Frank Carson (born November 6, 1926) is a comedian and actor. Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, but he now lives in Normoss area of Blackpool, he came to England to work as a stand-up comedian and had success on the long running music-hall revival show on TV, The Good Old Days. Carson won the peak-viewing national favourite talent show Opportunity Knocks, presented by the veteran actor Hughie Green, several times. His style of telling jokes and good material came over well on TV and he was one of the most noticeable of the acts when he appeared on The Comedians (1971). This was a novel TV show at the time and consisted of a half hour of non-stop stand-up comedy from several comedians per show. It became a hit in the UK and Frank Carson's career was established from then on. The show started success for a long list of UK comedians, many of whom are still working today.
The Comedians led to similar shows, Who Do You Do? and The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club. The last was an attempt to bring the northern English working man's club show to TV. Frank Carson was a regular on TV for many years after The Comedians, also working as a stage entertainer and appearing before the royal family in shows. Carson's two catchphrases, "It's a cracker!" and "It's the way I tell 'em!" never seem to fail when he appears before an audience, and he often tells 'Irish jokes'. i.e. jokes mocking an Irishman in a mild way.
He had heart surgery in 1976 and it was suggested that this would mean he would retire. But he continued working - he becme a regular on the ATV childrens' series Tiswas - and also went into making TV acting appearances and also acting in two cinema films in the nineties, and directing a film in 2002. Today he is still working, making live appearances, and doing charity work for which he was awarded a papal knighthood by the Pope.
