Sykes, unlike some of the people he wrote for, did not appear widely in British comics. The above article is from TV Express, which also ran a 4-part biography of the comedian in 1961 around the time that Sykes began appearing on the TV in Sykes and A..., the sitcom co-starring Hattie Jacques. The series ran for 59 episodes between 1960-65 and was revived as Sykes, which ran 68 episodes in 1972-79. Sadly, only one series of the latter has appeared on DVD.
The story of Eric's early life was drawn by Bill Mainwaring. For the full story, it is well worth tracking down a copy of Eric's autobiography If I Don't Write It Nobody Else Will – see the Amazon link below.
A legend! Brings to mind a T.V. interviewer a few years ago who had Norman Wisdom on his show. The encounter was decidely hurried and absolutely no respect was shown towards the comedian. An absolute disgrace in my opinion. Funny how that has always stayed in my mind. Which suggests that many of the true legends are sidestepped in preference for more immediate and current mundane talent. For Eric his " The Plank " and his time with Hattie are gems! He will be missed!
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