Eyes And Teeth

Welcome to this Very Special BONUS edition of Eyes & Teeth where I swap a podcast episode with a mutual Comedy & Variety interviewer and this one is very exciting for me as today you can hear an interview with The Legendary Ventriloquist Willie Tyler.

Willie’s early career saw him Hosting Motown shows across America and when I say that I mean MOTOWN!!! Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, The Jackson 5, The Four Tops and on comes Willie Tyler and his very funny and vocally gifted partner Lester.

I interviewed Willie for my upcoming book Ventriloquest and he was a delight. He literally is a Superstar and in this episode you will hear his chat with the very brilliant Scott Edwards.

R. Scott Edwards:
Started his first company at age 17, and at 24—in 1980—opened Laughs Unlimited, just the 12th full time comedy club in the entire United States. Scott was fortunate to fall in with comedy greats like Bob Saget, Dave Coulier, Garry Shandling, and many others who helped him develop an extremely successful chain of comedy clubs in Northern California. In turn, he helped develop talents like Paula Poundstone, Brian Posehn, and Dana Carvey, and enjoyed working with icons like Graham Chapman of Monty Python and Tommy Chong.

Scott knows comedy performance and production, having produced three TV series, a number of large concerts, and thousands of live comedy stage shows.
 Now Scott is sharing what he’s learned through his books, interactive online courses, podcast, and video archive. Listen and enjoy the experiences and stories about talent from all the greats, from Ellen and Yakov Smirnoff to Paul Reiser and Seinfeld—and even the amazing Robin Williams!

Scott’s people got in touch with my people and here is the result, episode swapping and I am delighted to swap with a talent that knows his comedy and is also fun to listen too.

Welcome to Eyes & Teeth Willie Tyler & Lester when they met R Scott Edwards on Stand up Comedy – your host & MC.

Welcome to Eyes & Teeth Charmaine Davies.

A hard working stand up, actress, radio presenter, all round performer who literally turned tears in to laughter. Charmaine today talks about starting out in comedy and starting out in Surrey where she grew up an only child.

She talks fondly of one of her inspirations that is Joan Rivers, gigging with Jo Brand and Drew Cameron and she talks about her love for MC’ing comedy nights across Europe including Prague the home of the puppets.

Charmaine talks of working on Radio as a sidekicks with some familiar names and then landing her own Radio show on Delux radio. She talks of festivals and adding impressions to her repertoire and we reluctantly talk about her time working with the one and only late and great sitcom legend Gary Colman “what you talkin about Willis?”

If you are looking a great host for your comedy nights then look no further, Charmaine Davies will delight you and your audience from start to finish.

Enjoy the story of Charmaine Davies

Welcome to Eyes & Teeth Legends of Laughter. Hypnotists over the years have enjoyed summer seasons, corporate shows, TV shows, stints across Europe at the hottest destinations where there are clubs, cabaret, cruise ships and stag & hen parties as well as depiction in TV comedy sketches such as Little Britain and has been caught up in controversy over the hypnotist and volunteer in a few cases but the art of hypnotism is as serious as it is hilarious making its subjects the star of the show.

It is though a greats night entertainment and today we talk to one of the best in the country. Ken has worked worldwide and has a legion of celebrity fans

If you have been to Blackpool for a weekend then you may have enjoyed the very funny and naughty talents of the Outrageous Ken Webster

Welcome to Eyes & teeth – Legends of Laughter - Maurice Grumbleweed

The Grumbleweeds TV show on a Saturday night meant it was family laughter times they are moments I cherish and remember laughing with my siblings and parents. I was around 9 or 10 when they were big in the light entertainment world and on constantly. 

Summer seasons and pantomimes, and that famous Grumbleweed song we always sung along to just brought joy to the UK.

My great friend Pete Cutler who will be on a future episode put Maurice Lee and me in touch and I thoroughly enjoyed not only hearing all about those shows I grew up watching but I loved hearing what Maurice was up to now. He loves his work, if its storming a cruise ship crowd to not being listened to in a Blues Bar in Harrogate, its so true that when you have the showbusiness bug it never leaves you.

IN this edition Maurice talks about working Hamberg the same time as The Beatles and working with comedy writer Mike Craig as well as being a success up and down the country selling out theatres and clubs and sometimes working three or four venues a night.

Welcome to Season 11, episode 7 Maurice Grumbleweed

Welcome to Eyes & Teeth a Legend of Laughter someone who had me and my family in stitches in Elf The Musical Tour Xmas 2021. Tam Ryan is a fantastic entertainer. We talk about his start in the business inspired by his parents showbusiness life. We were nearly deprived of his talent and lost him to journalism but the media’s loss was Show businesses gain and he is making his mark on contracts he chooses carefully and that are right for him.

With not only a superb singing vocal but his natural comedy talent shine on stage from the moment he steps into the spotlight until curtain down.

Today we talk about his work on the Successful Elf Musical, his Pantomime work and stage work within a comedy double act and alongside the one and only David Hasselhoff.

His collaboration with John Thomson sounds interesting and there’s more to come so keep your ears pinned back for a future star of TV when we find out what Tam and friends have planned.

 Welcome to Eyes & Teeth Season 11, Edition 6 Tam Ryan

Welcome to Season 11 of Eyes & Teeth and today I talk to an icon from the 60’s Music and Variety Scene, The Producer and Lead Vocalist and Guitarist of The Barron Knights Pete Langford.

Pete  and his band members went on to record album after album including Songs for Traffic Jams, Are you laughing yet? Night Gallery, Teach the world to laugh and the best of albums there was no stopping them.

I remember meeting the Knights at Weymouth Pavilion one night as I caught a train after school to grab a photo and autograph and they brought me on stage during rehearsal, so you got the guitars and whole set in too. That was back in 1991/1992 I guess? Then around 1998/1999 Wally Dent booked me in a Cabaret night supporting the Barron Knights myself with another two comedy acts on. It was a great night of variety with these guys at the top of the bill.

I then bumped into Pete at a mutual friends 80th Birthday party, the late and great wonderful personality and water colour artist Gordon King.

It was then that in 2021 I happened to work with a young lady called Lilia Grace in Warner Leisure Hotels who turned out to be the grand daughter of Pete Langford and here we are on Eyes & Teeth Legends of Laughter.

Today I talk with a performer, a musician, a funny man, an inventor of a comedy classical musical group Graffiti Classics Cathal O Duill.

Listening to his stories of Edinburgh Festival, Cruise Ships and audiences, Covent Garden and the skills behind drawing a crowd and just as important getting rid of them so they can draw another within a time scale is an art in itself.

This man is unique and I’m blessed to of learnt more about him, one thing I do know is that he really cheers you up listening to his voice and you can hear the humour in his personality and that’s what attracts me to his work.

 Welcome to E&T Cathal O Duill

Johnathan Geffner and I become acquainted over the internet around 2019. Ventriloquists as far as I know are a group of people who share ideas, we enjoy each others work. Well I may be speaking for myself, I mean I can’t speak for everyone in the room, that’s just the ventriloquist showing off…Wait for laughs and carry on
When I first watched one of Trillo & Suede’s episodes and I must state it is SUEDE not Swede, I got hooked on watching the series and then there was another. That was when I reached out to congratulate Johnathan on his work and then his awards for his series which started to come regularly… 

We stayed in touch and last year we exchanged a few ideas and he agreed to talk on Eyes & Teeth so my listeners can enjoy listening to why his 3 decade project took so long to win over 40 Top Film Awards across the world  including an Indie Film Festival Winner, Pacific Beach International film first winner in 2020, an open window international film challenge in 2020, a finalist at the Venice Film Awards, New York Tri-State international film festival, Continental film award 2021 and the San Francisco indie short film fest 2021 to name literally just a few.

Lets cross over the pond to speak with the man himself… the creator of Suede, the entertainer Welcome to Trillo-Quist Johnathan Geffner.

In todays chat I am in awe of another great comedy musical talent. This gentleman of the Stand Up circuit has been creating tears of laughter for 4 decades. 

Described as "possibly Newcastle's finest export since the famous brown ale" 

I learned something knew when delving deeper into Mr Morton’s career and never knew he was one part of The Panic Brothers a very popular Duo working constantly in the 1980’s and 90’s. We hear all about their work back then and what has happened since. Reg & Richard haven’t wasted any time, they have gone on to be successes in what they do best and today we talk about Richards time working with acts like Rik Mayall, Ben Elton, Lenny Henry and Fred Macauley, and his time at the Edinburgh and Montreal Festival. The Comedy Store features as well as his TV successes and Radio Work. Just a minute with Nicholas Parsons and his own radio special In the Lounge where he talks about his passions in music.

All in all this is a fun chat and mini This is Your Life when I welcome Legend of Laughter Richard Morton.

Steve Delaney – has created one of the funniest Radio & TV Sitcom Characters the UK has seen since David Brent.

Count Arthur Strong dominated my TV in lockdown 2, Nina & I binged the lot… 

On todays show I talk to Steve about his favourites on TV & Radio growing up as well as inspirations for the Count including Steve’s own Godfather and neighbour Billy Kay.

We talk about his woodwork prop workshop at Leeds Playhouse and The Grand as well as the writing process for the radio and tv shows, working with Graham Linehan and Graeme Duff, Barry Cryer and Rory Kinnear.

I loved hearing about his grafting on the Royal Mile at the Edinburgh Festival, you can hear the passion Steve has for Arthur and he has worked his heart out to bring Arthur Strong to our stage, screen & radio shows.

He has turned down corporate bookings because of the love of his character and he’s not the only one who loves this Variety Star who is slightly wrong in many ways but those ways are very very funny.

Welcome to Eyes & Teeth Steve Delaney