The Celebrity Comedian

Tom O'Connor. Now there's a name that has not passed into my consciousness for many a long year. Vague recollections of "The Comedians" apart, Tom seemed only to surface, clad in a tux and bow-tie, as a presenter of some dimly recalled game show. There was only one of The Comedians who I ever liked, and that was Frank Carson, and that had more to do with his appearances on "Tiswas". Otherwise, The Comedians were of the Tarby school of not-very-funny stand-up and pro-am golf. Which is not to decry the old-school stand-up per se. Just that they were eclipsed by the Comedy Store era and were largely consigned to a kind of vaudeville history not a million miles removed from the end of the pier and the dire variety shows of the '60s and '70s. There are things one looks back at from telly in the'70s and the heart sinks - Dickie Davies, Kent Walton and grappling fans, Val Doonican and The Comedians.

It's strange to realise that Tom has never gone away. Somewhere he has remained extant in a parallel universe to my own, a parallel universe of gags, reworked game-show formulae and charity events - because all ageing comedians do a lot for charity. I only know that Tom is still with us as he's due to pitch up in Majorca at the end of the month for something ominously called a "Celebrity Lunch".  

There is something of a cult of celebrity in Majorca, even if the celebrities tend to be past their sell-by date or were never actually on sale in the first place. The local press perpetuates this cult. In the case of something like the "Brisas" magazine which appears on a Saturday with the newspaper "Ultima Hora", it has pages devoted to "VIPs", i.e. local people who you have never heard of photographed at various gatherings you never knew took place. The English-speaking media is similarly in thrall. There is even a magazine called "Celebrity" which, when last I saw a copy (some years ago), had a column by Jess Conrad. You really do have to go back in time to remember Jess.

But returning to Tom. I'm sure he's a very nice chap. Indeed he always seemed a nice enough chap. Each to their own, but, as you might have gathered, I will not be attending. But it is each to their own, and Tom will be doing the after-nosh gig at the Castillo Hotel, Son Vida (Palma) on 28 March.

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