How Mike and Bernie Winters Died, the Truth Is Just Sad

[@Samba.]

When Morecambe and Wise were asked what they would have been if they weren't in comedy, they answered Mike and Bernie Winters.

[@zmalevo2126]

I think it might have been a joke.

[@paulannable3734]

@@DeadlyKiss000are you on the spectrum? I hope you never have to hear what they used to say about Des O Connor.

[@mickkennedy5513]

They was shit they was as funny as getting the flu

[@patpending8134]

🤣@@paulannable3734

[@davehoward22]

They were genuine friends with des o'connor

[@profrumpo]

When people say telly was better in the old days Mike and Bernie Winters prove memories false. I was just young enough to remember them on TV and even at a young age I recall how dreadful they were, especially Bernie's ghastly mugging. They were the 60's and 70's version of Little and Large 😵

[@wallyjumblatt]

Oh, how true!

[@huggyhuggsbears1265]

How the hell did these ever make a career of their "so - called " comedy act God Only Knows!! I don't know much about Mike Winters as growing up in the 70's I had the misfortune of being subjected to that God Awful Bernie Winters and he was as funny as a head on collision! Listening to that American guy talking about Comedy & Legacy.....I had to stop myself from throwing up, he obviously never watched these pathetic excuses for comedians, especially Bernie, I still remember when he couldn't get a laugh (a regular theme in his act) he'd stick those big teeth out, Cringe & Boredom was all I ever felt, even the dog had more personality than that fat prick.....and in case you're wandering, NO I ain't a fan!!

[@marksanders3659]

They solved the mystery of the Marie Celeste…. Little and Large did the cabaret….

[@ian_b]

@@marksanders3659As a child in the 70s I was trapped in a theatre in Scarborough with Little And Large for an evening. With counselling, I'm mostly recovered.

[@beatlebrian4404]

When the Mike and bernie Winters show was on, we used to look forward to the adverts!

[@HorseMalone]

Lol.

[@alankenny8650]

I feel lucky to have survived the worst two winters in my lifetime.

[@alankenny8650]

@@DeadlyKiss000 Were they Mike & Bernie's code names?

[@alankenny8650]

@@DeadlyKiss000 I had to suffer them on TV at the time because my parents liked the shows they were on. They were completely crap, they must have had some great negatives of the top TV commissioning editors.

[@ian_b]

@@alankenny8650A lot of late variety was hellishly awful as the audiences who liked this tired remnant of vaudeville dwindled.

[@johnrider5701]

My parents thought they were crap and even as kid i knew they were right.

[@sindento1942]

The only saving grace of this video is you don't get to hear them. I remember being embarrassed for them and I was only 10.

[@jaymacgee_A_Bawbag_Blethering]

True that 😅 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@stephengraham5099]

Unfortunately I got to hear the American narrator, for a few seconds anyway.

[@michaelmcginley7930]

They were shit but t.v allows that.

[@stevehowell231]

They were dreadful!

[@jonjotatty957]

They were absolute shite.

[@michaelmcginley7930]

Yes I agree with other I am 64 but remember being 8 and thinking they were a double dose of crap

[@andrewkerr3836]

😂​@@michaelmcginley7930

[@davidgrieve7854]

Famous comment from the Glasgow Empire --oh no there’s two of them 😮

[@laurasands8322]

Isnt the story that one of them was dying on stage (as usual) and the other one came on stage from the wings and someone shouted "Ah christ there's two of them"

[@smithmt9878]

True. It happened at the Glasgow Empire theatre & i knew someone who was in the audience of less than a dozen folk.

[@charlessouthgate606]

In Scotland I read, fucking 2 of them also

[@terryroxburgh3276]

I remember Mike & Bernie Winters. The lobotomy didn't help erase the memories.

[@briancarno8837]

I still wake up at night screaming

[@TheSqeela]

The American narrator should be forced to watch a loop of their entire output. Then this vid would be re-named 'Why Did Mike and Bernie Winters Live?'

[@PK-yf3hd]

I don't think I've heard a more literate,insightful and acute assessment of any act or celebrity ...well done to whoever you are

[@williamwaghorn1330]

I grew up 8n the fifties and sixties, whenever they appeared on television I thought, Oh no, not those two again.

[@richardbrown1189]

Even when I was a kid I thought Mike and Bernie were about as funny as rabies in a guide dog's training centre.

[@paulashe61]

Yip even at 9 yo cringy as Jerry Lewis.

[@woden20]

It's obviously who you know in this World.

[@marvinc9994]

I remember this duo as a kid. Even back then, I found them as funny as a dental abscess.

[@Arthur54321]

I never understood how they got on TV there was nothing funny going on - ever.

[@UniqueSundials]

The Nish Kumars of the 70's

[@brianchandler1365]

A case of who you know and not what you know I suspect

[@EtonieE25]

@@brianchandler1365And who got the back handlers! 🤣

[@musiccity123]

wasn't there a rumour that they were related to Lew Grade of ATV fame?

[@sandwormgod4771]

I was never partial to Mike and Bernie Winters. it was always Morecambe and Wise.

[@KC-gy5xw]

I couldn't get why they were on, but my dad loved them to bits

[@colinbrigham8253]

I remember them as simple clean comedians who worked well together RIP

[@markjinks2598]

They took the Micky out of each other , no one was hurt , not like today ,were cruelty not humour is the order of the day,RIP both.

[@energybrown]

Totally agree. It's nice to see a positive comment among the many negative ones.

[@daveabbott]

Was going to make a comment on their complete and utter lack of talent, only to see that I had been beaten to it, multiple times hahaha.

[@philippankhurst6680]

You've saved me the trouble as well. The 'Golden Age' of telly took place almost exclusively on the BBC, who had an almost complete monopoly of the available talent. The Winters were no worse than much of the ITV output - sadly, they were no better either...

[@Treviscoe]

@@philippankhurst6680 Wasn't Benny Hill on ITV though?

[@briancarno8837]

Mike and Bernie were just 2 humble blokes.. and they had lots to be humble about

[@toshe.6690]

it takes some going to be even worse than little and large.

[@ArtyEffem]

They died on-screen, it's that simple.

[@MissMarceline-wp6oq]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@owenjones1841]

I did a 'comedy double-act' in the 70's and 80's but in the lower echelons of showbiz. We did a summer season in Weymouth and Mike and Bernie did a few Sunday concerts during that time. I went to see their live performance and thought it was very funny and totally engaging with the audience. To coin a showbiz phrase - they did a storm. When you become a double act you have to feel that you are doing something much better than on your own. This was very much the case with the Winters Bros and became apparent when they each went on their own. I suspect that most of the comments below may be from a TV audience who never actually saw them live. There were many variety acts who excelled in Theatre, Cabaret venues and clubs that never made the TV scene and for some it was 'the kiss of death' to coin another showbiz phrase. There are some positive comments here but it would seem that most have jumped on the band-wagon.

[@muttman325]

Is that you sid?

[@stephendavies925]

Not everyone liked their comedy but lots also did

[@ericstevens2554]

@@muttman325 not little and large 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@robert66186]

Yes great point ..back then acts came through the hard way with loads of top rated competitors...who in 2023 do we have ???... oh sorry forgot the great Eddie Izzard but that's just one great 😊

[@UniqueSundials]

They were never that popular or funny. The only time I remember them was on celebrity squares. They were nowhere near Morecambe and Wise light years away.

[@bluenose1744]

Just read the comments, now they are funny, my faith in the British people has been restored. Ps scnorbits (?) said Bernie winters was the worst act he ever worked with before he retired to Barking.

[@ericstevens2554]

I remember my grandfather saying how rubbish these two were and asking why he watched them he replied it's on a par with your grandma 😂😂

[@finjay21fj]

Heehee yX-D 😂🏆🥇!

[@lesleymay8006]

Don't insult elderly women!

[@ericstevens2554]

Ha ha ha 🤣🤣🤣

[@Wallydaft]

There was a joke doing the rounds, years ago.....'Which were the two worst winters of the past 50 years?' Ans....Mike and Bernie....they were about as funny as toothache.

[@lesliemccarthy6845]

they were crap

[@stephenmatura1086]

They were about as funny as a burning orphange!

[@stirlingmoss9637]

Not so much if they were inside

[@robinburn4974]

How many double acts fell out with each other, the fact that they were brothers is a real shame

[@pitbull2005]

Cannon and Ball fell out but decided to come together again to try and be comedians!

[@curlyken01]

@@pitbull2005...It's a pity they didn't stay fallen out.

[@meestermeesterhastings.3159]

I last saw the big {Bernie] fella at a Spurs game with Snorbitz on a cold Wednesday night at half time and they came out on the pitch and I was in the Spurs end, all the Spurs fans went nuts saying Bernie was a Gooner not a Jew it was the high light of the 1-1 draw...

[@paulweir5031]

Schnorbitz.

[@meestermeesterhastings.3159]

@@paulweir5031 You from Bavaria...

[@michaelking9818]

Wow I was at that game

[@meestermeesterhastings.3159]

@@michaelking9818 Home to Luton, I'm not a Spurs fan but I wanted to see Ossie and Ricky play in the flesh...

[@sarfendman]

You cannot have the word comedy associated with these two. Out of 10 for comedy, they would be the only duo to get a minus score. They were awful

[@johnwilliams2479]

I saw Bernie in a yellow Cornish at the top of my road at Woodside park Sussex Ring back in 89 he done that grin and eeeee, he looked happy in the sunshine with the roof pulled down

[@pops2728]

I think you mean Corniche.

[@johnwilliams2479]

@@pops2728 EEEEE

[@Treviscoe]

Great, sounds like he was doing well if he could afford one of those.

[@TheBluebirdkev]

Saw Bernie winters live on stage with his dog. what that poor dog had to go through every night on stage next to someone who had little or no talent as a comedian.

[@daniellatheczarina2u915]

The real star was the dog Schnorbitz

[@davids8449]

That's what I like ........A nice Happy Story

[@ACNC1]

They managed to get the four members of the beatles to cold open their show .... more so than what Saturday Night Live has ever achieved.

[@robertdragoff6909]

Well, they did get George to show up

[@MARKETMAN6789]

They were. Hopeless

[@spanishpeaches2930]

" Oh Christ, there's two of them."

[@barryelliott8773]

Very sad . I remember watching them as a yong boy . Very funny..

[@annetteminett8500]

Loved them!

[@FactsVerseUK]

Glad to know that you're a fan! Be safe and have a great day 💕

[@FactsVerseUK]

Thanks for watching! We're glad to know that you love our video. If we may ask, what other types of video would you like to see on Facts Verse UK?

[@bluenose1744]

Do they allow internet usage in Rampton?

[@djrichylaurence8991]

I wasn't much of a fan but I liked Snorbitz the dog.

[@raycope2086]

It had talent.

[@bluenose1744]

More talent in his paw than these two.

[@Treviscoe]

Yeah, that dog was lovely.

[@ironclad57]

Before fame hit they ran a market stall on Norwich market. They also recorded a great song called Does My Baby. This is still popular on the rock n roll dance floors oftoday

[@loonylinda]

yes they did...i often wonder why they were in norwich?

[@russellaustin8453]

I'm in a minority (as usual ! ) - I liked them ! I saw them live in Bournemouth Winter Gardens many years ago - before a packed house - they brought the house down !

[@arthurvasey]

Got subsequently renamed The Winters Gardens - or did for that night!

[@johnathandaviddunster38]

Like Jericho .....

[@normanj1975]

Saw them in Blackpool when I was a kid backing them up was the Dave Clarke five.

[@Tcoldsteel]

Strangely enough their birth-place in London is pronounced exactly how it’s spelled, Is-lington (no silent S)

[@LANCSKID]

Unless you are Tony Blair(!) and then it’s Uzlington

[@energybrown]

Don't remember them as a double act, as it was a bit before my time, but I really liked Bernie Winters. Found this video very interesting and it's a shame to discover how their relationship turned sour.

[@anthonyperrin3411]

They were not funny. At all. I'm 72 and i saw them on TV. Awful. TV had too much air tome to fill...... that's all. Not funny.

[@ffrederickskitty214]

Mike and Bernie Winter were dire. Totally unfunny. To call them the poor man’s Morecambe & Wise would be to do Eric & Ernie a gross disservice. I’ve never heard a single comedy act cite them as an influence

[@keithbessant]

That was interesting to hear more about why they split up. As the funny man, rather than the straight man, is the more important half of a comedy duo, I thought it was Bernie who must have dumped Mike. I didn't realise it was Mike who was more responsible for the separation.

[@benovision6325]

I remember those two horrible winters we had - Mike and Bernie!

[@raycope2086]

They were utter rubbish and we younger people didn't even notice them.

[@peterbunyan3924]

Never got them l'm afraid.

[@nickglenister3832]

I think this needs to be 'Fact checked'?

[@LANCSKID]

I think it needs to be taken down before I throw up again … 👨

[@nickglenister3832]

@@LANCSKID I think some sort of government inquiry should be initiated.

[@LANCSKID]

@@nickglenister3832 Yes, real comedians investigating goons … the irony is not lost on me.

[@moosehunter1969]

Bernie was 60 not 58. I saw him at a cash machine in Torquay in 1988, I was star struck 😜

[@Stickleback]

Bernie Winters, what a genuine legend.

[@williamstroker6805]

Bellend more like

[@jaybee1921]

Mike and Bernie Winters were a funny comedy act that had wide appeal but they were never as big as Morecombe and Wise.

[@FactsVerseUK]

Well said, we strongly concur! Thank you for watching our content and for sharing your thoughts. What other types of video would you like to see?

[@Lurchin]

As funny as cholera!

[@alankenny8650]

That's not funny, but on second thoughts I suppose it's apt.

[@eileenpritchard9154]

OH DEAR, BUT I COULDN'T STOP LAUGHING. 😂😂😅🤪

[@garrywood5345]

Taking some heavy criticism on here. They weren't as bad as some people are making out. One particular sketch with the Beatles was hilarious

[@davepoole9520]

I wasn't a fan but wasn't really a critic either. Just by chance I mentioned to my girlfriend 'I wonder what Mike Winters is doing now?' in 2013. Unfortunately he died just a couple of days later. Following Patrick Moore's death after I said 'He doesn't look long for this world' I feel I owe a duty to the world by asking 'I wonder how long Rupert Murdoch's got to live?'.

[@leehighland5435]

Don't suppose you can give a shout out to George Sorros, Gary Lineker and the entire, Green, Liberal, Labour party too?

[@HorseMalone]

@@leehighland5435 Don't forget that cnut Vine.

[@ArtyEffem]

Like millions of others, I never understood how they got on to Jewish TV. Oh wait, I get it now.

[@tonyrobinson362]

They were better than anyting on tv today.

[@FactsVerseUK]

Well said, we strongly concur! Thank you for watching our content and for sharing your thoughts. What other types of video would you like to see?

[@tonyrobinson362]

@@FactsVerseUK Cannonball would be good that good old trucking show I can still sing the theme tune.

[@johnathandaviddunster38]

@@FactsVerseUK jim Davidson, the krankies , hale and pace , little and large , donny Osmond, the bay city rollers , the magic roundabout ,

[@sebastianmoran.]

"The essence of British comedy"! LOL

[@ianhepplewhite8334]

My own feelings seem to be echoed by others here. They were familiar figures and likeable characters, ‘but’ I’m afraid I didn’t find them particularly funny, especially as a teenager from 1966, then seemed very uncool.

[@brianchandler1365]

1948 was a bad winter..these two were far worse!!

[@LANCSKID]

What happened to Schnorbitz?

[@KPate-y5z]

Most critics regarded them as the poor man's Morecambe and Wise. I hate being mean as they are no longer with us but I agree with that opinion.

[@sgtcrabfat]

Some of these comments are funnier than their show was.

[@FactsVerseUK]

Thanks for watching! We're glad to know that you love our video. If we may ask, what other types of video would you like to see on Facts Verse UK?

[@sazzieb1]

Mike was a lovely man by all accounts. Bernie a nasty bit of work. My Aunt worked at the Sparrows Nest theatre at the height of their fame. She said Mike had time for everyone but Bernie was rude, arrogant & downright cruel especially to Mike. Another friend of mine was at a petrol station years after Mike & Bernie had split. They noticed a big rolls Royce & his dog Snorbitz in the back with presumably his wife in the front. My friend & his wife waved at Mrs Winters & were ignored. When Bernie returned to the car his wife spoke to him. My friends waved again & both Bernie & his wife responded with a middle finger & drove off. Celebrities are only where they are because of fans- he lost 2 that day. It's well documented by other sources that Bernie was not a nice man.

[@johnkemp908]

I thought they were shite.

[@johnrider3749]

No they were never that good,

[@raycope2086]

Bless you, padre.

[@fernbracken]

they were friends of lew grade known to friends and enemies alike as low grade John Lennon described the as a couple of daft poofs

[@pitbull2005]

They were about as funny as Cannon and Ball

[@FactsVerseUK]

We absolutely agree! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. Be safe and have a great day!

[@UniqueSundials]

Now we have Nish Kumar he the least funny man I have ever seen

[@daniellatheczarina2u915]

Nobody was as unfunny as Cannon &;Ball

[@daniellatheczarina2u915]

On a par with the Chuckle Brothers

[@DJF1947]

'Islington' is pronounced, Izz-ling-ton, NOT eye-ling-ton.

[@davidjuson5608]

Flicking quickly through the comments you'd expect to find a fan or two. Apparently not (I may have flicked past a couple?) I dimly recall them being good television hosts, but I think it's telling that the video doesn't show a single exchange of banter, a sketch or ... or anything.

[@muttman325]

Their impact on british comedy IS deniable. Incidentally look up carol Deker of T'pow (china in your hands). She had a very weird anecdote about Bernie winters when the band were staying in the same hotel as he just after snorbitz had died. Very creepy.

[@paulweir5031]

Try learning grammar and spelling.

[@laurencesmith2199]

I remember that Yorkshire band , although everybody else knew them as The Pau .

[@fezhat7096]

Batman is fighting The Joker. The Joker picks up a tea cup and hits him with it. "T'PAU" shouts The Joker. "Wait," says Batman, "Shouldn't that be KAPOW ?" "No," says The Joker, "I've got china in my hand."

[@muttman325]

@@paulweir5031 this is youtube. Tapped out on a phone not hansard.

[@curlyken01]

@@paulweir5031...Try keeping your thoughts to yourself.

[@taylorandtang]

The Ant & Dec of their time 😂

[@billynuts1184]

britains worst two winters

[@MissMarceline-wp6oq]

I only remember Bernie because of that cute dog who was his best friend.

[@shauncorless8965]

The winters of 47 and 63 were bad but those two winters were worse 😮

[@mikekemp9877]

they played the graveyard of comics ,saturday night at the glasgow empire! des o connor recalled the audiences were so feared that he once feigned a heart attack to get off! the mc said the is there a doctor in the house the artiste is dying! the crowd applauded and shouted more! anyway the winters did their act .mike came on did a bit of patter to complete silence! then comic bernie stuck his head through the curtain and announced himself in funny bowler hat wit ....wheeeeee! nobody reacted ! then a lone voice shouted ..fuck me ..theres two of them! michael grade who booked them said problem was thats the best audience they had all tour! they were ghastly! he went on most of their success was due to a sudden love of double acts on stage and tv and a great agent joe collins! joe was cunning .if you wanted another of his stars you had to book the boys.so if you wanted frankie vaughn or dickey valentine you had to book the winters brothers! on tv it was even simpler they needed prime time shows.so if jewell and warris or morecambe and wise were busy the boys were third choice! the producers said how bad can they be? mike and bernie showed them! remember this was two channel tv. people would watch anything .as long as it had the vestiges of a variety show anything could get 10million viewers on saturday night people stayed tuned and put up with them to see the guest stars the beatles alma cogan or shirley bassey! when audiences got more sophisticated in the 70s they couldnt get work and broke up.they had a good run though without any appreciable talent!

[@glennjenkinson1103]

They were seriously, unfunny.

[@willdraper8384]

Worst 2 winters Britain suffered were not 1942 & 1963, it was Mike & Bernie.

[@happi-bollox]

Honestly.... They were as funny as earache!

[@iandann8788]

good comments below .I was never a fan

[@JIMMYBUSHIDO]

Just a poor imitation of Dean and Jerry 😴

[@glen1555]

Now I understand their act, so ITV said we need our version of D&J and we got them. They copied them even down to the accremoneous breakup

[@jeeperspeepers8323]

I’d never heard of them.

[@YankMcGill]

Who remembers those terrible awful winters? Mike and Bernie

[@golden.lights.twinkle2329]

Never liked them that much. I think they got funnier the more drinks you had. Always preferred Morecambe and Wise. I remember another British comedy duo called Jewel and Warriss.

[@less-stress.london4531]

Joe Collins, Joan & Jackie's dad?

[@Treviscoe]

Yes, that's the one.

[@outfoxthefox]

I saw Bernis in the play "The Odd Couple" with Pete Murry, much better than I thought it have been. Never broke character.

[@DVB0]

If you're going to steal Graham McCann's entire research from a website at least credit or acknowledge you're doing so. And ask permission to do it.

[@johnmorgan1102]

Is ling ton. Not Isle lington

[@HorseMalone]

Many older folk will recall that the worst winters in the UK were in 1947 and in 1963..However in actual fact, Mike and Bernie were the worst by far. They were as entertaining as a turd in a bowl of soup.

[@trevorkeyes6067]

Very sad

[@lin9821]

I must’ve missed the comedy as I found them as funny as a dose of the shits 😢

[@johnhorton8390]

Bernie Winters gave me half a crown tip when I waited on him in a nightclub in the mid sixties.

[@Treviscoe]

What a lovely story, thanks for sharing it.

[@robertdragoff6909]

They sound like a British version of the Righteous Brothers….

[@wentonmastermind]

The Righteous Brothers were supremely talented singers. The Winter Brothers were a waste of space.

[@davehoward22]

Up there with little and large and cannon and ball as I remember

[@judex3226]

Ok ok they weren’t funny but people making jokes about them dying isn’t really necessary is it ?