Little and Large were a British comedy double act comprising straight man Syd Little (born Cyril John Mead; 19 December 1942) and comic Eddie Large (born Edward Hugh McGinnis; 25 June 1941 – 2 April 2020).
Comedy duo
They formed their partnership in 1962, originally appearing as singers in local pubs around north-west England. According to an interview with Eddie Large in Metro newspaper (11 January 2019), they went professional in October 1963. After deciding to concentrate on comedy, Little and Large's big break came in 1971 when they appeared on ITV talent show Opportunity Knocks.
They won the programme's vote, turning them into household names virtually overnight.
Within five years, the duo had their own prime-time show on ITV called The Little and Large Tellyshow. It began with a pilot episode in 1976, which earned the pair a commission for a series in 1977. However, the duo transferred to BBC1 with a new show called The Little and Large Show from 1978, and remained on the channel for more than a decade until its cancellation in 1991. At its peak, the series was watched by an estimated nearly 15 million people each week. while Syd Little simply stood next to him, looking perplexed and distressed. Large's onstage catchphrase (to describe Little) was "Supersonic".
They continued to appear in theatres and pantomimes, including Babes in the Woods, written by Ian Billings. The partnership's popularity peaked in the 1980s but, as mainstream comedy moved away from their pantomime style towards alternative comedy, it dwindled.
Eddie Large was told he might have a heart attack at any moment. The partnership split up when Large had to have a heart transplant. and in February 2019, appearing together on Pointless Celebrities.
On 2 April 2020, Eddie Large died after contracting coronavirus while receiving treatment for heart failure. Large had suffered from kidney and heart problems for a number of years.