Memories of stages and stars

Morecambe and Wise, Shirley Bassey, Tommy Cooper, Bruce Forsyth – Pauline Standerwick knew the stars as close friends during her stage career.

She worked alongside some of the greatest and can add the likes of Frankie Vaughan, Roy Castle and Dickie Valentine to the list.

The 71-year-old, who lived in Walsall and Aldridge, for more than 20 years but has since moved to Alrewas, Staffordshire, enjoyed a career on stage alongside her late husband, Tony, in a double act called the Musical Derricks.

They toured with Tony playing the xylophone and providing humour while Pauline danced. The couple met while both appearing in pantomime at the Palace Theatre in Pauline's native Reading.

Tony was a child musical prodigy and had been making a name for himself on the showbiz circuit since the age of 12 with his parents' accordion band.He was 17 and Pauline was 15. They started courting and were married four years later.

In the mid to late 50s they were spotted by Harry Secombe's agent who asked them to perform on a televised talent show called Chance Of A Lifetime, featuring Eartha Kitt.

It was in Cleethorpes that the couple spent a summer with Morecambe and Wise, in digs with the comedy legends. They socialised with the legends in cafes and would go to the cinema with the funnymen when the weather was bad.

"They were both wonderful but Eric was just a tremendously funny man," Pauline said. "He was the same off stage as he was on it. You could never be serious with him. We had some great laughs together and that summer was just fantastic.

"We worked hard but we had a lot of fun. We would socialise together in the day and go for a drink in a cafe.

"We couldn't go off the rails too much because we had to work in the theatre at night. But I was always laughing in their company.

"If the weather was bad the four of us would go to the cinema. Wonderful memories." Welsh diva Shirley Bassey was also a close friend of the couple in her early days when they first got to know her in her home city of Cardiff. And she seemed particularly fond of Derrick.

Pauline recalled: "Tony was a very friendly and funny man and very sociable. She took a real shine to him and would always go out of her way to talk to him. She really enjoyed his company."

She also remembers a funny moment when she was in Hull performing on the same bill as the singing sensation David Whitfield.

"David was huge at the time and the girls loved him. A Rolls Royce was parked outside the theatre.

"The girls thought it was David's and messages of love had been scrawled all over it by his fans.

"But David was clued up and had arrived in his wife's car instead. The car belonged to an innocent motorist who had parked outside the theatre and he was gutted when he got back and saw his beloved Rolls Royce vandalised." Some of their experiences were memorable for the wrong reasons. On one occasion Pauline and Tony were on the same bill as Jimmy James and Roy Castle in Glasgow. The Scottish audience had a reputation for giving stick to English comics and Tony and Pauline had to step in quickly as Roy Castle's performance was stopped in its tracks.

"The heckling became so bad that the show couldn't carry on. Tony and myself had to be ready to step in when Roy's act came to a premature close." Bruce Forsyth was another close friend and the two have since exchanged memories letters.

"I wrote to Bruce several years ago. I had seen him on a variety show on television and wrote to him to say how good I thought he was. He wrote a lovely letter back saying how he had enjoyed the times we had spent together in our younger years. He is a really lovely man."

Pauline's absolute favourite entertainer was Frankie Vaughan who she said was an absolute gentleman to her. But by 1960 the couple felt the tide was turning and decided to bring down the curtain for good. They decided to live in Walsall when Tony got a job in sales in the town and Pauline got a job as a dance teacher. She still teaches today and is also an examiner.

Tony died, aged 65 in 1999, two months after contracting pneumonia. He had suffered from Parkinson's disease for 10 years.

The couple's daughter Nicky has followed in her parents' footsteps by entertaining passengers on cruise ships in a musical double act with her husband Adam. They also carry on the family tradition by using the stage name Derrick and the couple's act features song, dance and electronic music. Pauline added: "They were just wonderful times. I loved being on the stage with Tony. We met some wonderfully talented people who became close friends. They have left me with marvellous memories."