Jerry Stevens

Jerry Stevens was an all-round Anglo-Italian multi-talented show-business entertainer popular during the 1960s to 1980s specialising in comedy impersonations, singing, acting and compere work. He was born Gerard Pinder in Sheffield, South Yorkshire to James and Marie Pinder. Before entering show-business he trained as a Pattern Maker at one of Sheffield's largest Engineering firms - Davy United. Initially performing in UK Working Men's Clubs in Sheffield (where he appeared with later legendary Irish comedian Dave Allen), he moved to London in the early 1960s where his career took off, appearing in numerous TV Entertainment Shows (such as, 'Blackpool Night Out' & 'The Ken Dodd TV Show' 1967). Compere work on the concert stage included a tour with The Beatles, The Moody Blues and The Paramounts (later Procol Harum) in late 1965. Jerry can be briefly seen entering the fab foursome's dressing room in Ron Howard's bio-movie, "The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years" (2016). Tours with other big-name stars of the day such as Johnny Mathis duly followed but his main work at this period concentrated on the burgeoning sixties cabaret circuit (for example with popular Canadian baritone Edmund Hockridge at the Cavendish Nightclub in Sheffield 1967). By the following decade Jerry was to have compared Hollywood star Telly Savalas' UK Tour to promote the actor's hit UK record single, "If", but unfortunately the tour was never finalised. He married his wife Carole in 1967 (later divorced - they had two children, Marcus and Nicola)) and a year earlier he signed with CBS/Columbia Records. His vinyl recordings included the 1967 Andre Manoukian and Pierre Cour's popular Eurovision hit, "Love Is Blue." A vinyl LP, "So This Is Love" (CBS Catalogue 62954) was also released in '67 which was endorsed by the legendary Dusty Springfield who wrote the sleeve notes. By the 1980s BBC Television teamed Jerry with fellow comedian Lennie Bennett in an effort to replace comedy duo Morecambe & Wise who had left the Corporation to work for Independent Television. This partnership was fruitful but ultimately short-lived. As well as having their own Saturday night prime-time TV Show (with guests ranging from Joan Collins to actor Doug McClure) they also made guest appearances on well-established fayre such as, "The Good Old Days" Variety Show and "The Shirley Bassey Show" (both 1979). Working solo once again he appeared in a 1987 episode of the hit BBC TV comedy series, "In Sickness and in Health" as the neighbour of loveable London east-end bigot Alf Garnett (played by the superb Warren Mitchell). An accomplished amateur golfer Jerry won the Bob Hope UK Pro-Celebrity golf tournament in 1981 and later organised various showbiz golf games in the UK and abroad. He lived in the Wembley area of southern England. Jerry died in November 2022 after heart complications.