Sid James attack while performing on stage at the Sunderland Empire Theatre; he died in hospital an hour later. Some, including comedian Les Dawson, claim to have seen the ghost of James at the theatre, and subsequently refused to appear at the theatre again. James was born Solomon Joel Cohen on 8 May 1913, to Jewish parents in South Africa, later changing his name to Sidney Joel Cohen, and then Sidney James. His family lived on Hancock Street in Hillbrow, Johannesburg. Upon moving to the UK later in life, he claimed various previous occupations, including diamond cutter, dance tutor and boxer; in
Marty Brill (comedian) Marty Brill (comedian) Marty Brill (born May 6, 1932 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American comedian. Brill was a comedian/writer/actor/musician who appeared regularly on 1960s and 1970s TV in both variety shows ("The Ed Sullivan Show", "The Merv Griffin Show", "The Tonight Show") and sitcoms ("The New Dick Van Dyke Show", "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"). In the late 1970s, Marty Brill did some writing in the 1970s for the "New Soupy Sales Show," also occasionally playing characters on the show, especially after Soup'y longtime sidekick (Clyde Adler) took ill during production of the series. He also was the lyricist