The Crazy Gang

The Crazy Gang were a group of British entertainers, formed in the early 1930s. In the mature form the group's six men were Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen, Jimmy Nervo, Teddy Knox, Charlie Naughton and Jimmy Gold. The group achieved considerable domestic popularity and were a favourite of the royal family, especially King George VI.

Formation of the Crazy Gang

Although George Black is often credited with the formation of the Crazy Gang, the start was more complicated. In 1931 three double acts (Nervo and Knox, Naughton and Gold and Billy Caryll and Hilda Mundy) were tentatively booked at the London Palladium. This caused Black to consider cancelling one of the couples. Nervo and Knox had a technique of entering other acts and Black was persuaded to overcome the difficulty by letting this happen. The show, which was called "Crazy Week" opened on 30 November 1931. Other Crazy Weeks followed with Flanagan and Allen added. The name Crazy Gang was not used until 1937.

Composition

Crazy Gang (comics)

Crazy Gang is a fictional group of supervillains, appearing in Marvel Comics. They are mostly petty thieves, but will work as mercenaries. The Crazy Gang has fought Captain Britain and Excalibur. The Crazy Gang's members are based on characters in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Publication history

The Crazy Gang first appeared as a parallel universe version in the pages of Marvel UK's Marvel Superheroes #377 (September 1981). This version was created by David Thorpe, Paul Neary and Alan Davis. This group subsequently appears in Marvel Superheroes #387-388 (June–July 1982), and Daredevils #1 (January 1983).

The Crazy Gang of mainstream Marvel Earth (Earth-616) first appeared in Marvel UK's The Mighty World of Marvel #10 (March 1984), by Alan Moore and Alan Davis. They subsequently appear in Captain Britain Comics #1-3 (January–March 1985).

The Crazy Gang first appeared in American comics in Excalibur #4 (January 1989), by Chris Claremont and Alan Davis. They subsequently appear in #52 (July 1992), #54 (September 1992), #57-58 (November–December 1992), and #124-125 (September–October 1998).

Crazy Gang

The Crazy Gang is a nickname used by the English media to describe Wimbledon F.C. during the 1980s and 90s. The name, originally that of a well known group of British comedy entertainers popular in the late 1930s, was used because of the often cheeky and boisterously macho-behaviour of Wimbledon's players, who were in the habit of playing frequent and outrageous practical jokes on each other and on the club's manager Dave Bassett. Their general approach to the game was derided as amateurish and their playing style was often accused of being basic and unsophisticated in comparison to the stylish brand of football played by most leading clubs at the time. The then England striker Gary Lineker once commented dismissively: "The best way to watch Wimbledon is on Ceefax".

Regardless of the criticism they were subject to, the team was very successful in the English league for more than a decade. The joking behaviour, together with a deep sense of being unjustly derided, bred an intensely close team spirit which was greatly to the club's benefit on the pitch. Their physical style, with players such as Vinnie Jones, often intimidated their opponents. Within only a few years, they had won promotion from the bottom of the Football League to the highest level, without ever changing their straightforward playing style.

Crazy Gang (disambiguation)

There have been several groups called "Crazy Gang" or "The Crazy Gang".