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{{Short description|English comedian and actor (1892–1965)}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}}

{{Infobox person
| name = Jimmy James
| image = Comedian_Jimmy_James.jpg
| birth_name = James Casey
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1892|05|20|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Portrack]], [[Stockton-on-Tees]], [[County Durham]], England
| death_date = {{death date and age|1965|8|4|1892|05|20|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Blackpool]], [[Lancashire]], England
| occupation = Music hall, stage, film, radio and television comedian and comedy actor
| spouse = Isabelle Darby, son [[James Casey (Variety Artist)|James Casey]]
}}

'''Jimmy James''' (born '''James Casey'''; 20 May 1892 – 4 August 1965)<ref name="JimmyOxfordBio">{{cite book |last=Midwinter |first=Eric |title=Oxford Biography Index |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref><ref name="NorthEcho">{{cite web|url=http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/archive/2001/04/19/The+North+East+Archive/7112126.Let_there_be_lights____eventually/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001102652/http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/archive/2001/04/19/The%2BNorth%2BEast%2BArchive/7112126.Let_there_be_lights____eventually/ |url-status=dead |archive-date= 1 October 2012 |title=Let there be lights ... eventually |work=[[The Northern Echo]] |date=19 April 2001 |accessdate=24 January 2009 }}</ref><ref name="Manchunian">{{cite web|url=http://www.itsahotun.com/thestars.html |title=Mancunian Film Studio - Biographies of the Stars |work=It's A Hot'un |accessdate=24 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090118165626/http://itsahotun.com/thestars.html |archivedate=18 January 2009 }}</ref><ref name="Swalwell">{{cite web |url=http://www.swalwelluk.co.uk/picpages/pic-radioij.html |title=Radio and TV Personalities I and J |work=swalwell.co.uk |accessdate=24 January 2009}}</ref>
was an English music hall, film, radio and television comedian and comedy actor.
James had limited use for jokes as such, preferring to say things in a humorous manner, sometimes in surreal situations and as such was seen by some as well ahead of his time.
He was often hailed as a ''"comedians' comedian"''.<ref name="Manchunian"/><ref name="JimmyBFI">{{cite web |url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/2444 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081026143527/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/2444 |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 October 2008 |title=James, Jimmy |work=British Film Institute Film & Television Database |accessdate=24 January 2009}}</ref>

== Biographical details ==

He was born as James Casey on 20 May 1892, the eldest of four sons of Jeremiah Casey, an [[Puddling (metallurgy)|iron puddler]] or steelmaker,<ref name="NorthEcho"/><ref name="SunSun">{{cite web|url=http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/news/north-east-news/2004/05/02/star-adored-by-legends-79310-14203904/ |title=Star adored by legends |first=Roger |last=Woodcock |work=Sunday Sun |date=2 May 2004 |accessdate=25 March 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807121110/http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/news/north-east-news/2004/05/02/star-adored-by-legends-79310-14203904/ |archivedate=7 August 2011 }}</ref>
and Polly Gartland.<ref name="JimmyOxfordBio"/>
Many sources state he was born in [[Portrack]], [[Stockton-on-Tees]],<ref name="JimmyOxfordBio"/><ref name="Swalwell"/><ref name="JimmyBFI"/><ref name="JimmyIMDBBio">{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0416613/bio |title=Biography for Jimmy James |work=IMDB |accessdate=24 January 2009}}</ref>
although other sources consider that he was born in [[South Bank, Middlesbrough|South Bank]], [[Middlesbrough]], and moved to Stockton-on-Tees at the age of seven in 1899.<ref name="NorthEcho"/><ref name="SunSun"/>
At the age of ten he won a boy soprano contest at the Stockton Hippodrome and shortly afterwards ran away, hitching a ride to [[Darlington]] to join a travelling show.<ref name="SunSun"/>
The police located him a few years later at the age of twelve by which time he had become a seasoned performer.<ref name="SunSun"/>
His father, an amateur [[Clog dance (British)|clog dancer]] himself, encouraged his son's show business talents.

At the [[Sunderland Empire Theatre|Sunderland Empire]] James met Isabelle Darby, a music hall dancer and they married in 1921;<ref name="JimmyOxfordBio"/><ref name="SunSun"/> they had one son, James Casey junior.

Although James appeared on stage as a convincing drunk, often with a cigar or cigarette in his mouth, he was [[teetotal]]<ref name="Manchunian"/><ref name="SunSun"/><ref name="JimmyIMDB">{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0416613/ |title=Jimmy James (I) |work=IMDB |accessdate=24 January 2009}}</ref> and did not smoke off stage.<ref name="NorthEcho"/> His weaknesses were gambling and his famed generosity<ref name="NorthEcho"/> which may account for his declared bankruptcies in 1936, 1955 and 1963.<ref name="SunSun"/>

James was last on stage in 1964, retiring that year.<ref name="SunSun"/> He died in [[Blackpool]] of [[Pulmonary edema|pulmonary congestion]] on 4 August 1965<ref name="JimmyBFI"/><ref name="SunSun"/> following a [[heart attack]] and is buried in Oxbridge Cemetery, Stockton-on-Tees.<ref name="JimmyOxfordBio"/> Interviewed by [[Marty Feldman]] in the late 1960s, comedian [[Eric Morecambe]] spoke in glowing terms about James:

{{quote |text=He had that thing that broke all barriers with an audience. He was loved by the pros – professionals – and loved by the audience. Now Jimmy had this fantastic gift, that he was liked and loved – this is an important word – was ''loved'' – by both. One of the few comedians that all the comics used to stand on the side and watch. One of the greats.<ref>Eric Morecambe interview with Marty Feldman, excerpted in ''A History of British Comedy'', narrated by David Mitchell, BBC2 , 2013)</ref>}}

Jimmy James's son [[James Casey (variety artist)|James Casey]] (1922–2011)<ref name="TI:JC">{{cite web |last=Young |first=Cy |title=James Casey: Comedian, writer and producer who created 'The Clitheroe Kid' and discovered Ken Dodd |work=The Independent |accessdate=28 May 2011 |date=26 May 2011
|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/james-casey-comedian-writer-and-producer-who-created-the-clitheroe-kid-and-discovered-ken-dodd-2288995.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220608/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/james-casey-comedian-writer-and-producer-who-created-the-clitheroe-kid-and-discovered-ken-dodd-2288995.html |archive-date=8 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}</ref>
was a radio light entertainment producer at the BBC in Manchester, writing and producing shows including ''[[The Clitheroe Kid]]'' starring Jimmy Clitheroe, ''The Ken Dodd Show'', ''Listen to Les'' starring Les Dawson, and ''The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket''.

== Career ==

James began his stage career in 1904, joining Willy Netta's Singing Jockeys, a singing group, as "Terry, the blue-eyed Irish boy" with popular songs of the day<ref name="SunSun"/> and gained experience with a number of other juvenile troupes.<ref name="JimmyOxfordBio"/> In the [[First World War]] 1914 to 1918 James was a sergeant in the [[Northumberland Fusiliers]] but was invalided out after being gassed on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]].<ref name="SunSun"/>

James appeared in Stockton as a double act with his great uncle Jimmy Howells and they were known as The Two Jimmies.<ref name="Alcatraz">{{cite web|url=http://archive.darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk/2004/7/22/45030.html |title=One woman army of Alcatraz |first=John |last=North |work=Darlington & Stockton Times |date=22 July 2004 |accessdate=24 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927002305/http://archive.darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk/2004/7/22/45030.html |archivedate=27 September 2007 }}</ref>

James became a comedian by chance. In 1925, he took over for one night at [[Longton, Stoke-on-Trent]], standing in when the regular comedian walked out.<ref name="SunSun"/> His next big break came when he took over from a young [[Max Miller (comedian)|Max Miller]] who had walked out of a show.<ref name="SunSun"/> In 1929, James was talent spotted at the [[Sunderland Empire]] by [[impresario]] [[George Black (producer)|George Black]],<ref name="SunSun"/>
taken to London and by 1930 he was appearing at the [[London Palladium]], earning £100 a week<ref name="NorthEcho"/>
and he also appeared at the [[London Coliseum]].<ref name="SunSun"/>

In the 1940s, James developed one of the funniest stage routines in variety history with his two [[stooge (comedian)|stooges]], Bretton Woods, later known as [[Eli Woods]], "Our Eli", and Hutton Conyers, played by members of the Casey family and more famously from 1956 to 1959 by a young [[Roy Castle]].<ref name="SunSun"/> Eli Woods's real name was Jack Casey and he was James's nephew.<ref name="SunSun"/> Bretton Woods was named after [[Bretton Woods, New Hampshire|the ski resort]] near [[Mount Washington (New Hampshire)|Mount Washington]], New Hampshire, USA, that gave its name to a United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference resulting in the [[Bretton Woods Agreement]] during July 1944. James named the character of Hutton Conyers after seeing a signpost on the [[A1 road (Great Britain)|Great North Road]] to the small village of [[Hutton Conyers]], north-east of [[Ripon]] in Yorkshire.<ref name="NorthEcho"/><ref name="SunSun"/>

=== Film ===

In James's first film for [[Mancunian Films]] in 1950, he starred with [[Norman Evans]] in ''[[Over the Garden Wall (1950 film)|Over the Garden Wall]]'' with Evans playing the role of his wife.<ref name="OtGW">{{Cite web |title=Over the Garden Wall (1950) |work=IMDb |accessdate=30 October 2010 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0175999/}}</ref> His second film was ''[[Those People Next Door]]'' where he and Eli reprise James's drunk routine.

=== Stage ===

With his act James toured the musical halls, theatres and clubs around the country. He appeared at the [[Royal Variety Performance]] in 1953 and stole the show with his routine ''The Chipster''—a lecture on the occupational hazards of preparing [[French fries|chips]].<ref name="JimmyOxfordBio"/>

While at [[Barnsley]] Catholic Club James found [[Bernard Manning]] an agent, who was able to find him a job as a singer with a band.<ref name="IndepManning">{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/bernard-manning-453732.html |title=Obituaries: Bernard Manning |first=Jonathan |last=Margolis |work=[[The Independent]] |date=19 June 2007 |accessdate=24 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213090613/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/bernard-manning-453732.html |archivedate=13 February 2009 }}</ref>

=== Radio ===

In 1952, James starred on BBC radio in, firstly, the comedy series ''Don't Spare the Horses''<ref name="SunSun"/><ref name="MilliganBio">{{cite web|url=http://telegoons.org/Bios/Bio_SM.htm |title=Biography of Spike Milligan |work=telegoons.org |accessdate=24 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091222221339/http://www.telegoons.org/Bios/Bio_SM.htm |archivedate=22 December 2009 }}</ref><ref name="Jazzy">{{cite web|url=http://www.personal.dundee.ac.uk/~mhjarron/spike/welcome.htm |title=Jazzy's Spike Page |first=Matthew |last=Jarron |publisher=Dundee |accessdate=24 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080923075547/http://www.personal.dundee.ac.uk/~mhjarron/spike/welcome.htm |archivedate=23 September 2008 }}</ref>
and, subsequently, in 1954 in the comedy series ''The Mayor's Parlour''<ref name="Clitheroe">{{cite web |url=http://clitheroekid.ihostfull.com/ |title=Jimmy Clitheroe |work=The Jimmy Clitheroe Website |accessdate=24 January 2009}}</ref><ref name="Manchester">{{cite web |url=http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/celebs/broadcasters15.html |title=Manchester Celebrities, Television, Film, Media & Broadcasting |work=Manchester UK |accessdate=24 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013090758/http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/celebs/broadcasters15.html |archivedate=13 October 2008 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
which was written for him by his son in collaboration with Frank Roscoe.<ref name="Clitheroe"/>

=== Television ===

In 1956, James appeared on television in his own series, ''Home James'',<ref name="Swalwell"/><ref name="SunSun"/>
and ''Meet the Champ'' in 1960 as a boxing promoter,<ref name="Swalwell"/><ref name="Champ-grp">{{cite web |first=Gerry |last=George |url=http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/memories/memories6.htm |title=1950's British TV Memories |work=Whirligig TV |accessdate=24 January 2009}}; {{cite web |url=http://www.phill.co.uk/comedy/champ/index.html |title=Meet the Champ |work=British TV Resources |accessdate=24 January 2009}}; {{cite web |title=Meet the Champ (TV Series 1960) |work=IMDb |accessdate=30 October 2010 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1410293/}}</ref>
as well as making appearances in many TV programmes including the ''[[Billy Cotton Band Show]]'', ''Northern Showground'' (1956), ''Showtime'' (1959–61), ''Comedy Bandbox'' (1962–63) and ''Saturday Bandbox'' (1962).<ref name="LostTV">{{cite web |url=http://www.lostshows.com/default.aspx?search=Jimmy+James |title=Lost UK TV Shows |work=Lost Shows.com |accessdate=24 January 2009}}</ref>

== James's main sketches ==

* ''The drunk'' sketch—a variant of this appeared in the film ''[[Over the Garden Wall (1950 film)|Over the Garden Wall]]''.
* ''The shoebox'' or ''Elephant-in-the-box'' routine.<ref name="MONOLOG">{{Cite web |title=The Box Sketch... Jimmy James |accessdate=25 May 2009 |work=Monologues |url=http://www.monologues.co.uk/Sketches/Box_Sketch.htm}}</ref>
* ''The chipster'' sketch—a lecture on the occupational hazards of preparing chips.<ref name="SunSun"/><ref name="MONOLOG"/>

== Filmography ==

* ''[[Stars on Parade (1936 film)|Stars on Parade]]'' (1936) as himself.<ref name=JimmyIMDB/>
* ''[[Those People Next Door]]'' (1953) as Joe Lawton starring [[Jack Warner (actor)|Jack Warner]] and with [[Eli Woods]].
* ''[[Over the Garden Wall (1950 film)|Over the Garden Wall]]'' (1950) with [[Norman Evans]] and Eli Woods.

== References ==

{{reflist|33em}}

== Further reading ==

;Books

* Midwinter, Eric; ''Make 'em Laugh'' (1979); Allen & Unwin - essays on famous comedians of the time.
;Web links

* Biographies: [http://www.swalwelluk.co.uk/picpages/pic-radioij.html Swalwell], [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0416613/bio IMDB] and [http://www.oxforddnb.com/index/101064571/ Oxford Biography Index].
* Photographs: [http://www.swalwelluk.co.uk/picpages/pic-radioij.html Swalwell] and [http://www.epicure.demon.co.uk/inthebox.html Demon].
* Video:
** The Elephant in the Box routine {{YouTube|ANIA4IP245c}} - {{YouTube|VGcRynUHOt0}} of the [[Roy Castle]] version.
** Over the Garden Wall (film) {{YouTube|gLT5_Rd4J0g}}.

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Jimmy}}
[[Category:1892 births]]
[[Category:1965 deaths]]
[[Category:English male comedians]]
[[Category:Actors from County Durham]]
[[Category:Actors from Stockton-on-Tees]]
[[Category:People from Stockton-on-Tees]]
[[Category:20th-century English comedians]]

Jimmy James (comedian) - Revision history

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en>Rlink2: /* Biographical details */Adding archives to assist with Wikipedia:Verifiability, WP:SOURCEACCESS