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The late comedy star came to the seaside town in the 90s to star in my film Funny Bones. Working with him was a masterclass in comic acting – and in charm

We wrote Funny Bones with four actors in mind: Jerry Lewis, Leslie Caron, George Carl and Freddie Davies. As hardly ever happens, none of them died, and they all said yes.

I first met Jerry in Las Vegas, where we rehearsed. Walking through the crowded gambling floor of a Vegas casino with Jerry, the reactions ranged from hysteria to the shock that comes with seeing a ghost. He’s alive! Very much alive. (In fact, he was a very sprightly 69.)

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Sometimes it’s important to press the pause button on whatever trash TV I’m currently consuming to spread some good news about a good cause. And no, this is not a fake-out setup to a post about Tenley being the true villain of this season of Bachelor Pad (even though she is). Today the celebrity lineup for the Stand Up To Cancer primetime telethon — set to air Sept. 10 at 8 p.m. Et — grew exponentially, with the following folks signed on to participate (in alphabetical order, because it’s that sort of gig): Elizabeth Banks, Kathy Bates, Sir Richard Branson,...

Peter Chelsom, 1995

Funny Bones – it's a film about being funny and about being yourself, about being funny as an expression, a definition of self. I think it's a vastly under-appreciated piece that actually manages to apologise (fully and in advance) for its co-writer and director, Peter Chelsom, having gone on to direct the otherwise inexcusable Hannah Montana: The Movie.

The general scarcity of appreciation is, of course, no surprise – Funny Bones fits into no known genre and makes no compromises about its many, many peculiarities. It nods fondly in the direction of vaudeville pieces such as Duck Soup and has the humanity, imagination and emotional range of a good screwball comedy. The plot is a law unto itself. We begin all at sea and stay there – encountering violent death, magical powder, corrupt policemen, adultery, flashbacks, theft, comedy turns, despair, classic patter and commedia dell'arte. Tommy Fawkes, the son of famous comic George Fawkes,...