THE PATTON BROTHERS
50 Years On.....
Brian and Jimmy
Patton are celebrating their 52nd consecutive pantomime this season at the
Albert Halls, Bolton in 'Little Red Riding Hood' – which must surely qualify them for a
pantomime record! In all those years they have never missed a performance! A
double act since 1954, the brothers come from good theatrical stock. Their
father was Gene Patton, who was with Ernie Lottonga and later with Bobby
Thompson for many years, and at one time his comic feed was the 19 year old
impressionist Peter Sellers.
The Patton’s younger brothers are “The Chuckle Brothers”, Paul and Barry, famed for “Chucklevision” and countless panto appearances, but not however as many as Brian and Jimmy! Jimmy Patton started straight from school in 1946 joining Britain’s “Dead End Kids”, and performed in five pantomimes before he was joined by his brother Brian.
Brian teamed up with Jimmy for the 1956 “Aladdin” at the Wimbledon Theatre as Chinese Policemen- a role they were to play a further many times, along with brokers men, robbers, henchmen, captain and mate, Ugly Sisters, Chief and Dame - with the “Chuckles” - but never a partridge in a pear tree!
Among the stars they have appeared with in Pantomime you can include Douglas Byng, Billy Dainty, George Lacy, Ronnie Corbett, Barbara Windsor, John Inman (at the Victoria Palace, London, and a further four pantomimes) With Leslie Crowther, Jack Tripp, Eve Boswell and Tommy Fields (Gracie’s Little Brother), Terry Scott, Ossie Morris (In Cardiff of course, his home ground) as well as Jack Milroy, Dickie Valentine and numerous stars in over fifty years.
The Patton’s have spanned the great years of pantomime and still continue to bring double mirth to pantomimes today. They recently appeared as The Ugly Sisters and the press said “They played their wicked roles to perfection and had by far the best lines in the production…”. So we should think so too! Let’s look forward to many more years of Patton Pantomimes!”
Bill West and his Harmony Boys (Brian Solo)
| Year | Theatre | Town | Pantomime |
| 1949 | Hippodrome | Dudley | Aladdin |
| 1950 | Wimbledon | Wimbledon | Aladdin |
| 1951 | Empire Theatre | Swansea | Robinson Crusoe |
THE PATTON BROTHERS IN PANTOMIME - Jimmy and Brian
| Year | Theatre | Town | Pantomime | Role | Stars |
| 1956 | Wimbledon | Wimbledon | Aladdin | Policemen | Douglas Byng, Jasmine Dee |
| 1957 | Pavilion | Glasgow | Goldilocks | Henchmen | Jack Milroy |
| 1958 | Palace | Leicester | Cinderella | Brokers Men | Freddie Sales, Anna Dawson |
| 1959 | New Theatre | Cardiff | Cinderella | Brokers Men | Billy Dainty, Ossie Morris |
| 1960 | Theatre Royal | Exeter | Babes in the Wood | Robbers | Danny O'Dea |
| 1961 | Alexandra Theatre | Birmingham | Aladdin | Policemen | Ted Hockridge, Miki & Griff |
| 1962 | Grand Theatre | Wolverhampton | Aladdin | Policemen | Ted Hockridge, Miki & Griff |
| 1963 | Princess Theatre | Torquay | Aladdin | Policemen | Eve Boswell, Miki & Griff |
| 1964 | Grand Theatre | Wolverhampton | Babes in the Wood | Robbers | John Hanson, Tommy Fields |
| 1965 | Grand Theatre | Leeds |
Robinson Crusoe
|
Captain & Mate | Ronnie Hilton, Ted Rogers, Jack Tripp |
| 1966 | Lyceum | Sheffield | Cinderella | Brokers Men | Dickie Valentine, Joe Black |
| 1967 | Princess Theatre | Torquay | Jack and the Beanstalk | Henchmen | The Rocking Berries |
| 1968 | City Varieties | Leeds | Cinderella | Brokers Men | Kenny Cantor, Grande & Mars |
| 1969 | Pavilion | Bournemouth | Cinderella | Brokers Men | Ted Rogers, Tommy Rose |
| 1970 | Alexandra Theatre | Birmingham | Cinderella | Brokers Men | Ronnie Corbett, Jean Bayless |
| 1971 | Palladium | London | Cinderella | Brokers Men | Ronnie Corbett, Terry Scott & Julian Orchard |
| 1972 | Hippodrome | Bristol | Cinderella | Brokers Men | Ronnie Corbett, John Inman & Barry Howard |
| 1973 | Palace | Manchester | Cinderella | Brokers Men | Ronnie Corbett, John Inman & Barry Howard |
| 1974 | Alexandra Theatre | Birmingham | Babes in the Wood | Robbers | Leslie Crowther, Jack Tripp |
| 1975 | Theatre Royal | Nottingham | Robin Hood | Robbers | Leslie Crowther, Jack Tripp |
| 1976 | Pavilion | Bournemouth | Robin Hood | Robbers | Leslie Crowther, Jack Tripp |
| 1977 | Theatre Royal | Norwich | Jack and the Beanstalk | Henchmen | Bill Maynard, George Lacey |
| 1978 | Adam Smith Centre | Kirkcaldy | Babes in the Wood | Robbers | Russell Hunter |
| 1979 | New Theatre | Oxford | Mother Goose | Henchmen | John Inman, Billy Burden |
| 1980 | Davenport Theatre | Stockport | Mother Goose | Henchmen | John Inman, Jane Fyffe |
| 1981 | Victoria Palace | London | Mother Goose | Henchmen | John Inman, Arthur Lowe, Ian Lavender |
| 1982 | Empire Theatre | Liverpool | Mother Goose | Henchmen | John Inman, Bill Waddington |
| 1983 | Theatre Royal | Norwich | Dick Whittington | Captain & Mate | Paul Henry, Len Howe |
| 1984 | Gaiety Theatre | Dublin | Dick Whittington | Captain & Mate | Maureen Potter |
| 1985 | Theatre Royal | Nottingham | Aladdin | Policemen | Jimmy Cricket, Barbara Windsor |
| 1986 | Gaiety Theatre | Dublin | Sleeping Beauty | Henchman | Brendan Grace |
| 1987 | Gaiety Theatre | Dublin | Sinbad the Sailor | Captain & Mate | |
| 1988 | Theatre Royal | Norwich | Robinson Crusoe | Captain & Mate | Mark Winter, Jimmy Thompson |
| 1989 | Theatre Royal | Newcastle | Cinderella | Ugly Sisters | Ronnie Corbett, Patsy Rowlands |
| 1990 | Gaiety Theatre | Dublin | Dick Whittington | Captain & Mate | Twink |
| 1991 | Churchill Theatre | Bromley | Jack and the Beanstalk | Henchmen | Ronnie Corbett, Barrie Howard |
| 1992 | Kings Theatre | Edinburgh | Dick Whittington | Captain & Mate | Allan Stennet |
| 1993 | Churchill Theatre | Bromley | Cinderella | Ugly Sisters | Ronnie Corbett, Janet Brown |
| 1994 | New Theatre | Cardiff | Cinderella | Ugly Sisters | Ronnie Corbett, Carmen Sylvera |
| 1995 | Churchill Theatre | Bromley | Aladdin | Policemen | Gloria Hunniford, Bonnie Langford |
| 1996 | Churchill Theatre | Bromley | Mother Goose | Henchmen | Ronnie Corbett, Donald Hewlett |
| 1997 | Forum | Billingham | Goldilocks | Robbers | Bobby Knutt |
| 1998 | Southport Theatre | Southport | Goldilocks | Robbers | Steven Pinder |
| 1999 | Charter Theatre | Preston | Dick Whittington | Captain & Mate | David Lonsdale |
| 2000 | Forum | Billingham | Dick Whittington | Captain & Mate | Jonathan Guy Lewis |
| 2001 | Civic Theatre | Darlington | Aladdin | Chief & Dame | The Chuckle Brothers |
| 2002 | Regent Theatre | Stoke | Aladdin | Chief & Dame | The Chuckle Brothers |
| 2003 | Arena | St. Albans | Cinderella | Ugly Sisters | Carla Bonner |
| 2004 | North Wales Theatre | Llandudno | Cinderella | Ugly Sisters | Vicki Michelle, Michael Starke |
| 2005 | North Wales Theatre | Llandudno | Jack and the Beanstalk | King & Dame | Lisa Riley |
| 2006 | Sands Centre | Carlisle | Aladdin | Policemen | Kim Gee, Neil Armstrong |
| 2007 | Albert Halls | Bolton | Little Red Riding Hood | Ted Robbins |
Related Links
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5280506.stm - Jimmy and Brian talk about their careers
http://www.thechucklebrothersontour.co.uk/brothers/index.html - Page from The Chuckle Brothers Website
This page was last updated 21st March 2007
