While Freddie Starr was arguably one of television’s most original comic talents, it seemed much of the inspiration for this short-lived Saturday night LWT series in a music hall setting came from the circus clown – they were all there: the water routine, the exploding car, the paper and paste, the custard pie routine.
The jokes were sometimes a long time coming, and Starr’s one-note slapstick routines grew a bit tedious, but the guests were funny.
Starr was assisted by resident comedians Russ Abbot (the comedy talent from The Black Abbots), Mike Newman, Toni Palmer, Norman Collier and Bella Emberg.
Abbott was a real find. He had his own LWT show – Russ Abbot’s Madhouse – the following year.
Freddie Starr was found dead at his home in Mijas, on the Costa Del Sol in Spain on 9 May 2019, aged 76. A post-mortem showed that he died from coronary artery disease.
The jokes were sometimes a long time coming, and Starr’s one-note slapstick routines grew a bit tedious, but the guests were funny.
