Arquivo GEE - Dustin Gee (Gerald Harrison) papers

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Código de referência

GEE

Título

Dustin Gee (Gerald Harrison) papers

Data(s)

  • c.1930s-1980s (Produção)

Nível de descrição

Arquivo

Dimensão e suporte

14 bundles

Zona do contexto

Nome do produtor

(1942-1986)

História biográfica

Gerald Harrison who performed under the name Dustin Gee, was an English impressionist and comedian, best known for his double act with fellow comic, Les Dennis.

Harrison was born in York in 1942, and left school at 15 to study art at college. He took a job as an artist, working mainly with stained glass and for a while worked on the stained glass windows at York Minster. He played in a rock band in the evenings called the Dare Devils and later 'Gerry B and the Hornets' before they altered the name to 'Gerry B and the Rockafellas'. When the group disbanded, Gee became a compere, then later a comedian.

In 1975, Gee met his future comedy partner, Les Dennis. After 20 years in showbusiness, Gee got his television break on Who Do You Do?, an ITV showcase. The show gave the opportunity for up and coming entertainers and impressionists to impersonate stars. Les Dennis also appeared on this show.

From April 1980 to July 1985, Gee was star guest on Russ Abbot's Madhouse. Les Dennis became one of the cast in 1982; it was during this year that Gee and Dennis formed a comedy double act. By this time, Gee was a cabaret star in the UK, selling out theatres and nightclubs somehow by word of mouth alone, despite being on weekly television. This was the show that included his most famous impression, as Coronation Street's Vera Duckworth in two-handers with Mavis Riley (played by Les Dennis).

In 1982, Gee appeared on ITV's talent show Success, alongside a sixteen-year-old Lisa Stansfield, who was making her TV debut.

On Saturday 7 April 1984, Gee and Dennis began their own TV comedy show, The Laughter Show (retitled, Les & Dustin's Laughter Show for the third series). The first episode of a third and final series aired on Saturday 28 December 1985. The second episode had already been planned to be postponed for a fortnight, but it was during this time that Gee died (on 3 January 1986). Soon after Gee's death, the BBC decided to cancel the rest of the series, but it was resumed upon the request of Gee's family. In the summer of 1986, the third series of the Laughter Show was repeated uninterrupted as a tribute to Gee.

Gee's funeral was held on 9 January 1986, at St Oswald's Church, at Fulford, York.

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Âmbito e conteúdo

Two scrapbooks, photographs, theatre programmes, first wage slip and press cuttings covering his partnership with Les Dennis, including letters of condolence on his death.

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Incorporações

Sistema de arranjo

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Condições de acesso

Restricted access (Data Protection Act)

Material is available subject to the usual terms and conditions of access to Archives and Local History collections.

Condiçoes de reprodução

Images are supplied for private research only at the Archivist's discretion. Please note that material may be unsuitable for copying on conservation grounds. Researchers who wish to publish material must seek copyright permission from the copyright owner.

Idioma do material

  • inglês

Script do material

    Notas ao idioma e script

    Instrumentos de descrição

    Zona de documentação associada

    Existência e localização de originais

    Offsite
    10

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    Identificador(es) alternativo(s)

    legacy

    775

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