Samuel, Mike and Bernie's father, was a boxer and gambler; their mother, Rachel, came from a circus family.
Bernie's friend was Danny Sewell, younger brother of George who went on to star in such shows as Special Branch and UFO.
[3][6] Bernie moved along the apprenticeship route, getting a job at the Regency Club in London's Soho where he played the ukulele and performed as a comedian.
Following a medical discharge he enlisted in the Canadian Legion as a musician and after a year was promoted to the honorary rank of captain.
After the war, Bernie took drumming lessons at the London Palladium and Mike, who had studied clarinet at the Academy, formed a double act playing musical items and doing impressions.
The pair got back together in the form of a three-handed act called The Three Loose Screws where they learnt to dance and improve their skills.
In 1963 they starred alongside Frankie Howerd and Tommy Cooper in the Michael Winner film The Cool Mikado.
The BBC TV series The Story of Light Entertainment reported that Bernie had had a long running affair with a dancer 20 years his junior, Dinah May, and that caused friction between the brothers.
Mike moved to Florida because his wife, Cassie Winters, suffered from arthritis and Bernie went solo in the UK, signing a contract with Thames Television.
Bernie's biggest success was his eponymous series where his comedy "partner" was a St Bernard dog named Schnorbitz.
He also presented a UK version of Make Me Laugh, a Tyne Tees Television production for ITV.
With Jude Parry, Mike also co-produced, directed, performed in and wrote the first British professional pantomime to appear in Florida, continuing to do so for five years.