Merseyside Mirth Makers - Stan Boardman

Stan Boardman

Stanley Boardman was born on the 7th December 1937 in Huyton, Liverpool and was one of 10 children – seven sisters and two brothers.  His brother John died after six months and Tommy, who was three years older than him died when a German bomb blew up the air-raid shelter they’d taken cover in during the Liverpool Blitz. They had been evacuated to Wrexham but the family returned to their Merseyside home, mistakenly thinking the area had escaped the German bombs.
"Our house in Kirkdale backed on to a chip shop and it went during the Blitz. It was totally wiped out. All I can remember is my dad and my grandad in those growing up years saying how the 'Germans bombed our chippie'. This became his catchphrase in later years.

Stan with the memorial plaque to his brother Tommy

He loved football and although he played for Liverpool FC for two years and signed for Tranmere Rovers, he never made the first team because he got his call-up papers for the Army and joined the Royal Engineers in Hampshire. During his National Service he was stationed in Germany and in 1957 played in the German football league for a year; he was the only Englishman.
Later, he worked as a pipe fitter and had his own haulage firm. With his wife Vivienne they took their twins on their first holiday to Butlins in 1976. The children encouraged him to get up on stage, telling jokes in a talent contest, which he won. What he didn't realise was that there were more heats, ending with a final at The London Palladium where he won £1,000.
He recalled “The producers of Opportunity Knocks heard about it and put me on the show the next week. Although I didn’t win the audience vote with the clap-o-meter, I returned three more times in front of 20 million TV viewers. Opportunity Knocks was huge for me and I got recognised and stopped everywhere I went".
This led to presenting work and spots on TV shows including 'Seaside Special' and 'Summertime Special', resulting in non-stop work in summer seasons, panto and variety shows. It was no surprise when he was asked to take over as host of Southern Television’s popular children’s series 'Runaround'.  Stan followed previous hosts Leslie Crowther and fellow comedian Mike Reid.

 However it was 'The Comedians' that turned this former pipe-welder, rubbish tipper and holiday camp talent hopeful into a household name. Stan made a big impression on the show and then went on to take show business by the proverbial storm. He made it to the London Palladium and from that moment on his career took off. However, after the success of The Comedians and many television appearances, the most notable was on 'Des O’ Connor Tonight' when his infamous “Fockers” joke saw him disappear from our TV screens for quite a while.
He has consistently toured and become the master of after-dinner speaking. Stan even made his film debut as a gay gangster in the Liverpool-based film 'Going off Big Time'.
Stan is an avid supporter of Liverpool FC and is a regular player on the Charity Golf Circuit, contributing to a number of charities including, The Roy Castle Foundation, Variety Club of Great Britain, The Sam Appeal, Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Clare House and many more.

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