Cycling UK Forum

A sad loss of a man who made me,and many,many others laugh sp much,sometimes unbeknowns to me as he wrote for so many people.

I have no idea who this is?

Maillot Rouge wrote: ↑27 Jan 2022, 10:45pm I have no idea who this is?

You've probably heard his work even if you don't know his name.

BBC News - Barry Cryer obituary: A life dedicated to laughter

From Newschain:

Cryer was famous for his jokes about parrots, and The Oldie magazine, where he was a contributor, published what it claimed was his “ultimate” one in 2020.

It describes a woman who purchases a parrot for only £5.

“Well, I must confess, it was brought up in a brothel,” says the shopkeeper. “And, to put it politely, it has quite an extensive vocabulary.”

“Never mind,” says the woman. “At that price, I’ll take it.”

So she takes the parrot home, puts its cage in the living room and takes the cover off.

“New place – very nice,” says the parrot.

Then the woman’s two daughters walk in.

“New place, new girls – very nice,” says the parrot.

Then the woman’s husband walks in, and the parrot says, “Oh hello, Keith!”

Barry was a legend. He will be sorely missed. I'm sorry.. just wont be the same.

Al

It is a time for sadness and joy. Sadness at the passing of a fantastic talent and a good person.

And a time of joy to celebrate the life of a man who brought so much happiness and joy.

Ben@Forest wrote: ↑28 Jan 2022, 7:08am From Newschain:

Cryer was famous for his jokes about parrots, and The Oldie magazine, where he was a contributor, published what it claimed was his “ultimate” one in 2020.

It describes a woman who purchases a parrot for only £5.

“Well, I must confess, it was brought up in a brothel,” says the shopkeeper. “And, to put it politely, it has quite an extensive vocabulary.”

“Never mind,” says the woman. “At that price, I’ll take it.”

So she takes the parrot home, puts its cage in the living room and takes the cover off.

“New place – very nice,” says the parrot.

Then the woman’s two daughters walk in.

“New place, new girls – very nice,” says the parrot.

Then the woman’s husband walks in, and the parrot says, “Oh hello, Keith!”

The tributes pouring in from those who knew him give the impression he was as much fun out of the limelight as he was in it. Sounds like a life well lived and one to be celebrated, certainly one that will be remembered. RIP

Most of his stuff was before my time I think but he was obviously a talented comedy writer and performer.
Not a bad innings and from what I've read he enjoyed every minute of it.
RIP.

AIUI, he learned his craft the hard way, even harder than being a Red Coat at Butlin's. He went from Leeds Grammar School to Leeds University where he dropped out after the first year. Among his jobs were as a comedian at Leeds City Varieties, which in his obituaries is described as the home of the BBC's The Good Old Days, which is true; but the reality is that in those not so good old days of my early teens it was a sleazy dive - a precursor of lap dancing clubs etc. The law in those days banned strippers etc and allowed only "artistic" static nudity. That meant fan-dancing and the like, climaxing in a tableau of rigid nudes. Once the curtain came down to allow for the preparation of the next artistic performance, the likes of Barry Cryer had to keep the dirty mac brigade entertained. After that sort of audience with zero interest in stand up comedians, anything else is easy. (Before anybody asks that was my early teens so I've never been in the place.)

His next career move was to the Windmill Club in London which was the same sort of work but higher profile. But still very hard work getting a laugh. After that he got into both telly and radio where his skills ensured a long career. One comment attributed to him was along the lines of "In my job, you don't retire: the phone stops ringing."

I've been laughing at his jokes literally all my life. I lived for a while in Hatch End and used to see him in the rub-a-dub on the main drag (which became one of the earliest 'Spoons). ISIHAC won't be the same without him..

Another of his parrot jokes
A man buys a parrot but on getting it home finds out it swears continually.So he says to the parrot "if you don't stop swearing I'll put you somewhere dark and cold" but the parrot continues swearing.
The chap grabs it by the scruff and puts it in the fridge.
After 10minutes he opens the door and says "now,have you learned your lesson?"
The parrot says "yes,but one question" the man says "yes what is it?"
The parrot says " I thought the punishment was a bit harsh for just swearing,but what did that chicken do?"

"Cryer, the master of the comedy sketch and the instant one-liner, was once asked by the Yorkshire Post for his favourite joke. He recalled one he had told in a student revue in 1955.
"A man drives down a country lane and runs over a cockerel. He knocks at a nearby farmhouse door and a woman answers.
"'I appear to have killed your cockerel,' he says. 'I'd like to replace it.' The woman replies: 'Please yourself - the hens are round the back.'"

Ray wrote: ↑28 Jan 2022, 5:17pm "Cryer, the master of the comedy sketch and the instant one-liner, was once asked by the Yorkshire Post for his favourite joke. He recalled one he had told in a student revue in 1955.
"A man drives down a country lane and runs over a cockerel. He knocks at a nearby farmhouse door and a woman answers.
"'I appear to have killed your cockerel,' he says. 'I'd like to replace it.' The woman replies: 'Please yourself - the hens are round the back.'"

Excellent!

Reportedly this was one of the last jokes he told to a friend:

"A man and his wife are out walking one day when they spot a lone fellow on the other side of the road.
“That looks like the Archbishop of Canterbury over there,” says the woman. “Go and see if it is.”
The husband crosses the road and asks the man if he is indeed the Archbishop of Canterbury.
“F— off,” says the man.
The husband crosses back to his wife, who asks, “What did he say? Is he the Archbishop of Canterbury?”
"He told me to f— off,” says the husband.
“Oh no,” replies the wife, “Now we’ll never know.”

It's also worth seeking out his shaggy dog story about a man with an orange for a head.