Ray Martine, Comedian, Guardian obit
Hyfler/Rosner
Early British master of the risqué comedy routine
Gavin Gaughan
Friday October 11, 2002
The Guardian
The comedian Ray Martine, whose death, aged 73, has only recently been made
public, was a forgotten original of British comedy, with a reputation as
being distinctly risqué for his time.
With a strong Cockney-Jewish accent and manner, his speciality of bitchy
put-downs, aimed at hecklers and fellow performers alike, also reflected a
forthright gay identity, quite unlike the gentle campery of his
contemporaries. Very much a creation of London publand, he briefly achieved
national fame as host of the mid-1960s ITV variety show, Stars And Garters.
Born in London, Martine, whose real surname was Isaacs, claimed to have gone
to the United States after doing national service in the RAF, and been
impressed by the one-liner tactics of American patter merchants, so
different from the British tradition of character comedy. Back in London, he
gained stand-up experience in local pubs during the late 1950s and early
60s.
Then, the former television interviewer Daniel Farson spotted (to quote his
autobiography, Never A Normal Man), "the waspish Ray Martine making
mincemeat of his hecklers", and booked him to appear at his East End pub,
the Watermans Arms. Martine performed there alongside the equally camp and
sardonic drag act Mrs Shufflewick (Rex Jamieson), and singer- actor Queenie
Watts. He was reputedly uncompromising about problems he had faced arising
from his sexuality and Jewishness.
When the toned-down pilot for Stars And Garters was taped at the Watermans
Arms, things, according to one member of the audience, became altogether too
rowdy, and for the rest of the series, Associated-Rediffusion built a pub
replica in a studio, and used extras as customers. Martine did not appear in
The New Stars And Garters, in 1966, with co-host Willie Rushton; by then, he
was in demand at northern working men's clubs.
In 1964, he released a comedy album, East End, West End, the first side of
which was recorded at a pub venue in Hackney, the second at Peter Cook's
Establishment Club in Soho, where he was also filmed for Primitive London
(1965), a curious shock-umentary compendium. He had a non-speaking role as a
taxi driver in The Girl From Auntie (1966), constantly fiddling with props
recovered from the scenes of various murders, and, between 1969 and 1974,
was a regular on the Yorkshire Television comedy panel game Jokers Wild,
with a selection of panellists from John Cleese to Arthur Askey.
By then, Martine's jokes had become corny, and his delivery increasingly
hesitant; indeed, the show regularly featured his verbal spats with Les
Dawson, the latter sometimes commenting, "Has Fey Ray finished yet?"
Martine's replies included pointing out Dawson's resemblance to Quasimodo.
After its 1973 run, the series was relegated to daytime television in London
and the south-east, though it still ran on primetime in YTV's Leeds
territory. In a way, this scheduling reflected Martine's life, as, by now,
he had relocated to the north of England, where he still did well on the
club circuit.
Later, he diversified into after-dinner speaking. In 1999, when asked,
"Whatever happened to Ray Martine?", his former television co-host Barry
Cryer replied that Martine had retired from performing, and was running an
antiques business in Newcastle, adding, "he always did work with antiques".
Martine's death, in a Newcastle nursing home, was reported by a nephew, his
only surviving relative.
· Ray Martine (Isaacs), comedian, born October 6 1928; died June 19 2002
Brian Watson
"Hyfler/Rosner" <rel...@rcn.com> wrote in message
news:ao5he8$3uc$1...@bob.news.rcn.net...
> Ray Martine
>
> Early British master of the risqué comedy routine
>
> Gavin Gaughan
> Friday October 11, 2002
> The Guardian
>
> The comedian Ray Martine, whose death, aged 73, has only recently been
made
> public, was a forgotten original of British comedy, with a reputation as
> being distinctly risqué for his time.
A very, very, funny man in his heyday, and way too risqué for UK TV.
Amazed and delighted that he got away with it for so long.
--
Brian
"Let's be grateful for our Fridays and face our Mondays with good humour."