Forty Coats

z80CPU

So far so good. Goon sidekick.

Sneaky snake was boring as hell with the monologues.

Hangdogroad

Odd that RTE didn't give his passing a mention. Granted he wasn't an RTE employee but he did star in an iconic RTE 80s childrens show. Outside of Fortycoats he had an interesting career. Trained as a mime artist under Marcel Marceau and did a lot of roles with the Abbey.

Hangdogroad

I've only the vaguest memory of the Pickarooney, played by Des Nealon. How often did he appear in it? I dont think he was a regular protagonist like the Whirlygig Witch. No memory at all of the puppet thingy, presume that was his sidekick?

Hangdogroad

I meant antagonist.

I do have a vague memory of a male villain on the show kidnapping Slightly in one episode where he grabs her and carries her off over his shoulder while she's kicking and screaming. Maybe that was him?

I've no memory whatsoever of Robert Carrickford as "the Count" , whom I only know of through Wiki and Imdb listings for the show.

branie2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121795844#Comment_121795844

The Pickarooney was on Fortycoats' side.

Hangdogroad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121797077#Comment_121797077

Thought he was a villain?

branie2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121797315#Comment_121797315

From the episodes I saw, he was good

Hangdogroad

Because I have way too much time on my hands of a Saturday morning, I did a search on the Pickarooney on Irish News Archive from January 1983 to December 1987, the length of Fortycoats & Co run. He seemingly only appeared in the storyline titled "the Xeruak Mystery" which was shown in early December 1987, think it might have been the penultimate Fortycoats outing, certainly one of the last. So the Pickarooney wasn't a recurring character but more a "baddie of the week". Queen Roola Boola makes her only appearance in this story too.

Edit: turns out I was wrong. See below post.

Hangdogroad

Seems I was wrong about the Pickarooney not being a recurring character, "Enter The Pickaroony" was an early Fortycoats story from late January 1983, so he was there from the beginning. His name is spelt slightly differently here so this wasn't coming up in my earlier search.

Edit: a bit more exposition here on that storyline.

Hangdogroad

A few articles that add some exposition. November 83.

October 84

November 85.

Hangdogroad

I think the mime artist in the video for Minor Details 1983 single Canvas Of Life is Conal Kearney aka Sofar. I remember this being shown on RTE at the time. It looks very like him at just past the 3:00 minute mark, when he's shown without makeup.

https://youtu.be/HvGi1x1gapg?si=lttbrPhu1cKRsvx7

Hangdogroad

Its definitely him all right. From the same year as the episode of Fortycoats where the SoFar image comes from. Hair a bit shorter.

NewbridgeIR

Definitely him. I wrote that brief Minor Detail piece for Where's Grandad?

NewbridgeIR

Virginia Cole looking well in A Week In The Life Of Martin Cluxton, 1971