Big Poppa (sketch)

## Bio

**Big Poppa** is a fictional American film focusing on the lives of the Jardine family headed by "Big Poppa" Jardine and his wife, Janey Jardine (Benny Hill and Helen Horton). Jardine is a master plumber, former war veteran and father of four sons, Albert, William ("Bill"), Philbert and Jedediah ("Jed").

The Jardines are visited by a Jed's friend (Roger Finch) and his wife (Louise English) from out of state. The trip is over 400 miles without a ladies room in sight, and the young bride really wants to use the bathroom, sitting through Big Poppa talking about his injury and showing off his remote control revealing his TV, recorder and curtain which shows off a curtain in the living room. Finally, she asks about the bathroom, and Mrs. Jardne shows the way. Big Poppa reveals the living room toilet belongs to a customer, and he doesn't do housecalls.

Big Poppa shows a letter from Jed revealing he has bought a cannery, but Jed's friend points out it says "canary." Nevetheless, the proud father has words of praise for Jed even as the grown man elsewhere steals eggs and a goose from Braynfeeble Farm. However, the eggs get shattered in Jed's pockets by the local minister (Bob Todd) hugging him, and the stashed goose makes a nuisance of itself with the local women at the bus stop, later terrifying an old lady (Sue Upton) at a bench. At his shack, he sits around cracking walnuts under the rocker of a relative (Jon Jon Keefe?) while talking about the health woes of his neighbor Ace Deacon. His son, Jed Jr. (Henry McGee), shows up with muddy pants after falling in them, and a neighbor (Roger Finch) shows up to check on a pie his family gave Jed's family. Unfortunely, Jed is soon confronted by an angry neighbor (Bob Todd) who put a picket fence around his land based on the dimensions of Jed's land. It turns out he has 500 feet of picket fence left over, and Jed says so did he.

When Jed is threatened with a punch to the nose, he warns his neighbor that he will report his illegal moonshine still to his brother, Bill Jardine, the local sheriff. Bill takes care of the law and order in town with his Deputy Leroy (Jackie Wright), who comes in late. When Bill isn't getting bribes from the local businessmen, he and Leroy are often making comments on each other. At one point, Leroy accuses Bill of being pregnant, but Bill reverses the insult back at him. Lil (Bella Emberg), a local from the restaurant, brings them lunch. Unfortunately, Bill is unaware his father's health is getting worse with his mother trying to reach her son, Dr. Albert Jardine (Benny Hill) at his office. Meanwhile, her son, Philbert (Jackie Wright), brings her strichnyne instead of her father's medication, and she's upset because its more expensive than the medication.
At Albert's office, he's trying to treat a young lady in a cowboy hat (Jane Paris) in his office, a pregnant lady one one phone, an alcoholic on another phone line and a contagious old man (Jackie Wright) all at once with the help of his nurse (Helen Horton). Eventually, his mother gets through to him about his dad, and Albert rushes to take care of him, even as his mother's attention is elsewhere debating on a pink dress or a black dress.

On his deathbed, Big Poppa reveals he named Albert after Dr. Albert Schweitzer, and Jedediah after the end of a long argument. Bill was named because he arrived at the end of the month, but Philbert was named by his mother after a nut. On his dying breath, Big Poppa asks if Philbert is really his son, but Janey confesses he is but the other three ain't.

## Trivia

* The townsfolk at the bus stop are Lee Gibson, Jackie Wright, Alison Bell and Louise English. Ken Sedd and Clare Smalley turn at the fence when Bob Todd appears as a priest
* The Wanted poster in the Sheriff's office is a poster of Alison Bell.
* Jed also shows up in a series of 1973 quickies as a character named Zeke. In that episode, his wife is played by Malou Cartwright and his neighbors are played by Jackie Wright, Henry McGee and Jon Jon Keefe.
* Ace Deacon (convicted of statutory rape), Dr. Upchurch, Dr. Proctor (other physicians) and Mrs Tantrum (who is expecting) are four unseen characters mentioned in dialogue.
* The characters at Jed's shack are Penny Kendall (hat), Camilla Blair (tanning herself), Jon Jon Keefe (?) (old man rocking}, Denise Gyngell (announcing dinner), Jackie Wright (old man sitting), Sue Upton (old lady) and Nola Haynes and Abigail Higgins (building a chicken house).
* The "No Milk!" gag with Bella Emburg is from a quickie on the Great British Dancing Finals episode,
* The credits over the end of the sketch were reused from the end of WonderGran Meets Dr. Jackal and Mr. Hyde.

## Gallery

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