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1944 - 2018

Barry Chuckle

Barry David Elliott (24 December 1944 – 5 August 2018) was one half of THE CHUCKLE BROTHERS along with his brother Paul Harman Elliott. Together they were much loved children's entertainers, better known as Barry Chuckle and Paul Chuckle.They are known for their work on their BBC show ChuckleVision, which celebrated its 21st series in 2010 with a stage tour titled An Audience with the Chuckle Brothers. The comedy of the Chuckle Brothers usually derived from slapstick and other visual gags, and their catchphrases include "To me, to you" and "Oh dear, oh dear"

Barry was born in Rotherham to Amy and James Patton Elliott, in 1944 and 1947. His father was a well-known Gang Showperformer whose stage name was Gene Patton; he worked with the 18-year-old Peter Sellers in 1943 in The No. 10 Gang and gave performances in LondonOrkney and the HebridesIceland, the Far East, India, and Burma. Aside from Paul he had two older brothers called Jimmy and Brian, who are known professionally as the Patton Brothers and who have appeared in ChuckleVision, Jimmy as the nameless character known colloquially as "No Slacking", and Brian as another unnamed character known as "Getoutofit"

The Chuckle Brothers won the television talent show Opportunity Knocks in 1967, followed by success on New Faces in 1974. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the two brothers appeared as a double act on TV. In April 1979, they appeared on the BBC comedy series Lennie and Jerry hosted by Lennie Bennett and Jerry Stevens. They made two appearances on the game show 3-2-1, hosted by Ted Rogers, in January 1980 and April 1982. In June 1980 they appeared on the long-running BBC programme, The Good Old Days. On Christmas Day in 1980, they took part in a televised children's show, A Merry Morning, which saw the brothers entertaining around 250 children from the Leeds area in Yeadon Town Hall. In August 1983, the Brothers appeared on The Freddie Starr Showcase alongside the comedian Freddie Starr.

They did not have further success until the launch of the BBC television show, Chuckle Hounds, in 1985. These short programmes, which were aimed at pre-school children and contained no dialogue, had the brothers dressed up in giant dog costumes. In 1987, the Brothers began their most famous show, ChuckleVision, which lasted for twenty-one series over twenty-two years. The series ended its run in December 2009. In 2008, ChuckleVision was nominated by public vote in the BAFTA Kids' Vote for best television series as part of the British Academy Children's Awards. Real-life siblings Jimmy and Brian Patton also made appearances in the show.

In May 1992, they performed at the Children's Royal Variety Performance.  From 1996 to 1998 the Chuckle Brothers also presented a children's game show titled To Me, To You!, named after their signature catchphrase. The format, which incorporated a "treasure island" theme, involved two teams who participated in rounds competing for prizes on a shopping trolley (which was made to resemble a bamboo structure). By rolling a die, the teams had to draw the trolley to their end of the playing board; the "squares" on the path to both ends represented challenges. When this was achieved, new prizes were added to the trolley, which was reset to the middle of the board.

In May 2008, the brothers appeared in the BBC documentary series Comedy Map of Britain. They appeared in the TV series Celebrity Coach Trip in November 2010 and won the show, lasting the whole trip. In November 2011, they starred in a series of TV advertisements for the UK-based van insurance comparison website, Van Compare. In October 2012, they appeared on Comedy World Cup on Channel 4. On 15 March 2013, they were featured in David Walliams' sketch for Comic Relief, in which Walliams knocked on the brothers' door with important information to give to them; Paul responded with "To me?"

Barry has made appearances in the television series Still Open All Hours as dog owner Mr Marshall, having first appeared in the 2013 Christmas special.

It was confirmed in April 2018 that the brothers were returning to television with Chuckle Time, a Saturday night entertainment programme on Channel 5.

Panto appearances

1967/68  Babes in the Wood - Malvern

1968/69 Jack and the Beanstalk - Swansea Grand

1970/71 Red Riding Hood - City Varieties, Leeds

1971/72 Aladdin - Barnsley Civic

1972/73 Aladdin - Bradford Alhambra

1974/75 Cinderella - Bournemouth Pavilion

1975/76 Aladdin - Norwich

1976/77 Goldilocks &  the 3 Bears - Wolverhampton Grand

1977/78 Aladdin - Bournemouth Pavilion

1978/79 Dick Whittington - Coventry

1979/80 Cinderella - Davenport Theatre, Southport

1980/81 Puss in Boots - Kirkcaldy

1981/82 Dick Whittington - Swansea Grand

1983/84 Robin Hood - Kirkcaldy

1984/85 Robin Hood - New Theatre, Cardiff

1985/86 Aladdin - Halifax

1986/87 Jack and the Beanstalk - Darlington Civic

1987/88 Robin Hood - Darlington Civic
Feb 1988 - The above production moved to The Grand Theatre Leeds for one week with the same cast

1988/89 Dick Whittington - St Albans

1989/90 Cinderella - Darlington Civic

1990/91 Cinderella - The Hawth, Crawley

1991/92 Dixk Whittington  - Reading Hexagon  

1992/93 Dick Whittington - Theatre Royal Newcastle

1993/94 Snow White - Wolverhampton Grand

1994/95 Cinderella - Cambridge Corn Exchange

1995/96 Jack and the Beanstalk - Swansea Grand

1996/97 Mother Goose - Birmingham Hippodrome

1997/98 Dick Whittington - Sheffield Lyceum

1998/99 Dick Whittington - Darlington Civic

1999/00 Dick Whittington - Bradford Alhambra

2000/01 Jack &  the Beanstalk - Theatre Royal Nottingham

2001/02 Aladdin - Darlington Civic

2002/03 Aladdin - Regent Theatre Stoke

2003/04 Cinderella - Cliffs Pavilion Southend

2004/05 Dick Whittington - Manchester Opera House

2005/06 Jack and the Beanstalk - Theatre Royal, Plymouth

2006/07 Cinderella - New Theatre, Hull

2007/08 Aladdin - touring

2008/09 Aladdin - Cliffs Pavilion Southend

2009/10 A Christmas Chuckle - touring

2010/11 The Twelve Days of Christmas - touring

2011/12 Cinderella - New Theatre Hull

2012/13  Sleeping Beauty - New Theatre Hull

2013/14  Aladdin - Darlington Civic

2014/15 The Chuckles of Oz - Darlington Civic

2015/16 Peter Pan - Wolverhampton Grand

2016/17 Jack & the Beanstalk - Theatre Royal Nottingham

2017/18 Snow White - Southampton Mayflower

Sadly Barry passed away before appearing in what would have been his next panto...

2018/19 Cinderella - New Theatre Hull

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