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.