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Honouring great Jamaican comedy duos
December 06, 2017
Listen nuh, I want to pause today to big up my brother, Ian Ellis, and his brethren, Alton Hardware, who many of you know as Ity and Fancy Cat.
Yeah man, I have to big up the affable duo as they celebrate 25 years of working together this year.
I'm also saluting them because after defying many odds and surprising several naysayers, they completed a successful and historic run and will bring the final curtains down on their popular TV show this weekend.
Hey, unnu did know seh Ity and Fancy Cat show is the first totally Jamaican sketch comedy production ever to be aired on television via TVJ in Jamaica and CIN in the USA Tri-State Region?
Yeah! It's also the only local comedy to ever enjoy a 10-year run on national television. That's no ordinary feat. It's an achievement that will be permanently etched in the annals of history.
VERY PROUD
So, as part of the Bello & Blakka duo that inspired and mentored them, I'm very proud.
And I pay tribute to the great tradition of Jamaican comedic duos of which they're a part.
The tradition goes way back to Slim & Sam, the street singers who performed comedic commentaries and parodies, and Ed Lewis and Aston Wynter who made the iconic duo called Bim & Bam.
Also included is another great duo named Ike & Mike. Mike was Eric Coverley who later married the great Louise Bennett and Ike was an accountant named Florizel Glasspole who eventually went on to become Jamaica's longest-serving Governor General.
So if you're one of those people who think comedians are idiots, the joke's on you!
There were also three great comic duos, Amos & Andy', 'Morgie & Putus' and 'Miss Lou & Maas Ran', and what all three had in common was Ranny Williams.
Yes, everyone knows that Ranny Williams was part of the duo with Miss Lou, but few know that Amos & Andy were Maas Ran and one Lee Gordon, and Morgie & Putus were Maas Ran and Alma Mock-Yen the pioneering educator who started the UWI Radio Unit.
Yes peeps, respect due to Ity and Fancy Cat, who continue a great legacy and are part of a rich history. Talking 'bout history, somebody should write a book about the history of comedy in Jamaica yu know!
In fact, I going try. What yu think?
