Ray Martine

Raymond Isaacs (6 October 1928 – 19 June 2002), who performed as Ray Martine, was an English comedian, especially on television in the 1960s and early 1970s.

Life and career He was born to Jewish parents in London, and served his national service in the Royal Air Force before spending time in the United States, where he heard the patter and one-liners of American comedians. On returning to England, he worked in the clothing trade, and performed as an amateur comedian in London pubs in the late 1950s and early 1960s. His style was "waspish...[and] uncompromising about problems he had faced arising from his sexuality and Jewishness". He was spotted by television journalist Daniel Farson, who booked him to appear in the East End pub he owned, the Waterman's Arms, alongside performers Rex Jameson (Mrs Shufflewick) and Queenie Watts. Helped by jokes written by Dick Vosburgh and Marty Feldman, Martine became popular, and recorded a comedy LP album, East End, West End, recorded at a pub, the Deuragon Arms, Hackney on December 21, 1962 and at the Establishment Club in Soho, on February 5, 1963 . Martine appeared in most episodes of the show up to 1972, when he left.

Martine continued for some years to perform in clubs in the north of England, and also undertook after-dinner speaking. By the 1990s, he was reportedly involved in the antiques business in Newcastle upon Tyne. He died in a nursing home in Newcastle in 2002, aged 73.