The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #148301 Message #3443183
Posted By: GUEST,sturgeon
27-Nov-12 - 02:02 PM
Thread Name: Ken Doddie to have a big day!
Subject: RE: Ken Doddie to have a big day!
In his excellent book 'Tickling the English' the Irish comic Dara Ó Briain describes how his enjoyment of his UK tour was somewhat diminished by his discovery, at various venues, that Ken Dodd had been on stage for four or five hours in the days before Dara appeared to do his own gig (which was two hours maximum).
In the end he bites the bullet and goes to see Dodd perform, expecting Ken to meet all the standard, old-fashioned criteria of British comedy (racism, sexism, intolerance, preying on the disadvantaged, etc.).
Much to his own disbelief, he finds himself staying the course of the whole Dodd five-hour experience, goes back to his digs crippled with laughter and fully aware that Dodd not only has no interest in belittling others, but is, as he's always been, a comic genius.