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Eric Sharp
6th May 1921 - 22nd March 2016
23rd March 2016
Remembered by Quentin Reynolds
 Today
I lost my magical father, Eric Sharp, just a couple of months short of his 95th
birthday.
After returning from WW2 and marrying Muriel, the love of his life, they moved
to South Wales where they ran a few small businesses including a Fish & Chip
shop and a removal business. But there was a lot of work available in the
working men’s clubs, where, as part of a concert party, Eric did comedy magic.
In the late 1950’s he met Rex Daina, a retired professional magician who taught
Eric Punch & Judy and for the next seven years he was the resident Punch man at
Coney Beach, Porthcawl, then the largest caravan site in Europe. After that
until 1973 he and Muriel, along with their son Brian, ran two cinemas in Coney
Beach, showing the latest films as well as doing morning matinee magic shows.
In 1975 Eric taught me Punch & Judy, and his theories on entertaining children.
Being highly opinionated and often controversial, he wondered if his ideas would
work for others. Indeed they did and it wasn’t long before I was earning a
living as a full time professional. He since taught others, the latest being
Matthew Powell and Colin Lanfear.
Eric published a series of books on Specialised Children’s Entertainment,
detailing his original routines and scripts. He had a knack of taking a trick
disregarded by magicians and turning it into a hilarious and engaging
performance piece.
In 2014, at Kidology, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in
the field of children's entertainment.
His wife, Muriel passed away three years ago and last September, Eric, with
macular degeneration of his vision was hospitalised with a number of complaints
and passed away today at The Royal Glamorgan Hospital.
Quentin Reynolds, March 2016
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