John Eric Bartholomew, OBE (14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984), known by his stage name Eric Morecambe, was an English comedian who together with Ernie Wise formed the double act Morecambe and Wise. The partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death in 1984. Morecambe took his stage name from his home town, the seaside resort of Morecambe in Lancashire.
He was the co-star of the BBC1's television series The Morecambe & Wise Show, which for the 1977 Christmas episode gained UK viewing figures of over 28 million people. One of the most prominent comedians in British popular culture, in 2002 he was named one of the 100 Greatest Britons in a BBC poll.
Eric Morecambe was born at 12.30pm on 14 May 1926 at 42 Buxton Street, Morecambe, Lancashire to George and Sarah Elizabeth "Sadie" (née Robinson) Bartholomew. He was christened on 6 June as John Eric Bartholomew. Sadie took work as a waitress to raise funds for his dancing lessons. During this period, Eric Bartholomew won numerous talent contests, including one in Hoylake in 1940 for which the prize was an audition in Manchester for Jack Hylton. Three months after the audition, Hylton invited Morecambe to join a revue called Youth Takes a Bow at the Nottingham Empire, where he met Ernest Wiseman, who had been appearing in the show for some years as "Ernest Wise". The two soon became very close friends, and with Sadie's encouragement started to develop a double act.

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