[Archived] Bernard Manning Dies

[MCMC1875]

So who cares about the minority becasue they are, by definition, the minority? I hardly think that as many people are offended by Ricky Gervais or Lenny Henry as were by Manning and I'm sure anyone on here would agree with that. This is another one of those instances where people like to think "oh remember the old days when we could call them n****rs, s****s and p***s and we really got to say what was on our mind, wasn't that great?". Sometimes the old days aren't better and it is really good that we progressed. As I said, if any of you are brave enough to walk up to a group of strangers and tell a Manning joke that they are the butt of then please come forward.

Lenny Henry, Ricky Gervais and even Jimmy Carr are, at best, 2nd division by comparison.

Interestingly, on Tuesday morning's 5 Live show, Nicky Campbell aired 3 'risque' gags and was expectedly criticised by the guest Manning hater, except only the first two were Manning's and the last was Carr's, Campbell's point was that Cambridge educated Carr 'is the darling of the chattering classes' and therefore gets away with it...

....give a dog a bad name.

[Roar of the Rover]

Bernard Manning - Legend

R.I.P

[Eddie]

Watch the Mark Lamarr interview Eddie, he was funny.

He was a funny man with exceptional comic timing, but I refuse to accept that some of his jokes ever had a proper time or place and that they should be tolerated.

Interestingly, on Tuesday morning's 5 Live show, Nicky Campbell aired 3 'risque' gags and was expectedly criticised by the guest Manning hater, except only the first two were Manning's and the last was Carr's, Campbell's point was that Cambridge educated Carr 'is the darling of the chattering classes' and therefore gets away with it...

....give a dog a bad name.

Not quite and you know it. Of course there are still comics around who push the boundaries with a few, but you'd struggle to find one like Manning still around (not for quality, rather for content).

[blue phil]

Is there any difference between his intolerance and Manning's?

You're assuming that Manning was intolerant , Matt - that's a bit of a leap just because he told a few risque jokes . Those who knew him claimed the opposite ......even that Irish git Frank Carson (who presumably didn't have aproblem with Irish jokes)

Richard Wilson , however , on the show in question , made his intolerance perfectly clear to the point of personally insulting the bloke .

Such was Manning's character , I bet he'd forgotten who Wilson was ten minutes later....

[Rovermatt]

You're assuming that Manning was intolerant , Matt - that's a bit of a leap just because he told a few risque jokes . Those who knew him claimed the opposite ......even that Irish git Frank Carson (who presumably didn't have aproblem with Irish jokes)

Richard Wilson , however , on the show in question , made his intolerance perfectly clear to the point of personally insulting the bloke .

Such was Manning's character , I bet he'd forgotten who Wilson was ten minutes later....

So you've leapt from characterising Richard Wilson as a 'new breed' of 'intolerant snob' to someone who pouted and whinged a bit on one particular show. It's a start I suppose.

Anyway, there's some funny stuff on that youtube video for anyone who cares to watch.

[thenodrog]

- how was he different from the Andy & Lou characters, amongst others, in Little Britain? Is it because those who feel they know best decided Little Britain was funny in some sort of "ironic" way whereas Bernard Manning was offensive? I suspect so and it is this censorship and imposition of a code of values to which I object.

I must say that whilst frequently very 'funny' some of those Little Britain sketches really do make me squirm. So many prejudices and perversions on display I wonder how it is allowed on TV when the likes of Manning was avoided like the plague? LB's intent / tactic in the main appears simply to shock the viewer.

I guess TV controlled by southern based luvvies for one and the general impression that the LB humour is somehow trendy and intellectual is preferred by and takes precedence over more traditional 'uncouth' working mans club humour.

[thenodrog]

Richard Wilson , however , on the show in question , made his intolerance perfectly clear to the point of personally insulting the bloke .

Another luvvie.

By the by can anybody think of anything that Richard Wilson has done before the excellent 'One foot in the grave' and anything since? imo he was made for the Meldrew role BUT he owes his entire popularity to being succesful in one audition for a particularly well written sit-com and working with some excellent supporting cast.

[cletus]

Bernard Manning was just a comic who performed his more "edgy" type of comedy to audiences who were brought up in the post WW2 years...the workingman`s club era. Being "politically correct" didn`t even exist then. People didn`t know better. It was the norm. Jam jars had gollywogs on, afro-carribean people were 'darkies' & 'nignogs' & the indigenous 'white' people of the uk were wary of this new negro & asian invasion that was taking place in this country.

I believe the famous British war heroes 'the Dambusters' had a black labrador called 'nigger' which barked when it heard a Lancaster returning from a mission.....were they racist aswell?

The only thing manning can be found guilty of, was sticking to the tried & tested routine he`d had for years......again something Vera Lyn has done since WW2. People go to see Vera to hear old songs & reminisce about the 'olden days'....they don`t expect a bit of inpromptu drum & bass freestyle from 'our Vera' do they?

...Likewise people went to see Bernard Manning knowing what to expect. They`d grown up listening to jokes like Bernards, they didn`t want to listen to him giving it some Ben Elton political routine.

Bernard Manning has now passed on, but his type of humour hasn`t. At the end of the day he wasn`t everyone`s cup of tea, but I for one think he was a very funny man.

[thenodrog]

I believe the famous British war heroes 'the Dambusters' had a black labrador called 'nigger' which barked when it heard a Lancaster returning from a mission.....were they racist aswell?

That was Douglas Bader I think cletus.

btw Can't rem if it was Dulux or Crown but I painted the gutters and downspout of my first house in a shade that was called 'nigger brown'! It was changed to 'conker brown' circa 1980! Exactly the same colour though.

[broadsword]

Nope, it was definitely Dambusters.

[Eddie]

I find it slightly odd that most of you who really enjoyed Manning's humour and defend it as being simply reflective of his era and upbringing are at the same time those who are most critical of percieved intolerance from other groups.

[thenodrog]

Nope, it was definitely Dambusters.

Sorry you two are quite correct. Penultimate sentence.....

http://home.clara.net/heureka/lincolnshire/dambusters.htm

[roversyoyo]

Isn't the term nigger just derived from the latin term for black 'Niger"?

Now people bend its meaning to be a derogitory or insulting term, which it was probably never meant to be. I could be talking out me arse though.

[Eddie]

That is true and that is why a similar word exists in every latin based language and is often not offensive, but the word, in one form or another, has been used in a derogatory fashion for hundreds of years.

[broadsword]

I thought it was how the British (or would it have been the Americans?) referred to claves arriving in the US from Nigeria.

Which is why it has such a nasty connotation.

[Rovermatt]

I believe the famous British war heroes 'the Dambusters' had a black labrador called 'nigger' which barked when it heard a Lancaster returning from a mission.....were they racist aswell?

Wasn't it David Brent who said, when talking about the Dam-Busters' dog, 'that was the 1940s; before racism was bad'. An apt quote perhaps?

[RevidgeBlue]

He was a funny man with exceptional comic timing, but I refuse to accept that some of his jokes ever had a proper time or place and that they should be tolerated.

Eddie, I'd bet if someone made a completely tasteless joke about say Mrs. Thatcher, the Queen mother, or Winston Churchill you'd be laughing your little Communist party supporting socks off.

[Eddie]

If it is an entirely tasteless joke then no; although I will add that I think if a particular individual is a target then you have a lot more things to play with and it is much more acceptable than targetting a particular group.

[DP]

I find it slightly odd that most of you who really enjoyed Manning's humour and defend it as being simply reflective of his era and upbringing are at the same time those who are most critical of percieved intolerance from other groups.

Maybe because most people on here can distinguish between jokes about cultural stereotypes and racism.

Unforuntately Manning told a small precentage of jokes which became unacceptable to broadcast on TV or radio. Does this mean I´m not allowed to find the rest (majority) of his jokes funny?

[RevidgeBlue]

If it is an entirely tasteless joke then no; although I will add that I think if a particular individual is a target then you have a lot more things to play with and it is much more acceptable than targetting a particular group.

Not sure I agree with that Eddie, I think targetting an individual is far more cruel really.

I would have no objection at all really to someone making "English" jokes. (As long as they were funny)

In that context I was reminded of the "Goodness Gracious Me" team doing a sketch where they all barrelled into a restaurant much the worse for wear late at night raucously demanding "the blandest thing on the menu"

Extremely funny I thought.

Mind you if it had been white comedians poking fun at the ethnic community in a similar manner they'd probably have been arrested..................

[Eddie]

Not sure I agree with that Eddie, I think targetting an individual is far more cruel really.

I would have no objection at all really to someone making "English" jokes. (As long as they were funny)

In that context I was reminded of the "Goodness Gracious Me" team doing a sketch where they all barrelled into a restaurant much the worse for wear late at night raucously demanding "the blandest thing on the menu"

Extremely funny I thought.

Mind you if it had been white comedians poking fun at the ethnic community in a similar manner they'd probably have been arrested..................

A lot of that has to do with history. If you are white then the chances are you have probably always been in the majority and also in the dominant ethnic group. You have probably never suffered any real form of racism or discrimination and it is unlikely that anyone related to you has, even in past generations. With certain groups you are touching on issues that are far more unpleasant than any stereotype that you could possibly ever think up about being English, French or American.

As for whether or not it is more cruel to target the individual, I think it depends on the degree and manner of the joke. Having said that, I would still always much rather be insulted or laughed at because of something I have done or said than to be insulted because I am black, white, muslim, etc.

[Eddie]

Maybe because most people on here can distinguish between jokes about cultural stereotypes and racism.

Unforuntately Manning told a small precentage of jokes which became unacceptable to broadcast on TV or radio. Does this mean I´m not allowed to find the rest (majority) of his jokes funny?

that wasn't really my point, but if you don't think that some of what Manning said was racist or, more importantly, that it reflected the feelings of a significant part of the population then I don't think you can make that distinguishment. What I was really getting at was the fact that those who most wish to protect their own "culture", even in its ugliest form, are those who are most upset when they see others doing the same.

[cletus]

That was Douglas Bader I think cletus.

btw Can't rem if it was Dulux or Crown but I painted the gutters and downspout of my first house in a shade that was called 'nigger brown'! It was changed to 'conker brown' circa 1980! Exactly the same colour though.

Funnily enough, that same subject cropped up in the pub last night. I was talking to a long-term employee (30+years) of Crown paints who`s coming up for retirement soon about the Dambusters dog called 'Nigger' & he mentioned that very same paint. Apparently the paint was actually called 'Niger brown' ....as in the african country of the same name (which also has a river called the Niger) he went on to say the factory workers nick-named it 'Nigger brown' & it kinda stuck. In the 80s this very popular colour`s name was changed to 'Scorched Earth', but i don`t think it`s in tribute the the Russian retreat policy against the Jerries during WW2. It is still a very popular colour....or so i am told.

[Paul Mellelieu]

Racist pig. Good riddance.

[thenodrog]

The only people who misunderstood Bernard Manning were those with no sense of humour...... Frank Carson.

Racist pig. Good riddance.

btw Do much for charity yourself do you Paul?