Mike Elliott

Michael "Mike" Elliott (17 July 1946 – 23 December 2014), also known as Mike the Mouth, was an English stand-up comedian, actor, television presenter, radio personality, and comedian.

On December 23, 2014, Elliott died of esophageal cancer at age 68.

Early life

Elliott was born Michael Elliott in Sunderland in July 1946.

Career

Stand-up comedy and recording

Elliott taught English at Hartlepool's Dyke House School. In 1983, he first found national fame on At Last, It's Mike Elliott, which was broadcast on Channel 4. For several years, Elliott was a mainstay of Lindisfarne's U.K. tours, working as warm up and compere.

He released two albums on Newcastle-based Rubber Records: Out of the Brown RUB 025 (1976) and At Last It's Mike Elliott RUB 044 (1982).

In 1992, Elliott returned to work for Tyne Tees Television, presenting a number of regional documentary series, including Down Colliery Way about North East coal miners.

Acting

Elliott has had a number of acting roles, including George Watson in Billy Elliot, and a number of roles in television drama series, including Catherine Cookson adaptations, Crocodile Shoes, Byker Grove, Spender, Harry, and a variety of roles in New Voices. Elliott portrayed a taxi driver in Goal and Goal! 3: Taking on the World.

Radio

In February 1995, Elliott was given a new nickname as "Mike the Mouth" when he launched the first late night talk show on 100-102 Century FM in the North East. He was suspended in his first year at the station for swearing at a woman caller who said she was a benefits swindler, but was reinstated after fans protested outside of the station's studios in Gateshead. In January 2000, he was taken off the air in the middle of his show, following an expletive-filled outburst at a caller. Bosses sacked him, assuming, from his behavior and slurred speech, that he was drunk. However, Elliott claimed that his "strange behavior" was caused by combining two glasses of wine during a family meal with the cold remedies Benylin and Night Nurse. In June that year, he was reinstated by the station.

In 2001, he launched a board game called Social Insecurity, with some similarities to Monopoly.

In December 2002, a new Mike Elliott radio show launched on North East Magic Radio in the same slot as his previous program. However, on MW, it failed to gain the same amount of listeners that the Century FM series had achieved and Elliott was released from his contract in July 2003 whilst on holiday.

In December 2003, Elliott went back on air on Sunderland's Sun FM. In January 2006, the series was re-branded North South Divided pitched the Northern stations of the Local Radio Company against their Southern counterparts. Broadcast over almost 30 stations, this was the first time listeners outside of the North East had a taste of Elliott, alongside another male presenter named Alex Dyke (later replaced by Carol McGiffin). On July 5, 2006, North South Divided ended.

Death

On 23 December 2014, Elliott died of esophageal cancer at age 68.