| 52nd | Top people from Merseyside |
| Ricky Tomlinson | |
|---|---|
 Tomlinson in 2008. |
|
| Born | Eric Tomlinson 26 September 1939 Bispham, Blackpool, Lancashire, United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Actor, singer |
| Years active | 1982–present |
| Spouse(s) | Marlene Tomlinson (1962- ), Rita Cumiskey (2003–present) |
Eric Tomlinson (was born 26 September 1939 in Liverpool), known by his stage name Ricky Tomlinson, is an English film and television actor, best known for his starring role as the character Jim Royle on the popular BBC situation comedy The Royle Family and his dismissive catch phrase, "my arse".
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Tomlinson was born Eric Tomlinson in Bispham, Blackpool, Lancashire, but has lived in Liverpool for most of his life. Tomlinson was born in Bispham because his mother, Peggy, was evacuated there due to the Liverpool Blitz in World War II. In 1962 he married his first wife Marlene, and they went on to have three children.[1]
A trained and qualified plasterer by trade, he worked on various building sites for many years, becoming actively involved in trade union politics. In 1972, he joined the flying pickets in a building workers' dispute in Shrewsbury. He was sentenced to six years in prison, of which he served two, after being found guilty of 'conspiracy to intimidate' as one of the so-called Shrewsbury Two, and in 1975 he disrupted the TUC conference by shouting from the wings after he had been prevented from speaking from the stage. It was revealed in 2002 that MI5 had monitored him during the 1970s.
In his 2003 autobiography, he admitted that between 1968 and 1972, prior to his involvement with trade union politics, he was a member of the National Front, which he now bitterly regrets and which he puts down to being "politically naive and poorly educated".[2]
As an actor he has found considerable success, appearing as Bobby Grant in the soap opera Brookside, as DCI Charlie Wise in Cracker and as Jim Royle in the sitcom The Royle Family.
In 2002 Tomlinson starred in the BBC TV Series Nice Guy Eddie playing a Liverpool private investigator. Using down-to-earth cases - actually based upon real life cases by Liverpool private investigator Tony Smith - the show also starred Tom Ellis and John Henshaw.
He has also starred in several films, notably Mike Bassett: England Manager, Raining Stones and Hillsborough, a made-for-TV film about the families' of the victims of the Hillsborough Stadium disaster.
Tomlinson has fronted a series of commercials for the utility company British Gas. Also in Jan 2010 he began to appear in a series of advertisements for the frozen food chain Farmfoods.
In 2003 he published an autobiography, entitled Ricky, which spent five weeks at the top of the UK best selling new books chart.
Tomlinson is also a keen banjo and harpsichord player, and has played the instruments in many episodes of The Royle Family. In 2001 he teamed up with fellow Brookside actor, Michael Starke and other friends for his own rendition of well-known folk songs including "It's A Long Way To Tipperary" and a cover of The Pogues' "Are You Lookin' At Me?". A CD album entitled Music My Arse was released the same year. He released a single at Christmas 2006 entitled Christmas My Arse which reached #25 in the UK Singles Chart.
On 19 June 2006 Tomlinson made his debut as the guest celebrity in Dictionary Corner on the popular and long-running UK Channel 4 game show Countdown.
In the summer of 2006, Tomlinson toured at theatres across the UK with his show An Evening with Ricky Tomlinson where he was interviewed about his life by Elton Welsby.
In December 2006 he presented a programme in Five's Disappearing Britain series entitled When Coal was King, in which he made controversial comments about Margaret Thatcher's potential death.
In March 2007, Tomlinson presented BBC's One Life: Guilty My Arse, detailing his version of the Shrewsbury Two case, in which he compared his political activism as a trade unionist to the work of the suffragettes.
On 19 October, 2007 Tomlinson had a major heart operation and underwent a quadruple heart bypass at Liverpool's Cardiothoracic Centre. Consultant cardiac surgeon Aung Oo said: "The operation went according to plan and he is now recovering within the hospital's critical care unit."[3]
During 2008 and 2009 Tomlinson took his Laughter Show theatrical revue on the road with fellow comedians Tony Barton, Duncan Norvelle and Pauline Daniels.
In 2009 he had a leading role as the Head Judge in the "VMH Club Star Talent Trail", a local talent-based competition held at the VMH Club in Garston, Liverpool. A large number of North-West based performers entered the competition which was ultimately won by 14 year old Shaun Walsh from Liverpool.
Tomlinson is a personal friend of Arthur Scargill and often appears on party election broadcasts for Scargill's Socialist Labour Party, most recently for the 2009 European Parliament elections, being its most prominent celebrity supporter. He has also shown his support for the Campaign for a New Workers' Party. A public meeting was hosted by the CNWP in Liverpool on Monday 12 February 2007 which was addressed by Ricky Tomlinson alongside Tommy Sheridan and Tony Mulhearn in which he used the slogan "New Labour my arse".
He is mentioned in the Chumbawamba song, "I'm not sorry, I was having fun", in reference to his support for the Socialist Labour Party.
On 5 February 2010, Tomlinson announced that he was considering standing as the Socialist Labour Party's candidate for the Liverpool Wavertree constituency at the 2010 General Election in protest at the selection of a 28-year old Londoner as the Labour Party candidate.
In 2008, Tomlinson donated £200,000 as Patron of the Human Milk Bank of Cheshire and North Wales[4]. The charity provides babies on Special Care Baby Units with milk from donar mothers, significantly improving their chances of survival and long term development. He is quoted as saying "Due to my own recent experiences with my health, I know how much hospitals and appeals appreciate help and assistance. This is such an important service which can help so many families and I'm very honoured to be the patron."
The UK home video version of Ricky's Laughter Show Live was released by Lace DVD on Monday 10 November 2008. Filmed at a sell-out show at Runcorn during the Laughter Show Live national tour, the disc runs for over two hours[5] and includes three extras: "Card School My Arse", "Caption My Arse", and "More Gags". A box set was released the same day containing both DVDs of this and last year's release Football My Arse.[6] A trailer can be found on both Amazon and YouTube. [7] They have recently released a new Royle Family DVD in the UK named 'The Golden Egg Cup'. This was a special of The Royle Family. This is a link to a preview of 'The Golden Egg Cup' --> [8]
   | Detailed account of Ricky's involvement in trade union politics and activism - In the Cause of Labour |
| | His Royle shyness - Amy Raphael meets Ricky Tomlinson | From the Observer | The Observer |
| | One Life: Guilty My Arse - The Life of Wylie: Ricky Tomlinson: Guilty My **** |
| | BBC profile - BBC - North East Wales Showbiz - Ricky Tomlinson |
| | "Ricky Tomlinson: Royle Rebel" - BBC NEWS | In Depth | Newsmakers | Ricky Tomlinson: Royle Rebel |
| | "Actor Tomlinson has heart surgery" - BBC NEWS | UK | England | Merseyside | Actor Tomlinson has heart surgery |
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