Jackie Wright

One of twelve children, Jackie Wright started out as a body builder in the car trade, even working for a time in America upholstering Cadillacs. After the Depression he drifted back to his native Belfast and travelled the country as a music-hall trombonist and supporting comic. By the 1960s, Jackie had drifted into television work as an extra on shows such as Z Cars (1962), and it was in that capacity that he was discovered by Benny Hill who first had him on as a supporting player on his last BBC shows in 1968, and then after Hill moved to Thames where Jackie was a constant recipient of head tappings from Benny. In addition, Wright also appeared with such comics as Dick Emery and Jim Davidson, and on Frankie Howerd's short-lived Whoops Baghdad! (1973) as well as in the movie Three for All (1975). After Benny's show made it to U.S. syndication in 1979, Jackie became a cult favorite in the States, to such an extent that a fan club sprung up in America and 'the little bald guy' received o