street wise: Ernie's statue unveiled

Andrew Robinson

“BRING me sunshine in your smile, bring me laughter....”

There was a bit of both yesterday as the widow of Leeds-born comedian Ernie Wise celebrated the unveiling of his statue with a song and dance that he made famous.

Doreen Wiseman officially unveiled the statue of her late husband in Morley, Leeds, where he won a talent contest in 1936 before going on to worldwide fame with Eric Morecambe.

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As she pulled the cover from the 7ft stone statue, Mrs Wiseman blew a kiss before briefly performing the famous Bring Me Sunshine dance.

Mrs Wiseman, who funded the statue, carved by local sculptor Melanie Wilks, said she thought it was “great” and described Ms Wilks as a “miracle worker with her chisel”.

The statue shows the comedian with a furled umbrella and a straw boater, in reference to the Bring Me Sunshine routine and the Singin’ In The Rain dance sequence he performed on the Morecambe and Wise Show.

n See the statue unveiled at yorkshirepost.co.uk /video.

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