Sykes, Eric 1923-

PERSONAL

Born May 4, 1923, in Oldham, Lancashire, England; son of Vernon and Harriet Sykes; married Edith Eleanore Milbrandt, February 14, 1952; children: Katherine Lee (a production manager), Susan Jane, Julie Louise (a director), David Kurt. Avocational Interests: golf.

Addresses:

Manager—Norma Farnes Management, 9 Orme Court, London W2 4RL United Kingdom.

Career:

Actor, writer, director, and comedian. Appeared in one-man show, U.K. cities, 1982. University of Central Lancashire, honorary fellow, 1999. Military Service: Royal Air Force, mobile signal unit, 1941-47.

Awards, Honors:

Appointed to The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, 1986; Lifetime Achievement Award, British Comedy Awards, 1992; The Bernard Delfont Award, for outstanding contribution to show business, 2002; Appointed Commander of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, 2005.

CREDITS

Stage Appearances:

Time and Time Again, London, 1983.

Also appeared in Run for Your Wife, London and Canadian productions.

Major Tours:

Big Bad House, U.K. cities, 1977.

Summer Show Sykes, Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia), Australian, and Canadian cities, 1978.

Film Appearances:

Private Waterhouse, Orders Are Orders, British Lion, 1954.

Brother-in-law, Charley Moon, British Lion, 1956.

Martin, Tommy the Toreader, Warner-Pathe, 1959.

Civilian electrician number two, Watch Your Stern (also known as What a Carry On: Watch Your Stern), Magna, 1960.

Willoughby, sports officer, Very Important Person (also known as A Coming-Out Party and V.I.P.), Rank, 1961.

German band conductor, Invastion Quartet, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1961.

Herbert Harris, Village of Daughters, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1962.

Rumbelow, Kill or Cure, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1962.

Harry Smith, Heaven's Above!, British Lion, 1963.

The mariner, The Bargee, 1964.

Mr. Groomkirby, One Way Pendulum, Lopert, 1965.

Courtney, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 hours 11 minutes (also known as Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1965.

Hunt, Rotten to the Core (also known as Rotten to the Corps), Universal, 1965.

Charlie Griffin, The Liquidator, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1966.

Wrigley, The Spy with the Cold Nose, Embassy, 1966.

Smaller workman, The Plank, J. Arthur Rank, 1967.

Mako, Shalako (also known as Man nennt mich Shalako), Cinerama Releasing Corp., 1968.

Inspector Rhubarb, Rhubarb (short), Warner Home Video, 1969.

It's Your Move (short), 1969.

Perkins, Monte Carlo or Bust (also known as Gonfles a bloc, Monte Carlo Rally, Montecarlo Rally, Quei temerari sulle loro pazze, scatenate, scalcinate carriole, Il ralleye di Montecarlo … e tutta quella confusione, Le rallye de Monte Carlo, and Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies), Paramount, 1969.

Himself, The Alf Garnett Saga (also known as The Garnett Saga), Columbia-Warner, 1972.

Sergeant Dogge, Theatre of Blood (also known as Much Ado About Murder and Theater of Blood), United Artists, 1973.

Police inspector/groom, Rhubarb/Rhubarb (short), Umbrella Entertainment, 1980.

Mr. Pangbourne, If You Go Down in the Woods Today, 1981.

Chief constable, The Boys in Blue, Rank Film Organization, 1982.

Gabrielle and the Doodleman, Children's Film and Television Foundation, 1984.

(Uncredited) Arcade attendant, Absolute Beginners, Orion, 1986.

Mr. Blick the plumber, The Big Freeze, Pickwick, 1993.

Jobson the doorman, Splitting Heirs, Universal, 1993.

Mr. Edmund Tuttle, The Others (also known as Les autres and Los otros), Dimension Films, 2001.

Skip, Mavis and the Mermaid (short), 2004.

Sykes in the Studio (short), Network, 2004.

Sykes on Sykes (short), 2004.

Himself, I Told You I Was Ill: The Life and Legacy of Spike Mulligan (documentary), ABC Content Films, 2005.

Frank Bryce, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Warner Bros., 2005.

Frank, Son of Rambow: A Home Movie, Paramount Vantage, 2007.

Film Director:

The Plank, 1967.

Rhubarb, 1969.

It's Your Move, 1969.

Rhubarb Rhubarb, 1980.

If You Go Down in the Woods Today, 1981.

The Big Freeze, 1993.

Television Appearances; Series:

Various characters, The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d, 1956.

Himself and various characters, Eric Sykes Presents Peter Sellers, 1957.

Sykes Versus TV, BBC, 1958-65.

Eric Sykes, Sykes And A …, BBC, 1960-64.

Himself, Jokers Wild, YTV, 1970.

Sykes and a Big Big Show, BBC, 1971.

Eric Sykes, Sykes, BBC, 1972.

The secretary, The Nineteenth Hole, ITV, 1989.

Himself, … And It's Goodnight from Him …, 1996.

Additional voice, Teletubbies, BBC and PBS, 1997-98.

Television Appearances; Miniseries:

Mollocks, Gormenghast, BBC2 and BBC America, 2000.

Television Appearances; Specials:

Director, Dress Rehearsal, BBC, 1956.

Opening Night, BBC, 1956.

Pantomania, or Dick Whittington, BBC, 1956.

Closing Night, BBC, 1957.

The Lord's Taverners Ball, BBC, 1957.

Gala Opening, BBC, 1959.

Sykes Versus ITV, 1967.

Sykes: With a Lid Off, Thames, 1971.

Sykes and a Big, Big, Show, BBC, 1971, 1978.

Eric/Jack, Eric Sykes Shows a Few of Our Favorite Things, Thames, 1977.

Larger workman, The Plank, ITV, 1979.

The Likes of Sykes, Thames, 1980.

Producer, The Eric Sykes 1990 Show, Thames, 1982.

Head removal man, It's Your Move, 1982.

Senior undertaker, Mr. H Is Late, ITV, 1988.

Himself, Alright on the Night's Cockup Trip, ITV, 1996.

The Unforgettable Hattie Jacques, 2000.

Drake's Progress, BBC, 2001.

The Unforgettable Joan Sims, 2002.

Ken Dodd in the Dock, Channel 4, 2002.

Himself, Spike Milligan: I Told You I Was Ill—A Live Tribute, BBC, 2002.

Presenter, The British Comedy Awards 2002, ITV, 2002.

Ronnie Barker: A BAFTA Tribute, BBC, 2004.

The Comedians' Comedian, Channel 4, 2005.

Tribute to John Mills, BBC1, 2005.

Avenue of the Stars: 50 Years of ITV, ITV, 2005.

The Unseen Spike Milligan, Channel 4, 2005.

Also appeared in The Plank; If You Go Down to the Woods Today; Cannon and Ball Show; It's Your Move.

Television Appearances; Episodes:

The Tony Hancock Show, ITV, 1956.

Army private, "The Radio Show," Hancock's Half Hour, BBC, 1956.

Pierre Clicquot, "Clicquot et Fils," Comedy Playhouse, BBC, 1961.

A Christmas Night with the Stars, BBC, 1962.

Arthur, Curry & Chips, ITV, 1969.

"Up the Polls," Till Death Us Do Part, BBC, 1970.

"Eric Sykes," This Is Your Life, ITV, 1979.

Horace Harker, "The Six Napoleons," The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Granada and PBS, 1986.

"Ooh, Er, Missus! The Frankie Howard Story, or Please Yourselves," Arena, BBC, 1990.

"Frankie Howard," Heroes of Comedy, Thames, 1994.

"The Goons," Heroes of Comedy, Thames, 1997.

"Rick Wakeman," This Is Your Life, BBC, 1998.

Jim Meadowcroft, "Moods," Dinnerladies, BBC, 1998.

Des O'Connor Tonight, ITV, 1999.

"Hattie Jacques," Heroes of Comedy, Thames, 2002.

Roger Ludlow, "A Tear in My Eye," Holby City (also known as Holby), BBC, 2003.

Ted Davis, "104," The Bill, ITV1, 2003.

Today with Des and Mel, ITV, 2003, 2004.

Harry Birt, "Dead Man Talking," Doctors, BBC, 2004.

"Eric Sykes," The South Bank Show, ITV, 2005.

Breakfast, BBC, 2005.

Kelly, UTV, 2005.

Wogan Now & Then, Channel 4, 2006.

"Radio Stars," The Story of Light Entertainment, BBC2, 2006.

"The Comics," The Story of Light Entertainment, BBC2, 2006.

"Variety," The Story of Light Entertainment, BBC2, 2006.

Also appeared in The Frankie Howerd Show, BBC; as himself, Turning Points, BBC.

Television Work; Specials:

Comedy director, Opening Night, BBC, 1956.

Comedy director, Pantomania, or Dick Whittington, BBC, 1956.

Director, Closing Nights, BBC, 1957.

Director, Gala Opening, BBC, 1959.

Director, The Plank, ITV, 1979.

Director, It's Your Move, 1982.

Director, Mr. H Is Late, ITV, 1988.

WRITINGS

Screenplays:

Orders Are Orders, 1954.

The Plank, 1967.

Shalako, Cinerama, 1968.

It's Your Move, 1969.

Rhubarb, 1969.

Theatre of Blood, United Artists, 1973.

Rhubarb Rhubarb, 1980.

If You Go Down in the Woods Today, 1981.

The Big Freeze, 1993.

Also wrote The Monte Carlo Rally.

Television Specials:

Korean Party (also known as Frankie Howerd's "Korean Party"), BBC, 1952.

Nuts in May, BBC, 1953.

The Frankie Howerd Show, BBC, 1953.

The Big Man, BBC, 1954.

Dress Rehearsal, BBC, 1956.

Opening Night, BBC, 1956.

Pantomania, or Dick Whittington, BBC, 1956.

The Howerd Crowd, 1957.

Closing Night, BBC, 1957.

Gala Opening, BBC, 1959.

East of Howerd, 1966.

Sykes Versus ITV, 1967.

Howerd's Hour, ITV, 1968.

The Goon Show, Thames, 1968.

Sykes: With the Lid Off, Thames, 1971.

Eric Sykes Shows a Few of Our Favourite Things, Thames, 1977.

The Plank, ITV, 1979.

The Likes of Sykes, Thames, 1980.

The Eric Sykes 1990 Show, Thames, 1982.

It's Your Move, 1982.

Mr. H Is Late, ITV, 1988.

Television Episodes:

The Howerd Crowd, BBC, 1952.

The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d, 1956.

The Tony Hancock Show, ITV, 1956.

Eric Sykes Presents Peter Sellers, 1957.

Sykes and A …, BBC, 1960.

That Was the Week That Was (also known as TW3), BBC, 1962.

"The Last Tram," The Telegoons, BBC, 1963.

"The Mystery of the Marie Celeste Solved," The Telegoons, BBC, 1964.

"The Booted Gorilla," The Telegoons, BBC, 1964.

"Lurgi Strikes Britain," The Telegoons, BBC, 1964.

Sykes and a Big Big Show, BBC, 1971.

Sykes, BBC, 1972.

Also Educating Archie.

Radio Episodes:

Wrote for shows starring Frankie Howerd, Max Bygraves, and Harry Secombe.

Books:

If I Don't Write It Nobody Else Will (autobiography), HarperCollins, 2005.