By Paul Hendy, writer of West End show The Last Laugh

Just a few weeks ago, Robbie Williams confessed that he cried ‘happy, Childlike tears’ after making the winning bid for Eric Morecambe's glasses and pipe at auction. I cried because he outbid me.  

Last year, a fez worn by Tommy Cooper was sold for £8,500.  Eighteen years on from his death, Bob Monkhouse is venerated more than ever for his comedy craftsmanship and should his legendary joke books ever come on the market they would fetch a fortune.

Last week, we opened The Last Laugh at The Noel Coward Theatre in London’s West End.  To say the play is my love letter to these three comedians is an understatement.  

The first night was attended by comedians both young and old, famous actors, veteran TV commissioners, rock stars, and the great and the good of the entertainment industry over the past 60 years.  I am not alone in my love and judging by the five-minute standing ovation for Bob Golding as Eric, Damian Williams as Tommy and Simon Cartwright as Bob, by the whoops of appreciation as familiar words echoed down the years, for the tears and laughter which fell as these three men were brought back to life, that love is not something I hold alone but is shared by thousands, if not millions of people.

So, what is it about this trio that still elicits such strong emotion?  It’s 40 years since Eric and Tommy died, within weeks of each other, and as I say, nearly 20 since Bob left the stage.  How is it that all these years later, they continue to hold such a special place in the hearts of the British public?

Rewind back to 8.55pm on Christmas Day 1977. 28 million people - half the UK population at the time - sat down as families to watch The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Special. That one sketch in which every national TV newsreader in the land perform impossible dance moves to the tones of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific still tops the polls as the nation's most memorable Christmas TV moment.

Those images are bathed in the warm waves of nostalgia.  You might remember some of Morecambe and Wise’s most famous lines: ‘He’ll never sell ice cream going at that speed!’  or ‘I’m playing all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order!’.  When you think of the millions of comedy lines which have been written and performed, it is incredible that we are still quoting these lines more than 50 years later.  

We might remember seeing Tommy Cooper appearing on The Bob Monkhouse Show wearing chicken feet.  I also have a distinct memory of Tommy walking through a white gate – that’s all he did, he just walked through a white gate.  It shouldn’t be funny but it was.   

Why do we remember these images?  Why do we still quote these jokes and comedy lines?  I think a key word is family.  We remember sitting next to our mums and dads and grandads and them laughing… really laughing at these funny men.  Grandparents, parents and children all together, laughing at the same thing at the same moment, surrounded by love and laughter.  In many ways, Eric and Tommy were like extended family – the favourite funny uncle.

Arguably, this couldn’t happen now.  The way we consume comedy has changed so much. Gone are the days when the whole family gathered round the TV at specific time on a Saturday night.  Gone is the appointment to view, when if you missed it, that was it, you missed it and you missed out on the ‘Did you see..?’ question in the playground the next day.  Gone is the comedy catchphrase – ‘Just Like That!’

Now comedy moments are shared on TikTok. Yes, comedy still reaches millions and there’s still that sense of laughing together but it’s less universal and I’m sure the cross-generational togetherness is no longer there.  I miss those times but I don’t sit sadly in the past.  It was a particular moment in comedy history when the nation came together in laughter.  It’s something to be celebrated and that is something I hope The Last Laugh does

So, whether, like me, you first saw these greats as a young child, or if you’re discovering them today for the first time (if you are, watch them on YouTube, they’re brilliant… honest!), I do hope The Last Laugh captures some of the joy and laughter that these three men brought to so many throughout their lives.  

• The Last Laugh is at the Noel Coward Theatre until March 22, then touring to August 23

Published: 6 Mar 2025