On 4 October Ouse Valley Branch was honoured to welcome Gail Stuart, daughter of the late Eric Morecambe, as their guest speaker.
Gail regaled members with many personal and amusing anecdotes of her late father and their life in Harpenden (bringing along family photo albums to share with members). She concentrated on six central influences on her father’s life and career. His mum and dad, Sadie and George, who nurtured their son’s excessive energy and helped him channel it into something productive; his show business partner Ernie Wise, whom he met as a teenager when they performed in revues for Jack Hylton, as solo artists at first; his wife Joan Bartlett, herself a singer and performer who managed his personal and family life; and finally, his chauffeur, personal assistant and family friend Mike Fountain. All of these people played important parts in enabling Eric to have a very rewarding and longstanding career with Ernie from 1941, cut short too soon by his sudden death in 1984.
Summary by Rosemarie Evans
