954)
- Two of a Kind (1961–1968)
- The Morecambe & Wise Show (BBC, 1968–1977)
- The Morecambe & Wise Show (ITV, 1978–1983)
- Two of a Kind (1961–1968)
- The Morecambe & Wise Show (BBC, 1968–1977)
- The Morecambe & Wise Show (ITV, 1978–1983)
- Other television appearances
- The Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise Show (1975–1978)
- The Intelligence Men (1965)
- That Riviera Touch (1966)
- The Magnificent Two (1967)
- Night Train to Murder (1983)
- Eric & Ernie: The Autobiography of Morecambe & Wise (1973)
- Morecambe & Wise: There's No Answer to That! (1981)
- Still on My Way to Hollywood (1990, Wise only)
- Bring Me Sunshine: A Gala Evening (1984)
- Morecambe and Wise: Bring Me Sunshine (1994)
- Morecambe & Wise: Greatest Moments (2008)
- Bring Me Morecambe & Wise (2012)
- List of joint appearances
- Fools Rush In (1973)
- The Passionate Pilgrim (1984)
- The Importance of Being Ernie (1993)
- The Play What I Wrote (2001)
- Morecambe and Wise: In Their Own Words (2007)
- Morecambe (2009)
- Eric and Ernie (2011)
- Eric, Ernie and Me (2016)
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