Johnnie Casson is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 comedian

Comedian

A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...

 who has appeared on numerous occasions on British television, notably on ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

's The Comedians and many guest spots on Des O'Connor

Des O'Connor

Des O'Connor, CBE is an English comedian and singer. A former talkshow host, he was the presenter of the long-running Channel 4 gameshow Countdown for two years...

 Tonight.

Early career

Casson was born 23 April 1943 in Halifax

Halifax, West Yorkshire

Halifax is a minster town, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well-known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece...

, West Riding of Yorkshire

West Riding of Yorkshire

The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...

. After leaving school ( St Bede's Grammar Bradford), Casson joined a band called The Crestas as their drummer. The Crestas supported The Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

 on their first tour of Scotland, and worked many major cabaret venues, such as Batley Variety Club, Wakefield Theatre Club, Caesars Palace, The Maltings, where they backed Tammy Wynette on several TV specials. With The Cresters he appeared regularly on TV shows such as Cliff Richard

Cliff Richard

Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....

 & Friends and gaining an army of fans when the band were selected for a long residency on Granada TV.

While on the cabaret circuit Casson not only drummed, but started performing comedy. The comedy gradually became more popular than the music and in 1984, whilst on a family holiday at a Butlins

Butlins

Butlins is a chain of large holiday camps in the United Kingdom. Butlins was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families....

 Holiday Camp, his wife entered him into that week's talent contest. He won the contest, which meant a free holiday to appear in the regional finals, which he again won. The grand final was held at the London Palladium

London Palladium

The London Palladium is a 2,286 seat West End theatre located off Oxford Street in the City of Westminster. From the roster of stars who have played there and many televised performances, it is arguably the most famous theatre in London and the United Kingdom, especially for musical variety...

 and Casson was again the judges choice. Following this, and a winning slot on Hughie Green

Hughie Green

Hughie Green was the host of numerous British television shows.-Early life:Hugh H. Green was born in London; his Scottish father was a former British Army Major who made his fortune supplying tinned fish to the Allied forces in World War I, while his mother Violet was the Surrey-born daughter of...

's Opportunity Knocks, he decided it was time to break from The Crestas, and went on the road as a solo stand-up

Stand-up comedy

Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...

comedian.

TV Highlights

1987 ITV Summer Time Special

1992 ITV The New Comedians (Featured in all five shows); ITV Celebrity Squares

1993 BBC1 Rock With Laughter; ITV Comedians Christmas Cracker

1995 ITV Talking Telephone Numbers; GRANADA/LWT Live From The Lillydrome; SKY ONE Stand & Deliver;

1996 BBC 1 Gag-Tag; SKY ONE Stand & Deliver; ITV Des O'Connor Tonight, Talking Telephone Numbers

1998 ITV Des O’Connor Tonight, Bruce Forsyth's 70th Birthday Live from the London Palladium; CHANNEL 5 Jack Docherty Show

1999 ITV Des O’Connor Tonight; CHANNEL 5 Big Stage

2000 ITV Tonight at the London Palladium; BBC 1 Jim Davidson Presents BBCTV Money In The Bank

2001 ITV Des O’Connor Christmas Show

2002 - 2006 ITV Des & Mel (6 appearances)

2007 Ch 4 Countdown (Dictionary Corner)

2009 Ch 4 The Paul O'Grady Show