Jimmy Cricket dies at 80 — SkimNews
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- Jimmy Cricket (born James Joseph Mulgrew in Cookstown, Northern Ireland) died at 80 after a short illness, with his family announcing the news via a Facebook statement.
- Cricket's ITV series "And there's more!" showcased his signature look — a tailcoat, short trousers, and wellington boots marked "L" and "R" on the wrong feet — and he appeared at the 1984 Royal Variety Performance and on BBC's The Good Old Days.
- Cricket got his big break reaching the semi-finals of TV talent show Search for a Star in 1980, and was featured on This Is Your Life in 1987.
- Cricket married May Tweedie in 1972; the couple had four children and four grandchildren, and were married for 52 years before his death.
- Cricket was awarded a papal knighthood by Pope Francis in 2015 in recognition of his charity work, particularly his fundraising for Francis House Children's Hospice in Manchester.
- Cricket appeared alongside Peter Kay and Matt Lucas in the 2007 Comic Relief video for I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles), reflecting his reputation for high-profile charity engagements.
Why it matters: Cricket's papal knighthood from Pope Francis in 2015 — granted for decades of charity work on behalf of Manchester's Francis House Children's Hospice — shows how his off-stage fundraising became as defining a legacy as his 1980s television stardom. His death removes one of the last northern comedy-circuit performers who translated working-club routines into mainstream ITV primetime.
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