Norman Collier

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Norman Victor Collier (born December 25, 1925 in Kingston upon Hull , England , † March 14, 2013 near Kingston upon Hull) was a British comedian .

Life

Collier was born as the oldest of eight children in a working-class family. He grew up in very humble circumstances. During the Second World War he entered the Royal Navy at the age of 17 and was a gunner on an aircraft carrier towards the end of the war . After returning to civilian life, he earned his living as a construction worker.

In 1948 he appeared for the first time as a comedian in a workers' society that was based near his home - as a spontaneous replacement for an artist who had not appeared. His success on this occasion encouraged him to continue appearing, which eventually led to guest appearances in nightclubs in the vicinity in Yorkshire . While he was working as a worker in a chemical factory during the day, he won an enthusiastic regular audience with his evening appearances in the club scene in the north of England in the following decade and a half. In 1962 he finally had so many engagements that he was able to make the secondary activity his main occupation.

In the following years he toured the entire UK on guest appearances, often being booked as a side attraction to well-known musicians such as Cliff Richard and the Shadows and the Everly Brothers . He had a first television appearance in 1965 in the BBC telecast Let's Laugh , to a wider audience, he was, however, by assisting in the until 1971 Royal Variety Performance evoked the notion property as his number applause. In the 1970s and 1980s he then appeared frequently on television and radio. Guest tours have also taken him to mainland Europe, North America and the Far East.

In his numbers, Collier mostly used longer monologues with situational comedy instead of relying on the quick succession of punch lines. His best-known standard sketches, used for years, included the depiction of a master of ceremonies struggling with a microphone with periodic malfunction and a number imitating the sounds, gestures and movements of a chicken. He frequently used stereotypes associated with the working class in northern England, but avoided resorting to racist humor, as many of his colleagues with similar backgrounds did. Collier also appeared repeatedly as a pantomime with the comedian duo Little and Large .

Despite his success, Collier remained down-to-earth and lived in the village of Welton near Hull. He appeared as a comedian until he was nine years old, for example in 2009 with other artists on a longer tour of tours under the title The Best of British Variety . Collier was a member of the Grand Order of Water Council , a fraternity of entertainment professionals who pursued charitable causes. Even amateur golfers , he repeatedly organized golf tournaments, the proceeds of which were donated to charity.

In 2009 he published his memoir under the title Just a Job . In the last years of his life he suffered from Parkinson's disease . He was married to his wife Lucy for 67 years, with whom he raised two daughters and a son.

Norman Collier died on March 14, 2013 at the age of 87 in a nursing home near Hull.

literature

  • Norman Collier. Just a job. The Recollections of a Comedian. Mike Ulyatt Enterprises, Willerby 2009, ISBN 9780956175700 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Biographical data by Norman Collier in: The Independent
personal data
SURNAME Collier, Norman
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Collier, Norman Victor
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British comedian
DATE OF BIRTH December 25, 1925
PLACE OF BIRTH Kingston upon Hull , England, UK
DATE OF DEATH March 14, 2013
Place of death near Kingston upon Hull , England, United Kingdom