Re: The NitWits -- The British Comedy Board

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Subject: Re: The NitWits

Author:
Mancunian_Nick

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Date Posted: 00:39:58 08/24/13 Sat
In reply to: Alan 's message, "Re: The NitWits" on 13:58:46 12/19/08 Fri

>>Anyone else remember the hilarious slapstick English
>>comedy troupe called "The NitWits" and know what has
>>become of them? They frequently performed in America
>>on The Ed Sullivan Show.
>
>When I was a child (5-6 years) my parents were
>neighbours and friends with Charlie Rossi who was a
>member of The Nitwits. This was in the Gorton area of
>Manchester, England. Prior to being in The Nitwits,
>he was a member of the band Dr Crock and the
>Crackpots. I re-established contact with him in the
>early 1990's when he was living in the Blackpool area.
>He was a short man, with a centre hair parting. I
>remember another member of the band was a black man
>who wore a bowler hat, which it turned out was only a
>hat rim, but his black head made it look like a proper
>bowler hat to the audience. Charlie told me they were
>on Ed Sullivan several times, and they also made many
>appearances in Las Vegas. I saw them appear twice at
>the Manchester Hippodrome, Ardwick (opposite the
>Apollo).

My father, Larry Jay, was one of the Crackpots, the warm-up man/comedian. Sadly the Manchester Hippodrome is no longer there although the site has never been re-developed and is still a 'bomb site' as it were. I do, however, know they also made a number of recordings for radio at the Hulme Hippodrome (still there although parts inside are derelict/unused) where they recorded such shows as Ignorance is Bliss and Variety Bandbox. I also remember them appearing on one of the children's shows (either 5 o'clock Club or Tuesday Rendezvous) at the Southern TV studios in Wembley in the early 60s when I was about 11 years old. I remember one of the shows went out live and the other was recorded the same evening. My brother was with me too. I remember we sat next to Marianne Faithfull the first time she sang "As Tears Go By" written by her then boyfriend (I believe he was then - or certainly was later), Mick Jagger.

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