March 21
[ 2007-03-21 08:00 ]
 |
| Eric and Ernie were
given OBE's in 1976 |
| 1999: Comedy genius Ernie Wise
dies |
England have
One of Britain's most loved and most successful comedians, Ernie Wise,
has died aged 73.
The news of his death at about 0700 GMT in the Nuffield Hospital, in
Wexham Park, near Slough, has plunged the world of show business into
mourning.
He was being cared for at the hospital after returning to the UK this
month following a triple bypass operation in Florida in January.
It is understood the hospital reported he was well at 0615 but Mrs Wise
was called 15 minutes later because his condition had deteriorated .
By the time she arrived at his bedside, her husband of 46 years, had
died.
His illness began when he fell ill at his holiday home in Boca Raton,
on Florida's east coast, days after celebrating his birthday in November
last year.
He suffered two heart attacks within a week and spent almost three
weeks in intensive care, before undergoing the six-and-a-half hour triple
heart bypass operation.
Two weeks ago the star, who shared a mansion on the River Thames with
his wife at Maidenhead, Berkshire, was flown back from the US by air
ambulance.
Born Ernie Wiseman, he forged his comedy partnership with Eric
Bartholomew when he was 16, in the 1940s.
But Wiseman and Bartholomew was too long for bright-lights and
billboards and they renamed as Morecambe and Wise.
For four decades, the duo whose Christmas specials became a national
institution, captured the public's affection with a mix of
self-deprecating charm and schoolboy humour.
They were both awarded OBEs in 1976.
Their theme tune was Bring Me Sunshine but the final curtain came with
Morecambe's death in Gloucestershire from heart failure in May 1984, aged
57.
Ernie described it as the saddest day of his life.
Wise's death comes just days after that of 71-year-old Sid Green,
co-writer of classic sketches for Morecambe and Wise. |
|
|
|
 |
| Men, women and children
fled 'like rabbits' as police opened fire |
|
1960: Scores die in Sharpeville
shoot-out | Artificially 1969:
The More than
50 blacks were killed when police opened fire on a "peaceful" protest in
the South African township of Sharpeville.
Eye-witnesses said men, women and children fled 'like rabbits' as up to
300 officers began randomly shooting into a 5,000-strong crowd outside the
municipal offices in Sharpeville.
Scores of injured have been taken to Baragwanath hospital near
Johannesburg suffering gun-shot wounds.
It is not yet clear why the police, in armoured vehicles, opened fire
at approximately 1315 local time today, although it is understood some
protesters had been stone-throwing.
Non-violent campaign
Between 5,000 and 7,000 people had gathered at Sharpeville police
station to protest against the pass laws, which they claim are designed by
an apartheid government to seriously restrict their movement in white
areas.
The laws, which require all black men and women to carry reference
books containing their personal details including name, tax code and
employer details, have this year been extended to all black women as well
as men.
The law states that anyone found in a public place without their book
will be arrested and detained for up to 30 days.
PAC leader, Robert Subukwe, said today's march was intended to be the
first of a five-day, non-violent campaign by black Africans to persuade
the government to abolish the laws.
The aim was for all black Africans to leave their pass books at home
and present themselves at police stations for arrest.
This, said Mr Subukwe, would cause prisons to become overcrowded,
labour to dry up and the economy to grind to a halt.
But three hours after it began, the 'peaceful' gathering had turned
into a blood-bath.
It is understood police attempted to disperse the crowd with a squadron of
low-flying aircraft before drafting in extra reinforcements.
Police Commander D H Pienaar said: "It started when hordes of natives
surrounding the police station.
"If they do these things, they must learn their lessons the hard
way." |
|
| Vocabulary:
|
| |
|
deteriorate: To grow worse;
degenerate（使惡化）
disperse : To drive off or scatter
in different
directions（分散；疏散）
|
|
