Another Legendry British Comedian Dead

[Metal Head]

Hi,

He may have not been everyone's favourite but he was certainly popular with most of the British population. Someone commenting on his death said he had left instructions for his head stone to be inscribed with "I would rather be here than at Old Trafford" He was a Manchester city supporter all his life.

Q) When is the best time to sell an Irishman a block of land?

See the answer below.....


Here is part of an obituary from one of the British papers

Manning's many critics tended to see him as a contemptible moral coward who played to the prejudices of his predominantly white male audiences in venues where the underdog had no chance to respond.

Yet he also had some surprising admirers, including the historian AJP Taylor, the footballer David Beckham, the singer Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie, and the comedian Stephen Fry, who wisely confined his admiration to Manning's "technique". ("He's a poof, of course," Manning observed, "but he's got great taste.")

There were some who argued that by confronting people with their own prejudices, expressed in their most extreme and unpleasant form, he was actually performing a service to community relations. The violent far-Right was said to be embarrassed by him, and he was never prosecuted under Race Relations or Public Order legislation. At a personal level, too, Manning did not quite live up to the racist image.

He had happy relations with his black neighbours, sent a sick Asian child he heard about locally on a no-publicity trip to Disneyland, gave money privately to anti-racist groups and was a major benefactor of Jewish charities in Manchester. Darcus Howe, the black writer and social commentator, recalled meeting Manning in 1999: "He asked me straight up where I was from, and I told him, Brixton. He smiled, and said he'd been there once, so he could be my daddy. And I kind of liked that... We parted friends. I felt a little sorry for him."

A) When the tide's out

[silentC]

For those (like me ) wondering who the hell Metal Head is raving on about: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Manning

[craigb]

For those (like me ) wondering who the hell Metal Head is raving on about: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Manning

Thanks, I'd never heard of him either.

[dazzler]

Is he as funny as these irish and scottish comedians in oz lately.

ha ha he has a funny accent

[ozwinner]

I went to see Bernard when we was doing a stint in Manchester, not bad, but not legendary.

Al

[Metal Head]

For those (like me ) wondering who the hell Metal Head is raving on about: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Manning

Sorry about that lads but I thought there would be enough POMS here to appreciate the news. Obviously it appears he didn't appear here in Australia which isn't suprising as he would have be sent back to UK quickly given the sensitivity of Australians to being the butt of a joke.

[ozwinner]

he would have be sent back to UK quickly given the sensitivity of Australians to being the butt of a joke.

Give it a rest, Bernard was a total tosser.

I saw him at his "club" what a joke. His "club" I mean, not him.

Al

[joe greiner]

I'd never heard of him until yesterday. The obit in our local rag quoted him, "I tell jokes. You never take a joke seriously." Apparently not good enough for most folks, though, as skins became thinner. Many, many, many years ago, the American humour author O. Henry (William Sidney Porter) wrote a short story entitled "A Cosmopolite in a Cafe." Described disparaging conversations about various groups. All was well until the topic shifted to the cosmopolite's homeland. Then all hell broke loose. (Working from memory here; last read it in HS about 50 years ago.)

Joe

[Metal Head]

Give it a rest, Bernard was a total tosser.

I saw him at his "club" what a joke. His "club" I mean, not him.

Al

As I said previous he wasn't popular with everyone as a comedian. But it has to be acknowledged that he did a hell of a lot of charity work and a lot of the beneficiaries were non British born persons and overseas charities. So for humanity he did a lot of good work which I bet is more than most of us here have done financially wise.

MH

[SPIRIT]

As I said previous he wasn't popular with everyone as a comedian. But it has to be acknowledged that he did a hell of a lot of charity work and a lot of the beneficiaries were non British born persons and overseas charities. So for humanity he did a lot of good work which I bet is more than most of us here have done financially wise.

MH

Sorry ,,,,,get me my sword ,,dub him Sir Bernard,,,you may now rise

[Metal Head]

Sorry ,,,,,get me my sword ,,dub him Sir Bernard,,,you may now rise

Unfortunately I think he was an athiest Arty.

[namtrak]

Jeez, for a minute there I thought Powderfinger had lost their lead singer.