Eddie Large

Edward Hugh McGinnis (25 June 1941 – 2 April 2020), better known by the stage name Eddie Large, was a British comedian. He was best known as one half of the double act Little and Large, with Syd Little (the stage name of Cyril Mead).

Early life

Large was born Edward Hugh McGinnis in Glasgow in 1941.<ref name="GUAR">Template:Cite news</ref> His father Teddy served as a Petty Officer in the Royal Navy during World War II and after he returned from the war the family moved to a tenement in Oatlands.<ref name=Autobiography>Template:Cite book</ref> When he was nine years old, the family moved again to Manchester, where he attended Claremont Road Primary School<ref name=wythenshawe>Wythenshawe Famous locals Little and Large Retrieved 11 February 2016</ref> and a grammar school.<ref>Who's Who on Television. ITV Books, 1982</ref> He played football as a schoolboy, becoming a supporter of nearby Manchester City which had its ground opposite his home,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and he maintained a lifelong devotion to the club. After he left school, he worked as an electrician and was a singer.<ref name="EXPR">Template:Cite news</ref>

Little and Large

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Large met singer and guitarist Cyril Mead in the Stonemason's Arms pub in Timperley and they formed a double act following the reaction to Eddie's comic heckling of Cyril,<ref name=wythenshawe></ref> who switched to comedy. The duo then performed in northern clubs, turning professional in 1963.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As Little and Large, the two men began their television career on the talent show Opportunity Knocks winning in 1971<ref name="IND1">Template:Cite news</ref> and starred in many television comedy programmes, including their own series The Little and Large Show<ref name="GUAR" /> and the ITV series Who Do You Do? doing impressions and also performing as pantomime stars.<ref name="BBCN">Template:Cite news</ref>

In an interview in 2010, Large said that he and Syd Little had not spoken to each other for several years.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During the 2010–11 football season, football entertainment show Soccer AM produced comedy sketches with Peterborough footballer Mark Little, and Eddie Large, as the newly reformed Little and Large.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Later career

Large worked on the after-dinner circuit<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and, in the latter years of his life, performed some cameo acting roles in dramas such as The Brief and Blackpool.<ref name="BBCN" /> His autobiography, entitled Larger than Life, was published in 2005.<ref name="METR">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2013, Large released his first single without Little, a parody of "Je t'aime... moi non plus" by Serge Gainsbourg entitled "Gee Musky... Moi Non Plus".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Personal life and death

Large married his first wife, Sandra Baywood, in 1965. The marriage ended in divorce, with Large marrying his second wife, Patsy Scott, in 1983.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Large lived in Portishead, near Bristol, with his wife Patsy and 26-year-old son.<ref name="BBCN" /> He also had two daughters and three grandchildren.<ref name="GUAR" />

After being admitted to hospital in March 2002 due to kidney problems, Large underwent a heart transplant at Papworth Hospital, Cambridge in 2003 at the age of 62, and recovered fully.<ref name="BBCN" /> Large was hospitalised for some weeks in late 2013 after tripping over a road sign near his Portishead home.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Large died on 2 April 2020, aged 78 at Southmead Hospital in Bristol after contracting Covid19 while receiving treatment for heart failure. Large had suffered from kidney and heart problems for a number of years.<ref name="METR" /> Large's funeral took place at South Bristol Crematorium on 24 April 2020, in Bristol, with Syd Little in attendance, who said that Large was his "best friend".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

External links

• Eddie Large at the British Film Institute
• [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if: 0488116

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