Little and Large

2022-11-02T04:10:18Z

122.106.3.24:

{{short description|British comedy double act}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{BLP sources|date=January 2011}}
{{Infobox comedian
| name= Little and Large
| image=Little and Large and Susie Silvey.jpg
| caption= Syd Little (left) with Eddie Large (right) and [[Susie Silvey]]
| birth_name= '''Edward Hugh McGinnis''' {{Birth date |1941|6|25|df=y}} [[Glasgow]], Scotland '''Cyril John Mead''' {{Birth date |1942|12|19|df=y}} [[Blackpool]], Lancashire, England
| death_date= '''Edward Hugh McGinnis''' {{Death date and age|2020|4|2|1941|6|25|df=yes}} [[Bristol]], England
| medium={{hlist|[[Film]]|[[television]]|[[Stand-up comedy|stand-up]]|[[music]]|[[book]]s}}
| nationality= British
| years_active= 1962-2003, 2018-2020
| genre= [[Observational comedy]], [[musical comedy]], [[satire]]
| subject= {{hlist|[[marriage]]|[[everyday life]]|[[current events]]|[[popular culture|pop culture]]}}
| influences=
| spouse=
| domesticpartner=
| othername=
| notable_work= [[The Little and Large Show]]
| website=
}}
'''''Little and Large''''' were a British comedy [[double act]] comprising straight man '''[[Syd Little]]''' (born '''Cyril John Mead'''; 19 December 1942) and comic '''[[Eddie Large]]''' (born '''Edward Hugh McGinnis'''; 25 June 1941 – 2 April 2020).

==Comedy duo==
They formed their partnership in 1962, originally appearing as singers in local pubs around north-west England. According to an interview with Eddie Large in ''[[Metro (British newspaper)|Metro]]'' newspaper (11 January 2019), they went professional in October 1963. After deciding to concentrate on comedy, Little and Large's big break came in 1971 when they appeared on ITV talent show ''[[Opportunity Knocks (UK TV series)|Opportunity Knocks]]''.

They won the programme's vote, turning them into household names virtually overnight.<ref name="Indy2010">{{cite news|title=Little and Large 'haven't spoken for a long time'|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/little-and-large-havent-spoken-for-a-long-time-1988413.html|accessdate=4 July 2018 |work=The Independent|location=London|date=1 June 2010}}</ref>

Within five years, the duo had their own prime-time show on [[ITV (TV channel)|ITV]] called ''The Little and Large Tellyshow''. It began with a pilot episode in 1976, which earned the pair a commission for a series in 1977. However, the duo transferred to [[BBC One|BBC1]] with a new show called ''[[The Little and Large Show]]'' from 1978, and remained on the channel for over a decade until its cancellation in 1991. At its peak, the series was watched by an estimated nearly 15 million people each week.<ref name="Indy2010" />

[[Eddie Large]] was generally the funny man while [[Syd Little]] was the more serious 'straight guy'. Eddie Large performed a number of impressions, particularly cartoon characters like [[Popeye]], [[Deputy Dawg]], [[Fred Flintstone]], [[Barney Rubble]] and [[Woody Woodpecker]],<ref name="story_light">'The Story of Light Entertainment' BBC Two, 25 February 2012</ref> while Syd Little simply stood next to him, looking perplexed and distressed.

They continued to appear in theatres and pantomimes, including ''Babes in the Woods'', written by Ian Billings. The partnership's popularity peaked in the 1980s but, as mainstream comedy moved away from their [[pantomime]] style towards [[alternative comedy]], it dwindled.

Eddie Large was told he might have a heart attack at any moment. The partnership split up when Large had to have a heart transplant.<ref name="story_light"/>

Syd Little performed on [[cruise ship]]s, such as the [[Queen Elizabeth 2|''QE2'']], during September 2007, and used to run The "Little" Restaurant at the Strawberry Gardens pub and now runs a restaurant in the oldest pub in his home town Fleetwood, called The Steamer.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

Eddie Large remained in showbusiness. Large said in a 2010 interview he had not spoken to Syd Little for several years.<ref name="Indy2010" /> They did subsequently have a reunion in 2018 when they appeared on ''[[Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway]]'', featuring in the sketch serial "Saturday Knight Takeaway",<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a852593/ant-and-dec-meet-little-and-large-saturday-knight-takeaway/|title=Ant & Dec reunited a classic comedy duo in sketch|date=18 March 2018|website=Digital Spy}}</ref> and in February 2019, appearing together on ''[[Pointless Celebrities]]''. They reached the head-to-head round (in effect, the semi-final).

On 2 April 2020, Eddie Large died following contraction of [[COVID-19]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Eddie Large dies aged 78 |url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/news/5726/rip-eddie-large/ |website=[[British Comedy Guide]] |accessdate=2 April 2020}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Discogs artist|Little And Large}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:British stand-up comedians]]
[[Category:British male television actors]]
[[Category:British television personalities]]
[[Category:British comedy duos]]

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Little and Large