On Facebook I was sent a picture of a statue of comedian Tommy Cooper in Caerphilly, Wales. I wondered how many other statues there are of comedians. Statues include those of Chaplin, George M Cohan, Tommy Cooper and many more. A surprising and delightful number.
The quickest way to find your favourites in the country or city you are visiting is to Google images.
BRITAIN - WALES and ENGLAND
Let's start with Tommy Cooper in Britain.
WALES
Tommy Cooper - Caerphilly, Wales
The statue is in the city centre, near the castle which is the main attraction, so two good photo opportunities. Actually three: The statue alone; the castle alone; and the statue with the castle behind it to remind you of the location.
ENGLAND
Spike Milligan, Finchley, London
Spike Milligan's statue, installed in 2014 in Finchley, London, where he lived, shows him seated on a bench. He is most famous for his epitaph: I told them I was ill. The cemetery authorities would not allow that to be put on his gravestone, so his relatives engraved it in Gaelic (he was Irish). His other famous sayings include his answer during WWII to Harry Secombe, who came running down a hill, shouting, "Have you seen a cannon?" Spike Milligan replied, "What colour?"
Tony Hancock - Birmingham, England
What do you remember of Tony Hancock (1924-1968), if you had the pleasure of hearing him? I recall his lugubrious expression. One of my favourite episodes was The Blood Donor. "Are you a full-blooded Indian?" "No, I'm one pint short."
A plaque is on his birthplace at 41 Southam Road, Birmingham, although he was only in Birmingham for three years before his parents moved to Bournemouth (no plaque there?) where his father ran a pub frequented by actors. Sadly he died in Sydney, Australia, in a hotel, where he was found with an empty bottle of vodka and an empty bottle of pills - not a good combination.
(I always wonder why people have to go to the trouble and expense of visiting Switzerland and D i g n i t a s, or making a bloody mess on railway lines and delaying everybody's journey home, when Hancock and Amy Winehouse had no trouble killing themselves at home with alcohol and pills.)
Norman Wisdom
Norman Wisdom lived on The Isle of Man where he died. He was very popular in communist Albania where his comedies were allowed, being seen as the fight of the common man against capitalism.
He was known for his flat cap and for tripping as he left the stage or, in one notable case, the football field where Albania was playing against England.
From Wikipedia:
"In 2007, a Norman Wisdom-themed bar opened at the Sefton Hotel, Douglas, called Sir Norman's. It has stills from his many films on the walls and TV screens playing some of his old films. The bronze statue of Wisdom, which used to be on a bench outside Douglas Town Hall, has been moved to the steps leading into the hotel bar on Harris Promenade.[5"
Charlie Chaplin
His statue stands in London. Another stands in Switzerland. He lived in Vevey with his wife Oona.
Eric Morecambe
Statue on the promenade of Morecambe in Lancashire, England.
Les Dawson
Statue in the town of Lytham St Anne's, England.
USA
George M Cohan
Statue of George M Cohan, statue in Times Square, New York. He was famous for saying, "I don't care what you say about me, so long as you spell my name right."
Will Rogers
Statue in Oklahoma.
Lou Costello
USA
RUSSIA
Nikolai Gogol
Statue in Russia.
Australia
Statue of Dame Edna Everage in Melbourne.
(More statues in later posts.) Please share links to your favourite posts.
Angela Lansbury, author of comic poetry, and performer of comic speeches.
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