Television stars from past decades gathered in Manchester this afternoon to honour stand-up comedian Jimmy Cricket, who died aged 80 this month. Many mourners at Salford Cathedral followed his family's request to wear bow ties, a nod to his stage costume that also featured a crushed bowler hat.
Cricket's famous hat and trademark wellies—which he wore onstage on the wrong feet—were placed at the cathedral entrance beside the book of condolence.
Stars attend funeral
Syd Little, one half of double act Little and Large, attended in a black suit and matching bow tie alongside his wife Sheree. The 83-year-old lost his comedy partner Eddie Large in 2020. Former I'm A Celeb star Tommy Cannon, 88, wore a green tie and black suit; his partner in Cannon and Ball, Bobby Ball, also died in 2020.
Former Catchphrase host Roy Walker, 86, wore a blue shirt and black tie. Walker, a stand-up who won ITV talent show New Faces and appeared on The Comedians, was among the mourners. Others included Crackerjack presenter Stu Francis, 78, comedians Freddie "Parrot Face" Davies and John Linehan, 74, and Early Doors actor John Henshaw, 75.
Son leads mass
The mass was led by Jimmy's son, Father Frankie Mulgrew, a Catholic priest at Salford Cathedral. He joked: "For 10 years I was dad's road manager so I have seen him die before and rise again."
Jimmy was made a papal knight by Pope Francis in 2015, the Catholic Church's highest honour. His son added: "When I entered seminary he said he was willing to sacrifice having grandchildren so it's worked pretty well for him as he got a Papal Knightood and a cheap funeral." He explained that the funeral would be followed by an "open mic" wake where attendees were invited to sell jokes and sing.
Life and legacy
Cricket, whose real name was James Joseph Mulgrew, became a major star in the 1980s through shows including The Good Old Days and Crackerjack! after finishing runner-up in TV talent show Search For A Star. His son Frankie said he performed until his dying day, explaining: "He was in hospital and called us close to him and we wondered what he would say and he started singing Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life."
The family announced his death on 3 August. A statement read: "Our beloved Jimmy passed away this morning after a short illness. He spent his last few days surrounded by his family, love, laughter and songs. Jimmy brought so much laughter and happiness to countless audiences in his career over the years. Whether on stage, screen or radio, or if you met him in person as well. But that was nothing to the happiness he gave to his family. A devoted husband to May for fifty two years. A wonderful dad to his four children and very silly grandad indeed to his four grandchildren. He was our greatest champion and loved us all loudly. He also just loved people and he absolutely loved being a stand up comedian. What a life he lived. Forever our clown, he was cracking jokes to the wonderful NHS staff and to us all, right until the end. His courage, dignity and positivity through all he endured was inspirational. A force for joy, we are just all very sad that the world is a far less sillier place today. We were going to end by using his famous catchphrase and say, ‘There’s no More’. But Jimmy was a man of great faith and a Papal Knight of the Catholic Church. He believed that death is not the end and was looking forward to eternity, so really…And there's more."
