Stephen describes himself as 'an experienced feature writer and critic, who with his wife Deirdre Falvey (also a journalist) wrote what has been called "the definitive book on modern Irish stand-up comedy", Gift of the Gag. He also regularly broadcasts on Irish radio, doing spots based around his collection of Variety and Novelty records, and writing and presenting his own series for RTE Lyric.' More can be found here a b Freda Utley, The High Cost of Vengeance Henry Regnery Company, Chicago (1948) Chapter 7, pp 188–189 Köbenhavn, Kalundborg, og – ? (Denmark 1934) (this uses sequences from the otherwise lost On the Air)

A Ray of Sunshine (UK 1950) – variety acts linked together by comedian Ted Ray, with Patsy as ‘Betty’ New York Clipper, April 26, 1862, p. 14. Editor Frank Queen, in his account of the April 16, 1862 challenge dance, noted that Peel "brought out from the wings a paper of sand, which he scattered on the lower side of the stage where the principal part of the dancing took place" and that Carroll "also scattered the sand around with a free hand." Voice of Jean Kent - "It was just so different from everybody else. I mean, there was just absolutely nobody else doing that kind of act. It was absolutely original. Wilson, Keppel and Betty Knox in a clip from the otherwise lost British film On the Air (1934). The clip survives in a Danish compilation film København, Kalundborg og – ? (1934) The triad presented pallid mask-like unblinking and expressionless expressions that gave the impression that they couldn’t care where they were or who was there, and gave off an aura of pathological boredom marinated in indifference such as is common to month old corpses.Further proof of how this music hall act still captures the imagination is seen in a commission for a costume interpretation by the Victoria and Albert Museum details of which can be found here

Denise arrived onto the stage in a chair being carried by four burly men before launching into the dance. The trio came to my attention when I appeared in the shilling seats of the Palace Theatre in Huddersfield in the late forties, and they appeared on the stage. Their appearance alone was worth more than a shilling to me, and if they had done nothing more than stand there in their costumes with those looks on their faces, I would have laughed until I died, but they moved with all manner of antique and exotic mannerisms, presenting to my startled eyes my first vision of what some have simplistically called ‘legmania.’ Their "Cleopatra's Nightmare" routine was performed in 1936 in Berlin and condemned by Joseph Goebbels as indecent. [10] In the UK they were regarded as one of the best 'speciality acts' – acts designed to balance and support the star of a variety programme. Typically these acts would last about ten minutes, and be repeated twelve times a week (matinee and evening performance, every day except Sunday) in variety theatres all over the country. A fine example of the "Cleopatra's Nightmare" routine can be seen in the Harold Baim film Starlight Serenade. Coming in a strong third place was Mark Kirwan-Hayhoe’s Transvestite Vampire Biker Nuns from Outer Space: A Consideration of Cult Film (MKH) with 20.7% of the vote. Christopher Herwig’s Soviet Bus Stops (Fuel) came in fourth at 14.9%.Betty added glamour, and Wilson and Keppel added absolute seriousness, which added to the hilarity. As the years went by, their entertainment became even more amusing as the gentlemen grew older and became more gaunt. Betty, by contrast, remained ever a young pulchritudinous beauty, because every few years she was changed for a younger model. In all there were three Bettys who were grandmother, mother, and daughter. Knox's daughter, Patsy Knox, took over as 'Betty' in 1942, staying with the act until 1950. The trio, in its various line-ups, appeared at the Royal Variety Performance in 1933, [11] 1945 and 1947. Variety theater sand jigs, including "Kitty O'Neil's Champion Jig" and "Kitty Sharpe's Champion Jig" can be found in Elias Howe and William Bradbury Ryan, Ryan's Mammoth Collection... (Boston: Elias Howe, 1883). As the performance concluded that 'doyenne' of British Entertainment, Bruce Forsythe paid the couple the ultimate compliment by comparing them to the incomparable Wilson, Keppel and Betty - the legend lives on!

Richard Crean, the Palladium’s musical director, fell ill only a few days before the performance. His place was taken by George Deacon, the leader of the orchestra. l to r - Reading from Behind / Paper Folding with Children / Behind the Binoculars / Reading the Liver / Soviet Bus Stops / T ransvestite Vampire Biker Nuns from Outer Space / Too Naked for the Nazis See how they recreated the poses originated by Wilson and Keppel here BBCs 'What a Performance - Pioneers of Popular Entertainment' The supreme eccentric dance act of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, Wilson, Keppel and Betty still hold sway fifty years after their disbandment. Theirs is a remarkable achievement. Many speech-based comedy routines of that period now appear to be resoundingly awful, their jokes no better than those found in juvenile comics. But Wilson, Keppel and Betty created something new, the appeal of which seems ageless. They were sand dancers, who established a routine they called Cleopatras Nightmare. It was carefully constructed over several years. The common view now is that it was immutable just like other music hall and variety acts who were able to travel throughout Britain never needing to change their routines. All that is wrong. Wilson, Keppel and Betty did alter their act, although the changes were mostly cosmetic. Their followers were happy to watch their turn time and time again and demand nothing very much different.

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Dame Barbara enjoying a riotous end to the recording with Alan Stafford and Stephen Garner - thanks to Alan for posting this very personal image on Fb for others to enjoy. Excellent example of the painstakingly beautiful 'copperplate' hand written graphics that accompanied the 'fan' cards

In addition to 1947, Wilson Keppel and Betty had also entertained in 1933 and 1945 - sourced from the British Newspaper Archive Some Action shots for you to enjoy in the meantime - I have tried to capture the essence of Wilson, Keppel and the energy of Betty in this 21st century representation.An iconic picture of Wilson Keppel and Betty taken in October 1939 and featuring their autographs. 1937 - Soft Lights and Sweet Music (UK 1936) – Wilson, Keppel and Betty Knox – an outstanding performance with more lavish sets than usual London’s Clubs and Cabarets (Pathétone Weekly no. 164) (UK 1933) – a performance in London at the Trocadero club, with Wilson, Keppel and Betty Knox Comedy series following Steven Toast, an eccentric middle-aged actor with a chequered past who spends more time dealing with his problems off stage than performing on it ." Stafford’s research is excellent, not least in how he steers round the complexities of the trio’s filmography. They appeared in a number of variety feature films, in which the plot – such as it was – strung together a succession of variety acts. Some of these films are lost, but such was the nature of variety films that bits could be cut up and inserted into later films, and this is what frequently happened to Wilson, Keppel and Betty. Telling one clip from another is not always easy, and though most can be found on YouTube in one form or another, they are seldom identified by film title or date – simply because those posting the clips don’t know. I’ve used this post to bring together the main clips of the trio that are available in this way, also placing them chronologically.