John Comer

John Comer (1 March 1924 – 11 February 1984) was a British comic actor. He was best known for his roles in Coronation Street as Mr Birtles, then as a taxi driver, and later as Wilf Jones, in Emmerdale Farm as Ernie Shuttleworth, Les Brandon in I Didn't Know You Cared, and cafe owner Sid in Last of the Summer Wine.

For the American football player, see John Comer (American football).

John Comer
Born1 March 1924
Stretford, Lancashire, England
Died11 February 1984 (aged 59)
Blackpool, Lancashire, England
Occupationactor
Years active1941 - 1984

Early life

Born and brought up in Stretford, Lancashire,[1] Comer gained an engineering apprenticeship at Metropolitan-Vickers, Trafford Park.[2]

Early career

Comer began his career performing a comedy routine around local social clubs and pubs in the 1930s and 1940s. In 1952, with his younger brother Tony, he performed in a children's theatre production for local schools in Stretford. The siblings then formed a double act named the Comer Brothers.[1] In 1957 the brothers began a regular slot at the Manchester Apollo, performing a variety act entitled Comer's Cottage.

Tony & John Comer, as the Comer Brothers

In 1958 the Comer Brothers participated in an ITV talent show called Bid for Fame and began working for Butlin's. In 1959 they won first prize in the Butlin's National Talent Contest, winning £1,000 and a film contract[1] with the Boulting Brothers.[2]

Success

In 1959 the Boulting Brothers cast John and Tony Comer in the film I'm All Right Jack, in which they starred alongside Peter Sellers and Richard Attenborough as trade union shop stewards. Their next film roles were in 1961, when they featured alongside Rita Tushingham in A Taste of Honey. However shortly afterwards Tony decided to leave showbusiness and returned to full-time work at Metropolitan-Vickers, while John decided to continue pursuing his film career. He appeared in the Boulting Brothers' 1967 film The Family Way as a father-of-the-bride to Hayley Mills's character, whose father John Mills portrayed her father-in-law.

He gained a recurring role in 1973 as the primary supporting role of Sid in the new BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine. He also starred in a long-running advertising campaign for Home Brew Beer.[2] 1977 saw him appear as Bill Malley in the BBC series Murder Most English. Comer appeared in an episode of All Creatures Great and Small entitled "The Name of the Game" in 1982.

John Comer as Sid with Jane Freeman as Ivy in Last of the Summer Wine

Death

Comer died of throat cancer in 1984, at the age of 59.[3] The disease had so affected his voice that in his final television appearance, as cafe owner Sid, in the Last of the Summer Wine Christmas episode Getting Sam Home, his lines had to be dubbed by another actor, Tony Melody. His funeral was held at Carleton Crematorium, Blackpool, where he is commemorated at rose-bed no. 18. After the death of Comer's wife, Mollie, in 2010, his estate was finalised; in 2013 the Comer family donated £245,000 to the hospice in Blackpool where John Comer was treated before his death.[1]

Film roles
YearTitleRoleNotes
1959I'm Alright JackUnion Shop Steward
1960Hell Is a CityPlainclothes Police DriverUncredited
1963Heavens Above!Butcher
1964The Counterfeit Constable
1965Rotten to the CorePolice SergeantUncredited
1966The Family WayLeslie Piper
1968Happy DeathdayBriggs
1969Battle of BritainPolicemanUncredited
1970There's a Girl in My SoupJohn, the porter
1970Wuthering Heights
1971VillainWaiter at House of CommonsUncredited
1971Mr. Forbush and the PenguinsPolice Sergeant
1972Dr. Phibes Rises AgainShip's OfficerUncredited
1973The Lovers!Geoffrey's Dad
1981Memoirs of a SurvivorMan delivering Emily

Television roles
YearTitleRoleNotes
1962-63Coronation StreetMr. Birtles
1965Coronation StreetTaxi Driver
1966Pardon the ExpressionPoliceman
1967Turn out the LightsPoliceman
1968Coronation StreetWilf Jones
1973Bless This HouseThe Landlord
1973Crown CourtPolice ConstableEpisode: The mugging of Arthur Simmons
1972-1974Play For TodayVarious
1973All Our SaturdaysWilf
1973-1983Last of the Summer WineSid(final appearance)
1975The Life of RileyGeorge Pollitt
1975Emmerdale FarmErnie Shuttleworth3 episodes
1975-1979I Didn't Know You CaredLes Brandon
1976-1978Potter's Picture PalaceSidney Bogart
1977Murder Most EnglishRecurring role as a police sergeant
1977SurvivorsLes Norton
1978All Creatures Great and SmallMr. Dimmock
1980Nice WorkMr. Blundell
gollark: Also, all my weapons are greyed out in the battle view thingy, can I fix them somehow?
gollark: Do the walls actually *do* anything?
gollark: Ah, you just need to click on weird spots of them.
gollark: What snow from the ground?
gollark: How do I get more snow in The Event?

References
  1. Banks, Kate (11 April 2013). "Late Last of the Summer Wine actor's family to donate £245,000 to cancer hospice". UK: Messenger Newspapers. Archived from the original on 17 January 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  2. "The Comer Brothers". St Ann's Stretford Parish Magazine. Christmas 2007. p. 14.
  3. "Help hospice in your will". The Gazette. Blackpool, Lancashire, UK: Johnston Publishing Ltd. 8 October 2013. Archived from the original on 26 May 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
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