Eric Morecambe (
John Eric Bartholomew, 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and
Ernie Wise (
Ernest Wiseman, 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as
Morecambe and Wise (also
Eric and Ernie), were a British comic
double act, working in variety, radio, film and most successfully in television. Their partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death in 1984. They have been described as "the most illustrious, and the best-loved, double-act that Britain has ever produced". In a list of the
100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the
British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals,
The Morecambe and Wise Show was placed 14th. In September 2006, they were voted by the general public as number 2 in a poll of
TV's 50 Greatest Stars and in 2011 their early career was the subject of the television biopic
Eric and Ernie. In 2013, the two were honoured with a
blue plaque at
Teddington Studios where their last four series were recorded.