Dick Emery
Out from the myriad of comedy shows that were on television during the 1960's 1970's and indeed the 1980's, The Dick Emery Show was amongst one of my very favourites.
Shown between 1963 and 1981 (an impressive 18 years!) Dick Emery's character-based sketch humour was the appointment viewing throughout my youth.
Emery's enduring characters; Hettie, the Vicar, Gaylord the bovver boy, Clarence (Honkey Tonk), Mandy - all provided the young and the teenage me with hours of laughter - and a plethora of catch phrases.
Emery's shows regularily pulled in millions of viewers, some shows peaking at over 20 million. He appeared in several films, noteably The Fast Lady (1962) with Leslie Phillips, Stanley Baxter and James Robertson Justice and made a film of his own - based on his characters - Ooh, You Are Awful in 1972.
Although all of Emery's characters made me laugh - out loud - his most memorable performance (in my book, anyway) is his character James Maynard Kitchener Lampwick - the old codger cited to be his favourite character to play.