Editing Ernie Wise (section)

==Performing career==
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In August 1940, Wise met [[Eric Morecambe]], then known as Eric Bartholomew, when they were both in the touring Jack Hylton show "Youth takes a Bow".<ref>{{cite journal |title=Surrey Advertiser |journal=Surrey Advertiser |date=10 August 1940 |page=6}}</ref>

Gradually, the duo formed a close friendship, and, in 1941, they began their comedy [[double act]], which was to last until Morecambe's death in 1984. They made their debut together as "Bartholomew and Wise" on Thursday 28 August 1941, at the [[Liverpool Empire Theatre|Liverpool Empire]]. A change of name followed in the autumn: after agreeing that the combination of their respective places of birth—[[Morecambe]] and Leeds—would make the act sound too much like a [[Off-Peak Day Return ticket|cheap day return]], they settled on "Morecambe and Wise".

Both continued to work in theatre comedy during the [[Second World War]] until late 1943, when Morecambe went down a coal mine at [[Accrington]] (as a [[Bevin Boy]]) and Wise served in the [[Merchant Navy]].

They reunited after the war and made their name in radio, transferring to television in April 1954—although their first TV series, ''[[Running Wild (1954 TV series)|Running Wild]]'', was unsuccessful. In 1961, they gained their own series on [[Associated Television|ATV]], which was a success and raised their profile. They transferred to the [[BBC]] in 1968. Over a period of more than twenty years, Morecambe and Wise had regular series with both [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] and BBC. In 1976, they were both appointed [[Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom|OBEs]].

Wise was commonly regarded as the [[double act|straight man]] of the partnership, although his role gradually and subtly changed over the years. When [[Eddie Braben]] took over as their chief writer, he enriched Wise's persona by making him pompous and naive. Wise's character changed from being a conventional straight man into a pretentious and self-satisfied buffoon. Braben also made Wise a would-be writer; their BBC shows in the 1970s would regularly climax with an extended sketch, introduced by Wise as "a play what I wrote." It was in such a 'play' that [[Glenda Jackson]], at the height of her career, was made to speak the line "All men are fools, and what makes them so is having beauty like what I have got."