How Eddie Large went from heckling comic partner Syd Little in a pub to performing with him in front of 15million on TV
HE got up on stage one night in the pub for a laugh — and 15 years later Eddie Large was one of the UK’s top entertainers, hosting a TV show with his comedy partner Syd Little.
At its peak, the Little And Large Show pulled in 15million viewers thanks to its mix of slapstick humour and Eddie’s cheeky digs at his put-upon straight man.
And making fun of Syd was the basis of the duo’s act from the very first moment they unexpectedly found themselves on stage together.
In 1963, Eddie was in the audience when he heckled skinny Syd — real name Cyril Mead — who was singing in a Manchester pub.
Syd told Eddie, who worked as an electrician at the time, that he should come up on stage if he thought he could do better. So he did — and had the crowd in stitches.
Last night Syd led tributes from across the entertainment world following the 78-year-old’s death from coronavirus while being treated in hospital for heart failure.
He said: “We were together for 60 years. It wasn’t like having a partner. We were friends.”
Ant and Dec tweeted: “He just loved making people laugh” while Jason Manford said: “Such a gentle, funny man.”
Matt Lucas commented: “Eddie Large was really lovely and kind and encouraging to me when I was a nipper on Shooting Stars. So sad to hear of his passing.”
‘I cried my eyes out’
Sir Lenny Henry recalled: “Midnight Matinee Great Yarmouth 1978. I’d never heard laughter like it. Rude, raucous and rollicking.”
Old pal Tommy Cannon, from rival Eighties comedy act Cannon and Ball, said: “Devastated to hear that my good friend Eddie Large has passed, very heavy hearts at home today.”
Paul Chuckle added: “RIP the very talented Eddie Large.”
Curly haired Eddie, real name, Edward McGinnis, first found fame with Syd Little in 1971 when they won the ITV talent show Opportunity Knocks.
Eddie faced a series of health problems over the years.
In 1993 a virus gave him heart failure and he suffered a stroke three years later.
He needed a heart transplant in 2003 because he was barely able to walk across the road without getting out of breath.
Eddie blamed his health issues on the stresses of the entertainment industry, saying: “I get a tremendous buzz from performing and need it like a drug.
“But there are tremendous anxieties and strains, too, and they have taken their toll.”
The comedian’s “the show must go on” attitude put his life at risk.
During his performances in the Babes in the Wood panto in 2001 in Hull staff feared Eddie would die on stage and he fainted during a GP’s check up.
He also struggled to keep fit, weighing 17st at his heaviest, and in 2013 he was hospitalised with a collapsed lung after falling over a road sign.
Born in the deprived Gorbals area of Glasgow, Eddie moved to Manchester when he was aged ten.
He grew up in the shadow of Manchester City’s old Maine Road ground and was one of their best known fans.
Eddie had trials for his boyhood team, but his dreams of playing football were crushed when a bus ran over his ankle at the age of 17.
After teaming up with Syd, the duo toured the working men’s clubs of Britain for seven years before they got their big break on Opportunity Knocks.
Another seven years later they were rewarded with The Little and Large Show on BBC1 in 1978.
Eddie admitted they were heavily inspired by their heroes Morecambe and Wise, with Syd even sporting national health glasses similar to Eric Morecambe’s.
But fame came at a cost — the breakdown of Eddie’s first marriage.
Often away from his home in Bury, Lancs, where wife Sandra Bigwood lived with daughters Samantha, now 53, and Alison, now 49, he was tempted by the opportunity to bed other women.
The portly comedian had a string of “flings” before meeting singer and dancer Patsy Scott when they were performing together in pantomime in Liverpool in 1977.
Eddie admitted at the time: “When I fell in love with Patsy I smashed Sandra’s life and hurt the kids.”
He left the family home in 1979 and moved to a small village near Bristol, where he spent the rest of his days.
Eddie and Patsy married in 1983 and they had a son Ryan, now 36.
The BBC axed The Little And Large Show in 1991 when audiences dipped to eight million — yet the duo continued to be a draw in pantomime and live comedy shows.
It was only Eddie’s heart op in 2003 that could bring their 40-year long partnership to a close.
Recalling the moment that his health issues led to him quitting, Eddie said: “That phone call to Syd was the most painful I’ve ever had to make.
“I was crying my eyes out because I knew I was putting him out of work.”
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In 2010 Eddie told TV Times magazine that he’d stopped speaking to Syd, although they appeared together on a TV chat show in 2017.
Last night his wife Patsy said: “Our hearts are broken.
“We are all devastated. I just want everyone to remember him.”
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