BOBBY HAD A BALL
Bobby Ball dead at 76: From girls to racehorses and mansions — how the comedy legend spent a fortune before finding God
STANDING 5ft 3in tall, with red braces and curly hair, Bobby Ball was one of the biggest stars of the Eighties.
For almost a decade the comedian — who died from Covid-19 aged 76 on Wednesday night — was a Saturday night prime-time favourite with double act partner Tommy Cannon.
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Their ITV Cannon And Ball Show pulled in 20million viewers at its peak — and in 1985 their summer season theatre performances out-sold Bruce Springsteen’s British tour.
But fame and fortune went to Oldham-born Bobby’s head.
The married star bedded a groupie in every town on tour, downed a bottle and a half of whisky a night and insisted on dressing rooms being redecorated, just because he could.
He and Tommy bought racehorses, mansions, beach homes in the Canary Islands, yachts, farms and matching gold Rolls-Royces.
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And while Tommy bought Rochdale Football Club, Bobby spent half a million pounds on a nightclub in the town called Braces.
But when the TV work dried up, the debts mounted and the duo later faced bankruptcy, before both found God and got back on their feet — and back on the telly.
Bobby, who has recently appeared in sitcoms Not Going Out and Benidorm, once confessed: “I toured for 48 weeks and never went to bed alone. I drank a bottle and a half of whisky a day. It made me violent — and that gave me a real buzz.
“Fame changed my life. There was nothing I couldn’t buy or do.”
The violence he speaks of was directed at random strangers in clubs as well as at partner Tommy, too.
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OUT-OF-CONTROL EGO AND BOOZING
After falling out, the pair did not speak for three years — all while continuing to perform together, smiling and laughing on stage.
Bobby admitted: “We would fight each other, literally. Hit each other.”
But Bobby, whose catchphrases included, “Rock on, Tommy”, “That’ll do for me, cocker”, and “Oh, it were fine”, would later make up with his greatest pal.
Paying tribute last night, Tommy, 82, said: “Rock on, my good friend, I can’t believe this, I’m devastated.”
Born Robert Harper in 1944, Bobby sang in working men’s clubs with his sister from the age of five.
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Despite earning more than his father, he decided to quit aged 15 to become a welder at a factory in Rochdale.
It was there he met Tommy, with the pair forming singing duo the Harper Brothers in the 1960s before later switching to comedy.
They had their first TV appearance in 1968 on talent show Opportunity Knocks, coming last.
But when then-ITV supremo Michael Grade saw their slapstick act he insisted they were given their own series in 1979.
It ran for nine years until 1988, with Bobby the knockabout clown — wearing silly clothes and pretending to fall out with special guests — alongside Tommy’s straight man.
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By this time Bobby was on his second marriage.
His first to Joan lasted just four years, ending in 1968. The couple had two sons, Robert and Darren, who are now a double act of their own.
Bobby met second wife Yvonne when she was a 19-year-old bunny girl waitress working in a nightclub.
His chat-up line was: “There’s a rose in bloom at the bottom of my garden, but you’re far lovelier.”
The couple married in 1971 and had daughter Joanne.
But their relationship was tested to its limits by Bobby’s out-of-control ego, adultery and boozing.
Bobby said: “There were plenty of women. As many as you wanted.
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“You’d go to a club and stand by the bar and in seconds they’d be around you in droves.” Former dancer Susan Guest told The Sun in 2005 that she had been Bobby’s secret mistress for three years in the 1980s.
She recalled: “He used to put on women’s underwear when we made love — my knickers.”
It was at this height of his fame that Bobby believed he could get away with anything.
He once recalled: “We’d walk into a theatre, take a look at the dressing rooms and say, ‘I don’t like this, this and this. I don’t like the colour of the walls. Get that ripped out, get that put in, and do it right away’.
“We did it for the sole reason that we knew we could get away with it.”
And he got into brawls in nightclubs, his short fuse leading him to “pick on anyone”.
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This was a man who had met the Queen, become friends with his rock idol Eric Clapton and invited the top acts of the day to appear on his TV show.
His fall-out with Tommy lasted for three years, ending in 1986 after he met Canon Max Wigley, a chaplain at a theatre in Bradford.
Bobby and the vicar started to have conversations about God, which helped the comedian come to believe he was on the wrong path in life.
He became a born-again Christian, and seven years later Tommy rekindled his relationship with religion.
Their extravagant lifestyle came back to haunt them in 1992, though, when Bobby’s firm was placed in voluntary liquidation with debts of nearly £100,000.
Four years later both Tommy and Bobby were banned from becoming company directors, owing the Inland Revenue more than £300,000. But their fortunes changed when they appeared together on 2005’s I’m A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out Of Here!
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When taking on his bushtucker trials in the jungle, Bobby would call out “Von, Von, Von”, his pet name for wife Yvonne, who had stood by him through all the hard times.
‘I’M A HAM AND LOVE TO MAKE PEOPLE LAUGH’
Bobby eventually finished fifth on the reality show and work picked up consistently afterwards.
Proving he could do serious as well as comedy, Bobby has starred in sitcoms The Cockfields and Last Of The Summer Wine as well as dramas Mount Pleasant and Heartbeat. Last night his Not Going Out co-star Lee Mack said: “I’m utterly shocked and devastated to lose my mate Bobby like this.
“I filmed with him just a few weeks ago and he was his usual funny and cheeky self.
“My thoughts are with Yvonne and his family, and of course Tommy.
“To get to work with one of my childhood comedy heroes was great.
“But to call him a friend was even better.
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“Rest in peace, Bobby.”
Despite his resurgence, there were still troubles ahead for Bobby.
Daughter Joanne, a teacher, became embroiled in a bitter split from her drug-taking husband Kenneth O’Sullivan, who went on to wage a two-year hate campaign against Bobby and Yvonne. He was jailed for nine months in 2007 for harassment.
But from his times as a £20-a-day factory welder to the height of his TV success, Bobby was always driven by the desire to entertain people.
And he was never going to hang up his red braces — continuing to perform on stage with his old pal Tommy right up until the end.
Five years ago, he said: “I could never call it quits. If no promoters booked me, I’d be out there busking.
“I’m a ham and love to make people laugh — it’s a fantastic job.”
This month he was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital with a suspected chest infection, but tests showed it was coronavirus.
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In a statement, his manager said: “His wife Yvonne said the hospital and staff could not have been more wonderful, as they were outstanding in their care of duty and they did everything possible for him and she cannot praise them enough.
“She said that the family and Tommy would like to express their sincere thanks to the many, many people who have been fans of Bobby and they know that they will all share in part the great loss and total sadness that Yvonne, the family and Tommy all feel.”
Bobby will be remembered for all the joy he brought to millions of fans across Britain for decades.
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For him there were far more light moments than dark ones.
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As he once said: “It’s been a massive honour to entertain people.
“That’s all I want written on my gravestone — ‘He gave us a laugh!’ ”
'HE HAD REAL FUNNY BONES'
TRIBUTES flooded in for the comedian last night, led by wife Yvonne, who said: “I will always miss him, he was so joyful, full of fun and mischievous.”
Lifelong friend and co-star Tommy Cannon said: “Rock on, my good friend, I can’t believe this, I’m devastated. I’m absolutely devastated, I’ve lost my partner, my best friend and the funniest man I know.
“Thank you for your messages, prayers and love”.
This Morning hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby paid tribute on their ITV show.
Phillip said: “He was such a lovely man. A genuinely lovely, sweet, kind man.”
Holly added: “Such a lovely man, and our thoughts are obviously with his friends and family at this time. Sending you all lots of love.”
Blue singer Antony Costa, who took part in I’m A Celebrity alongside Bobby in 2005, wrote: “Just heard the news about my friend and fellow I’m A Celebrity contestant Bobby Ball . . . I’m devastated. Thoughts go out to Yvonne and the family.”
Comedian Jason Manford tweeted: “So heartbroken to read about the passing of comedy legend Bobby Ball. Such a hilarious man.
“The comedy community is a poorer place without him. #RockOn #RIPBobbyBall.”
TV star Les Dennis tweeted: “Just heard the sad news that the wonderful Bobby Ball has died.
“He was a true entertainer with real funny bones. Thoughts with Tommy, Yvonne and his family at this sad time. RIP Bobby.”
Bobby’s manager Phil Dale announced the news of his death yesterday morning.
He said: “It is with great personal sadness that on behalf of Yvonne Ball, and the family, and Tommy Cannon, I announce that Bobby Ball passed away at Blackpool Victoria Hospital on October 28, 2020, at approximately 9.30pm.
“Bobby had been taken to the hospital for tests as he started with breathing problems. At first it was thought to be a chest infection but a test proved positive for Covid-19.”
The news comes as it emerged that the hospital where Bobby died has seen the highest number of beds taken up by coronavirus patients in the country.
Today, a top doctor said operations at the hospital could stop altogether unless coronavirus cases go down.
Dr Jim Gardner, medical director at the NHS trust which runs the hospital, said they are being overrun with patients and have been forced to cancel surgical procedures to cope.
After the success of The Cannon And Ball Show, Bobby appeared in a string of TV series, including playing Lenny in Last Of The Summer Wine from 2005 to 2008.
He also played Topsy Turner in Heartbeat and appeared in Mount Pleasant, Benidorm and The Cockfields.
He played Lee Mack’s troublesome dad Frank in BBC1 sitcom Not Going Out since 2009, and in 2012 competed in the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special.
He is survived by two sons, Robert and Darren, with his first wife Joan Lynn, as well as his daughter Joanne with wife Yvonne.
The couple, who lived in Lytham, Lancs, and had been married for 49 years, have ten grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Bobby was patron of the local NHS Blue Skies charity and the couple recently organised a variety event which raised £30,000 towards the development of the dementia garden at Clifton Hospital, Lytham.
Late comedy star Bobby Ball wowed fans making surprise cameo in Benidorm with Claire Sweeney
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