The Resume

(August 13, 1930-June 18, 2007)
Born in Manchester, England, United Kingdom
British stand up comedian
Appeared on the Granada TV show 'The Comedians' (1971)
Fixture on the Northern England Working Men's Club Circuit
Owned and frequently appeared at the Embassy in Manchester

Why he might be annoying:

He weighed over 300 pounds.
In interviews, he would constantly boast about his wealth and his Rolls Royce.
His act featured jokes based on ethnic and racial stereotyping.
He said he would never use the word 'wogs' in his act, but 'niggers' and 'coons' were acceptable.
He was denounced in Parliament after he was secretly taped telling racist jokes at a police function (1996).
He was banned from performing at the seaside resort of Weymouth (2002).
He told a reporter, 'I am an admirer of Adolf Hitler. Not everything about him of course.... But I admire him for the things he got right, which I reckon was about 50%.'

Why he might not be annoying:

He denied being racist, saying 'I get up on stage and do an act. It's not me, just as an actor playing a part in a film isn't the character.'
He lived next door to an Indian doctor and his family, who repeatedly defended Manning in the press as 'a perfect gentleman.'
His biographer said, 'He was a man of his age -- and as people of his age went, he was relatively un-racist.'
He said, 'I dragged myself up by my bootlaces. I don't drink or smoke, I don't take drugs. I have never been a womaniser. I was brought up right with good parents and I have never been in trouble or harmed no-one.'
He refused to tone down his act, costing him television gigs.
If the audience reacted badly to his Jewish jokes, he would note, 'One of my relatives died at Auschwitz.' And then add, 'He fell out of one of the watchtowers.'

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• 100 Worst Britons [Channel 4 Britain - May 10, 2003] (Ranked: 16)
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 53]
• Catholics who are Partially Jewish
• Celebrities Born on the Same Date [August] (Ranked: 8131930)
• Celebrity Manchester City Fans
• Fat Comedians
• I am from Manchester
• I Did Not Graduate High School [J-M]
• I Died in 2007 (Ranked: 76)
• I Died in the City I Was Born In
• I Drive a Rolls-Royce
• I Have Diabetes
• Look at Me, I Got My Hands Clasped
• Look at My Halo
• Males Pied [K-Z]
• Offensive Comedians
• Profiles 35501-35750 (Ranked: 35658)
• Too Old to Still Live at Home

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 16 Votes: 87.50% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 67 Votes: 77.61% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 11 Votes: 63.64% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 29 Votes: 41.38% Annoying